Dynasty Draftnik

Washington, Round 7. Graduated early, in 2015, and declared for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Postseason Events: NFL Combine.

Positives: Good height and above-average bulk and hand size for the position. Elite track speed and at least adequate game speed. Patient behind the line. Above-average ability to change directions with burst in his pro day measurements. Smart clock management – knows when to just fall down to run out the clock instead of going out of bounds. Tracks passes fairly well over his outside shoulder. Above-average upper-body strength.

Negatives: Below-average burst and acceleration in games, and will be caught from behind before he gets through the line. Always seems to be way too willing to fall down. Below-average cutback vision and lateral quickness. Runs a little upright. Poor vertical leap for the position. Below-average lateral quickness in his pro day measurements. Tore right ACL in October 2013 and missed rest of season. Plagued by knee injuries throughout his career.

Pre-Draft Projection: Round 7. I see him as more of an undrafted free agent type who will get into a camp because of his track speed. But I didn’t see his athleticism coming through in the games that I watched.

Declared early for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Postseason Events: NFL Combine.

Positives: Adequate height and hand size and good bulk for the position. Cuts and moves fairly smoothly side to side to find a running lane behind the line. Adequate upper body strength.

Negatives: Below-average track speed for the position, though probably adequate for his size. Below-average lateral quickness in the open field, and this also showed during Combine and pro day testing. Below-average burst. Below-average power, and seems to be easy to knock back on impact. Needs to run with higher knees, and seems easy to trip up at the line. Will mistime his jumps for passes. Slightly below-average vertical leap and broad jump at the Combine, which matches his below-average burst on film.

Projection: Undrafted free agent.

Positives: He runs with adequate speed and burst. Adequate cutback vision and patience behind the line. Above-average power and churns well through contact. Runs tough and breaks a lot of arm tackles. Willing to finish runs strong and will barrel through defensive backs at the end of runs. Runs with good body lean and fair balance after contact. Okay hands.

Negatives: Below-average hands as a kick returner, and let a ball go straight through his hands. Below-average lateral quickness and change-of-direction ability. Though he has enough cutback vision, he doesn’t have enough quickness to take advantage of it much. Suspect ball security. Hurt knee in preseason 2012 and missed first several games.

Projection: Undrafted free agent.

Positives: Runs with good speed and above-average burst, lateral quickness, and cutback vision behind the line as a running back, and his sudden movement helps him break the first tackle. Above-average burst, lateral quickness and cutback vision behind the line. Quick feet. Runs fair routes and sets up well for the 1st down. Above-average hands and can extend and highpoint passes well. Can come down with the pass even with a big hit. Protects the ball through the line.

Negatives: Looks small for the position and doesn’t generate power – low power overall. Runs a little bit off-balance and will fall down with little contact. Makes below-average decisions behind the line and will extend plays to the outside that should be cut inside. Suspect vision for cutbacks as a returner and will run into tacklers on kick returns. Willing to lower his shoulder to finish his kick returns. Doesn’t seem to do much cutting back on kick returns.

Projection: Undrafted free agent. Probably more of a prospect as a return than as an offensive weapon.

Postseason Events: NFL Combine.

Positives: He was a redshirt senior with a lot of experience. Great height and above-average bulk for a running back, and good height and below-average bulk for a fullback. Adequate hand size. Adequate track speed for the position and size. Above-average upper body strength.

Negatives: Below-average lateral quickness and adequate ability to change directions with burst in pro day tests. Converted from linebacker to running back in 2012. Injured knee in mid-2012 and redshirted season. Hamstring injury in 2013 slowed him half the season. Injured toe in August 2014 forced him to miss season. Injured knee in mid 2015 and had arthroscopic surgery in December 2015, missing bowl game.

Projection: Undrafted free agent. Honestly, I did not see much of him over the past few years since he was injured so consistently.

Postseason Events: Tropic Bowl.

Positives: He has demonstrated versatility in college. Former high school quarterback recruited to Miami as a defensive back. He was then switched to running back in 2013 but transitioned back to safety in 2014. Adequate burst. Runs tough and breaks arm tackles one-on-one. Willing to finish runs hard. Good body lean. Above-average hands.

Negatives: Indecisive and dances in the backfield. Lacks consistent cutback vision behind the line of scrimmage. Below-average lateral quickness and ability to change directions with acceleration. He is strong enough to break arm tackles, but doesn’t push the pile. Below-average pass blocker who lunges at defenders and misses. Poor decisions as a kick returner and touched the ball right before it went out of bounds – sticking his team inside the 5-yard line.

Projection: Undrafted free agent. I haven’t seen much of him in games, so this projection is more about how I haven’t heard about anyone saying he will be drafted.

Seahawks, Round 7. Graduated early from Clemson in 2015 and declared for the 2016 NFL Draft.

Positives: Great height for the position. Above-average track speed for the position. Above-average vertical leap for the position. Elite broad jump.

Negatives: Slightly below-average bulk for the position – built more like a wide receiver. Adequate speed and above-average burst and lateral quickness and open field vision. Is able to maintain his balance fairly well after contact. Not much leg drive to fight for extra yards. Adequate hands and body control and is able to adjust to off-target passes. Below-average upper-body strength. Injured shoulder in 2012 and 2013. Broke foot in August 2014, had surgery in September, and was expected to miss the season.

Pre-Draft Projection: Undrafted free agent. I haven’t seen much of him in games, so this projection is more about how I haven’t heard about anyone saying he will be drafted.

Positives: Though he lacks size, he has a strong, compact build. He has adequate cutback vision and is decisive – hitting the hole hard. He has adequate speed and above-average burst and lateral quickness. And agile and patient runner, he is able to spin away from tacklers and pick his way through traffic – fighting and twisting for extra yards after contact. He shows above-average balance after contact high on his body, and can break through arm tackles using his balance. Able to maintain his balance after low contact tries to trip him up. Churns strong through contact, and pushes the pile pretty well. He finishes his runs strong, and will lower his shoulder to knock tacklers back and down. Okay hands. Gets low through traffic at the line.

Negatives: Very short for the position, with below-average bulk. He sometimes runs a little bit out of control and off-balance when he tries to make too many cuts on a run or tries to make a big cut, and needs to keep his feet more squared underneath him. Shows more power pushing the pile then he does in one-on-one situations, where he is easier to bring down. Suspect ball security technique when he is fighting for extra yards. Needs to have more awareness of where the first down marker is, and will sometimes retreat behind it after the catch. Below-average track speed and poor vertical leap and broad jump at Pro day testing. Poor lateral quickness and ability to accelerate out of his cuts during his Pro day testing.

Projection: Undrafted free agent. While his Pro day showed a lot of deficiencies in his athleticism, his game film showed a hard-working, strong runner who may be able to contribute in the NFL as at least a special teamer.

Vikings, UDFA.

Postseason Events: NFLPA Bowl.

Positives: Was a redshirt senior with me a lot of experience. Adequate height for the position. He is a very athletic running back who runs with very good track speed for the position. He runs with above-average game speed, lateral quickness, and burst, and has fairly quick feet. Agile in the open field. Shows some patience behind the line and will stretch runs outside at times when needed. Adequate vertical leap and broad jump at his Pro day. Showed good quickness side to side and when accelerating out of cuts at his Pro day measurements. Above-average upper body strength.

Negatives: Slightly below-average bulk for the position. Seems to lack cutback vision behind the line and be a little indecisive on outside runs – waiting too long before cutting it upfield. In short yardage situations, he needs to be more decisive and just plow straight ahead to get the necessary yards instead of trying to bounce runs outside. Holds the ball at little low going through the line.

Projection: Undrafted free agent.

Postseason Events: NFLPA Bowl.

Positives: He was a grad student, so he has a lot of experience. Adequate height for the position. Above-average lateral quickness and patient behind the line. Pretty nimble in the open field. Churns his legs fairly well through contact. Able to fend off tacklers with stiff arm. Okay hands. Very good vertical leap and adequate broad jump at Pro day testing. Adequate ability to change directions with burst in Pro day testing.

Negatives: Slightly below-average bulk for the position. He runs with adequate game speed and track speed as well as adequate burst. Below-average cutback vision and quickness. Runs a little bit off-balance after making cuts. Though he churns his legs pretty well, he doesn’t generate much power. A little slow to get going on straight-ahead short-yardage. Below-average upper body strength. Below-average lateral quickness in Pro day testing. Suspended for the first quarter of his 2015 bowl game for unknown reason.

Projection: Undrafted free agent.