Fran Duffy’s NFL Scouting Combine position preview, RB: Keep an eye on Jeremiyah Love’s Notre Dame teammate

I find the NFL Scouting Combine to be a test of expectations. Fast players should look fast. Slow players should look slow. When the results don’t match the expectations, that is when more work must be done. 

Below you’ll find my expectations for this position group this week in Indianapolis. Who do I expect to stand out? Who does this week mean the most for? What are the drills I prioritize most? Here are my thoughts on all of that and more!

Full Scouting Reports on all of these players can be found in the DieHard Draft Guide!

Workout Warriors:

These are the players I expect to perform best in the athletic testing portion of the workout.

Jadarian Price (Notre Dame)

The ‘other’ Notre Dame running back in this draft is no slouch as a prospect, and he’s got dynamic qualities that teams are looking for. He’s equally explosive linearly as he is laterally with the ability to make cuts at high speed while still adding momentum. I expect Price to test well and he should also crush it in the position drills as well. 

Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest)

At this stage of the process, Claiborne is my top senior running back (behind just the two Notre Dame ball carriers in my stack). That said, it is a pretty tight cluster there. The diminutive but dynamic senior doesn’t profile as a starter, in my opinion, but I think he has a skillset reminiscent of Nyheim Hines when the latter came out of NC State some years back. Claiborne is quick and shifty with smooth lateral cuts, light feet and explosive short-area bursts. He has real straight-line juice with explosive ability as both a runner and receiver. I expect him to test well, as long as he can go (he missed Shrine Bowl practices due to injury). 

Robert Henry Jr. (UTSA)

Like Claiborne, Henry is on the smaller side at 5-foot-9, 197 pounds, but he does make up for it with juice to create explosive plays. I’ll admit that the instant speed didn’t jump out to me immediately upon first watch with him, but he can go. GPS numbers with him have consistently come back strong. I expect him to test well. 

Emmett Johnson (Nebraska)

Johnson is a junior who declared for the draft after finishing third in the country in rushing this year for the Huskers. Listed at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, he reminds me of Raheem Mostert, who went undrafted out of Purdue then turned into an explosive slasher across multiple teams in the NFL over the course of a long career. I would expect Johnson to look good in the 40-yard dash and in the jumps this week. 

Desmond Reid (Pitt)

Like Claiborne, Reid is on the smaller end of the spectrum but man, does this guy have juice. How small is he? We’ll get the official measurements this week. But this kid is quick as a hiccup, has impressive stop-start ability and when he gets out in the open field he is explosive. There were a lot of shades of Tarik Cohen when I studied him on tape. 

Mike Washington Jr. (Arkansas)

Washington is the biggest back in this grouping, but he has explosive traits that should stand out when you weight-adjust all of these numbers. The fifth-year senior, who began his career at Buffalo and then played at New Mexico State before transferring to the Razorbacks this year, is tall and long-limbed, and when he opens up in the open field he displays real giddy-up. He had a solid week at the Senior Bowl and I expect him to continue that positive momentum here. 

The Drill To Watch

I am a big proponent of studying the position work at this event. That is my focus when I’m inside Lucas Oil Stadium – not the athletic tests! Here’s the drill I weigh the heaviest and who I expect to shine when it’s that time of the night.

In today’s game, running backs have to be able to impact the passing game if they’re going to be viewed as truly dynamic playmakers worthy of high draft choices. This week, we’ll watch these running backs run a series of routes at all three levels of the field. A couple of things you may notice on these routes:

• Are they natural at the catch point? Does he have the ability to adjust to the throw, pull in the reception, gather himself, and transition to a runner immediately to generate positive yardage upfield? 
• What level of receiver is he? Is he just a check-down option, can he work in the screen game, or can he be flexed out and run routes at a high level as if he were a receiver? 

Here are the players who have a chance to shine in these drills.

Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame)

I expect that Love would test well, I just don’t know how much testing he’ll do. That’s why I have him grouped into this category. The junior has been a consistent producer as a pass catcher the last two seasons for the Irish, displaying soft hands and some flexibility to get moved around the formation. I didn’t see a ton of usage with him downfield on wheel routes, so getting a chance to see him haul in passes from distance will be a cherry on top of the evaluation for the top back in this draft. 

Eli Heidenreich (Navy)

Heidenreich played a bit of a hybrid role for the Midshipmen over the course of his four-year career, so much so that I actually have him graded as a receiver. He’s at this event as a running back, and practiced at the Shrine Bowl as a running back, but I think he grades out a bit more favorably in the slot. Regardless, you’re likely to use him in similar ways. He has great receiving chops and should look great in these drills.

Trust The Tape

These are the players I don’t expect to test off the charts athletically … but don’t panic! The tape shows a prospect who is a better football player than he is an athlete. With that in mind, don’t drop him down the board with a subpar workout!

Nicholas Singleton (Penn State)

Singleton likely would have been in the ‘Workout Warrior’ section had it not been for an injury suffered late in the week at the Senior Bowl. It is my understanding that he will not work out this week after suffering a broken bone in his foot in Mobile. With that, we’ll have to trust that the explosiveness and big-play potential we saw from him in his four years at Happy Valley would transition to a good athletic profile. Singleton is a big back, but I don’t think he’s a naturally instinctive runner. It’s a shame that he’ll miss this event, because I would have expected some impressive numbers. 

Kaytron Allen (Penn State)

Allen is basically the opposite of Singleton as a prospect, and it’s why those two meshed so well together after being a part of the same recruiting class with PSU. Allen is not an impressive athlete, but his toughness and instincts as a ball carrier have consistently stood out the last two seasons during film study. The player I compared him to, current LA Rams RB Kyren Williams, did not test well in Indianapolis, and I don’t expect Allen to. 

Le’Veon Moss (Texas A&M)

Moss is a bigger back at 6-foot, 210 pounds, and his game is predicated on strength, power and decisiveness. He’s a bit tight, laterally, and I think that shows up on tape. I don’t think he’ll ever be confused with a homerun hitter at the position. If he doesn’t test well, I’m not going to be dropping him down the board. 

Most To Prove

Some players make this trip with a big question (or three!) at this stage of the process. How well does he run? Will he pass the medical check? What is he like off the field in the interview room? These are the prospects with the most notable question marks on their résumé at this stage of the process.

Seth McGowan (Kentucky)

McGowan had a pretty good year at Kentucky this year and carried that momentum to Mobile with a solid showing at the Senior Bowl. I think he’s one of the better seniors in this class at the position. That said, he had to take two years off in 2021 and 2022 after serving jail time due to an off-field incident at Oklahoma. McGowan will get grilled on this, obviously, by teams, and will have to prove that he can be trustworthy in the NFL.

Jonah Coleman (Washington)

I like Coleman on tape — he was my top senior running back entering the season despite having more of a backup grade over the summer. That said, I think his body composition and athletic testing will be fairly important for him. Listed a short 5-foot-9 but a thick 228 pounds, Coleman has been on the heavier side in the past. He was slated to go to the Senior Bowl but was the lone running back to pull out of the event late. I’m interested to see what kind of shape he’s in and then how he tests this weekend.

The Rest Of The Pack

Everyone else who will take part in the events in Indianapolis (in alphabetical order).

Max Bredeson (Michigan), CJ Donaldson (Ohio State), Rahsul Faison (South Carolina), Roman Hemby (Indiana), Jam Miller (Alabama), Adam Randall (Clemson), J’Mari Taylor (Virginia)

Mr. Average

We get to read all about the measurements for all these players over the next few weeks … but wouldn’t it be nice to have some context? What is considered a ‘good’ 40-yard dash time for this position? What about arm length? The broad jump? Here’s what the average player drafted at each position has looked like over the last decade (by my records).

Height: 5104 (5’10 1/2’’’)

Weight: 213

Hand Size: 928 (9 1/4’’)

Arm Length: 3078 (30 7/8’’)

Wingspan: 7458 (74 5/8’’)

40-Time: 4.50

10-Yard Split: 1.56

3-Cone Drill: 7.10

Short Shuttle: 4.30

Broad Jump: 121’’

Vertical Jump: 35’’