2022 NFL Draft Ultimate Preview: Running Backs

Running back is not a major immediate need but it could be worth a forward-thinking draft pick with Aaron Jones potentially entering his final season under contract.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Breece Hill, Kenneth Walker and Isaiah Spiller lead the 2022 NFL Draft’s crop of running backs, a position group perhaps worthy of a late-round shot by the Green Bay Packers.

State of the Packers

With Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, the Packers have one of the top one-two punches in the NFL.

Re-signed before the start of free agency, Jones rushed for 799 yards (4.7 average) and four touchdowns in 15 games. A tremendous receiving threat, he added 52 receptions for 391 yards (7.5 average) and six touchdowns. However, he went from 5.5 yards per rush and 5.9 yards per touch in 2020 to 4.7 yards per rush and 5.3 yards per touch in 2021. His 10-yard run rate went from 12.7 percent in 2020 to 9.3 percent in 2021.

Dillon led the team with 803 rushing yards but averaged a modest 4.3 yards per carry. However, Football Outsiders has a stat called Success Rate. It mirrors the Packers’ win/loss system. A first-and-10 run that gains 4 yards is a win; anything less is a loss. A second-down run that gains at least half the required distance is a win. A third-down run that moves the chains is a win. According to Football Outsiders, Dillon ranked No. 1 with a 63 percent success rate.

Ranking the Draft Need

Out of 11 position groups, running back ranks as the 10th-most important need.

The Packers don’t need a running back in 2022. However, it’s worth noting Jones’ cap number will soar to $20 million in 2023, so this might be his last season with the team. And Kylin Hill, who flashed a bit as a seventh-round pick last year, is coming off a torn ACL. So, if a quality back falls into Day 3, it might be worth a forward-thinking pick.

Perhaps You Can Forget These Prospects

Here’s what history suggests, with Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams (speed at 194 pounds) and Baylor’s Abram Smith (hand size) perhaps off the board.

Ranking the Running Backs

Breece Hall, Iowa State

Measureables: 5-11 1/4, 217 pounds. 4.39 40.

Stats: Hall’s production is overwhelming. In three seasons, he rushed for 3,941 yards (5.5 average) and 50 touchdowns and added 82 receptions for 734 yards (9.0 average) and six touchdowns.

Deeper Stats: According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked just 122nd with 2.8 yards after contact per carry but seven with 74 missed tackles. He dropped one pass and fumbled twice. Per 100 touches, he forced 31 missed tackles, according to Sports Info Solutions. His heavy-box rate was 19 percent.

Personal Touch: His high school coach delivered a message that sent Hall’s career into orbit. “I said, ‘Breece, you could be the best back to ever come out of this high school, but you’re going to have to start acting like that — performing like that,’” Steve Martin told The Des Moines Register. “And that meant from being in the classroom, to in the weight room and to take training seriously. As a freshman and sophomore, he probably relied on his athleticism that God gave him.”

His stepfather, Jeff Smith, played for the Chiefs and Buccaneers. His cousin is former 49ers great Roger Craig.

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Very good-looking, compact frame that is durable and strong. Excellent in pass protection that makes him a three-down candidate at the next level. He remains very patient, but not too patient, as a runner. His ankles are silky smooth, allowing him to make precise cuts and defenders miss. Short area quickness and suddenness within his running style also helps his overall gameplan with how he attacks each run.

Kenneth Walker, Michigan State

Measureables: 5-9 1/4, 211 pounds. 9 1/2 hands. 4.38 40.

Stats: A transfer from Kent State, Walker ran wild during his one and only season for the Spartans. He won the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back by rushing for 1,636 yards (6.2 average) and 18 touchdowns. He caught only 13 passes in 2021 and 19 in three seasons.

Deeper Stats: Walker led the nation with 1,168 yards after contact, 89 missed tackles and 30 carries of 15-plus yards. He also only fumbled once. Per 100 touches, he forced 30 missed tackles, according to Sports Info Solutions. His heavy-box rate was 20 percent.

Personal Touch: How did Walker, who rushed for about 1,160 yards in two seasons at Wake Forest, become one of the great backs in the nation? How did he go from having only one Power 5 offer – to Wake – to potentially the first back off the board? His first time on the MSU campus was for the start of fall camp.

“It’s a blessing to make it this far. In high school, I was not highly recruited at all — I had one Power 5 offer,” Walker said at the Scouting Combine. “I believed in myself, but as (this) season went on, I never really imagined that it would have went that way.”

He finished sixth in Heisman voting.

“I dreamed of it,” Walker said of his success at pro day, “but to have it happen was so surreal to me.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Kenneth Walker is an electric back who is dangerous in space. He excels on zone concepts as he possesses great change of pace, slowing down to press the gap and manipulate defenders until stepping on the gas and bursting in a different direction. Walker’s short-area acceleration and explosive lateral cuts make him a terror to tackle at the first level, if there is any inch of space, he will find it due to astute peripheral vision and a never-say-die mentality.

Tyler Allgeier, BYU

Measureables: 5-10 3/4, 224 pounds. 9 5/8 hands. 4.60 40, 4.36 shuttle.

Stats: Allgeier posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons. As a senior, he rushed for 1,601 yards (5.8 average) and 23 touchdowns and added 28 receptions for 199 yards (7.1 average). He was a second-team All-American who led the nation in rushing touchdowns.

Deeper Stats: Allgeier finished second in the nation with 1,143 rushing yards after contact and sixth with 76 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. He fumbled four times, which is a problem. Per 100 touches, he forced 26 missed tackles, according to Sports Info Solutions, and his loaded-box rate was 16 percent.

Personal Touch: Allgeier started his BYU in 2018 as a running back. In 2019, he moved to linebacker. Then, it was back to running back, where he became a star. Before all of that, he went unrecruited out of high school. His best offer was to a Division II school.

“It lit a fire in me,” he told The New York Post.

He went to BYU a a walk-on, an expensive gamble on himself.

“In 2019, he was the leading tackler on the team in the [Boise State] game and in 2020 he was the leading rusher in that game the next year,” coach Kalani Sitake said. “You talk about a guy that’s versatile? There’s a lot of running backs that claim to be versatile, that can run routes and do all these other things. But how many of them can go out there and play linebacker and have linebacker film? He’s one of the few that can do that. The guy’s going to be a special teams phenom [in the NFL].”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Good contact balance and competitive toughness. Excellent lateral agility opening up those hips and changing up his angles with fluidity. Additionally, he is elusive in the open field for a guy his size. Nice micromovements to freeze defenders and has the burst to make them pay. Effective at manipulating space and changin up his pace and stride length making him tough to get clean hits on. He is comfortable at catching the ball and smooth YAC transition.

James Cook, Georgia

Measureables: 5-11, 199 pounds. 9 3/8 hands. 4.42 40.

Stats: Cook has a lot of tread on the tires with only 230 rushes and 67 receptions in four seasons. As a senior, he rushed for 728 yards (6.4 average) and caught 27 passes for 284 yards (10.5 average) and four touchdowns. For his career, he started only six times.

Deeper Stats: According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked 21st in the nation with 3.9 yards after contact. He had zero drops or fumbles. He averaged more than 8.0 yards per target in the passing game all four seasons. Per 100 touches, he forced 21 missed tackles, according to Sports Info Solutions. His loaded-box rate was 12 percent.

Personal Touch: In case you hadn’t heard, Cook’s brother is Vikings star Dalvin Cook. What did he learn from his older brother? "His awareness," James Cook said at the Scouting Combine. "Just how he moves with the ball in his hands, and he can make guys miss and he can do various things, too. We kind of critique that game off each other and make each other better."

In the battle of the 40-yard dashes, James Cook won by 0.07 seconds.

Said Dalvin in 2020: “I’ve got big expectations for him, bigger shoes than anybody can imagine for him and he can imagine for himself. He knows how hard I am on him, how hard I push him. I think he’s just scratching the surface of the things you’re going to see this year. It’s not a surprise to me, but to everybody else.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Cook displays solid overall vision and understands how to read zone blocks. Excellent footwork and fluid hips allow him to chain moves together to make multiple guys miss. He excels in a zone-blocking scheme and shows plus decisiveness to hit holes when they open. Very good in space when he gets the ball in his hands using his hips, acceleration and feet to make guys miss while maintaining speed. At his best out of the backfield as a receiver. Used in multiple ways in the slot and on jet motion. Extremely comfortable catching the ball and is a good route runner.

Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M

Measureables: 6-0 3/8, 217 pounds. 8 5/8 hands. 4.63 40, 4.27 shuttle.

Stats: Spiller rushed for 946 yards as a freshman, 1,036 as a sophomore and 1,011 as a junior. His averages were 5.4, 5.5 and 5.6. Talk about consistent. His three-year totals were 2,993 rushing yards (5.5 average) and 25 touchdowns, and 74 receptions for 585 yards (7.9 average) and one touchdown.

Deeper Stats: According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked 36th with 3.6 yards after contract per carry and 18th with 56 missed tackles. He had zero drops and one fumble, which perhaps will alleviate the hand-size concerns. Per 100 touches, he forced 29 missed tackles, according to Sports Info Solutions. His heavy-box rate was 10 percent.

Personal Touch: His father, Fred Spiller, went to Texas A&M and was a promising prospect as a tight end. “It was one morning I remember vividly,” Fred told The 12th Man Foundation. “I got out of the bed and I had sciatic pain down my leg.”

He could hardly walk.

“I told the trainer, this is something more than a bulging disc. They sent me in for an MRI, and when the results came back, the doctor said, ‘Listen, football is just a small part of your future and your life. If you continue to play, with the position that you play, it’s highly likely you could be paralyzed or have more severe injuries.’ As he was talking, I was crying, because I had put in so much work. It was like my whole world came crumbling down. Then, came Isaiah.”

Their bond has strengthened through the years. “All throughout my life, [my dad] has taught me to work and to believe in myself when nobody else is,” Isaiah told TheBatt.com. “Everybody doubted me. He really instilled a lot into me that a lot of people are seeing in me today. I’m really grateful for him, I love him as my dad; he’s like my role model, my mentor, he taught me how to run, he taught me how to catch, he taught me how to read holes.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Isaiah Spiller has extremely good size for his position and his weight seems to have a good distribution through his frame. Has very good contact balance as defenders close down on him. Consistently attacks downhill once he receives the ball in the backfield. He maintains very good vision and makes good decisions on where to attack as he gains yards. Strong, thicker base provides him the platform to be a reliable blocker in pass protection.

Jerome Ford, Cincinnati

Measureables: 5-10 1/2, 210 pounds. 9 1/8 hands. 4.46 40, 4.22 shuttle.

Stats: Ford started two games his first three seasons but all 13 games in 2021, when he rushed for 1,319 yards (6.2 average) and 19 touchdowns while adding 21 receptions for 220 yards (10.5 average) and one touchdown.

Deeper Stats: Ford ranked 97th in the nation with 3.07 yards after contact per carry, according to Pro Football Focus. He didn’t drop any passes but fumbled twice. According to Sports Info Solutions, he forced 17 missed tackles per 100 touches. In 2020, his first year at Cincinnati after transferring from Alabama, he averaged 30 missed tackles and 4.2 yards after contact. His loaded-box rate was 12 percent. His fumble rate in 2021 was 1.3 percent; it was 3.8 percent the previous two seasons.

Personal Touch: Don’t call him an “Alabama transfer.” “I’m thankful for everything coach [Nick] Saban had done for me, and that opportunity to play at Alabama,” Ford said before the Bearcats faced the Crimson Tide in the playoffs. “But I’m a Bearcat and I would kind of appreciate it if people stopped calling me ‘The Alabama transfer.’ I’m a Cincinnati Bearcat.”

Ford had to skip the Senior Bowl, scurrying from Mobile, Ala., to his hometown of Tampa, Fla., to see the birth of his daughter.

“My genuine love for the game,” he told The Spun. “I’ve been playing since my days in elementary school. I don’t want to stop – I just love to play football. It gives me the opportunity to provide for my family, which is also a plus. I’m obviously happy to be here, but I’m not done yet. I still have a lot more work to do.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: The more film you watch on this player, the more you fall in love with him. Starting his career as a running back at Alabama it was very difficult to get playing time and sometimes great talent away from them, that is exactly what happened here. Since arriving at Cincinnati he has done nothing but excel and showed the nation just how good he was. He is a powerful and very physical runner, who relishes the opportunity to run somebody over. Don’t be pulled in by his power though, because he will end up torching a defense for a long touchdown. This is what makes him exciting, it’s very rare for a player to be so powerful and still have the breakaway speed to outrun an entire defense to the end zone.

Dameon Pierce, Florida

Measureables: 5-9 5/8, 218 pounds. 9 3/8 hands. 4.59 40, 4.46 shuttle.

Stats: Pierce rushed for 1,806 yards (5.5 average) and caught 45 passes in four seasons. He started only once as a senior but had career highs with 574 rushing yards, 13 rushing touchdowns, 19 receptions, 216 receiving yards (11.4 yards per catch) and three receiving touchdowns.

Deeper Stats: According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked 35th with 3.7 yards after contact per carry. In 119 touches, he didn’t fumble. He also didn’t drop any passes. Per 100 touches, he forced 26 missed tackles, according to Sports Info Solutions. His loaded-box rate was 12 percent. His positive-run rate of 58 percent led the nation.

Personal Touch: Pierce can thank his mom for reaching the NFL.

“He was one of those kids that didn’t like to go outside and play with other kids,” his mom, Shameeka Rogers told The Post-Searchlight. “He wanted to just stay in the house. He was kind of like a bookworm. He was a mama’s boy so he stayed in the house a lot. The other kids would be outside playing.”

Rogers wanted his son to get tougher and hang out with kids his age. So, she signed him up for football without telling him.

“He didn’t want to go,” Rodgers said. “He was mad. He threw one of his little fits. He had his lips poked out. He was like he wasn’t going to go, he didn’t want to go, but I was like, “Yes you are.’”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Pierce runs hard, keeping his legs churning and breaking arm tackles. He finds a way to pick up extra yards and will find and exploit cutback lanes. Good patience allows him to let blocks develop. As a receiver, Pierce is capable of creating separation against linebackers underneath and possesses reliable hands and the ability to adjust to off-target passes. He blocks with high effort and low pads, executing chip blocks and maximizing his strength.

Brian Robinson, Alabama

Measureables: 6-1 5/8, 225 pounds. 9 3/4 hands. 4.53 40, 4.59 shuttle.

Stats: The latest big back churned out by the Crimson Tide, he rushed for 1,343 yards (5.0 average) and 14 touchdowns and caught 35 passes for 296 yards (8.5 average) and two touchdowns in getting the first 14 starts of his collegiate career.

Deeper Stats: According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked third with 79 missed tackles forced, seventh with 22 runs of 15-plus yards and 75th with 3.3 yards after contact. Per 100 touches, he forced 27 missed tackles and his loaded-box rate was 16 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Personal Touch: Robinson is from Tuscaloosa, Ala., and was thrilled to play for his hometown Crimson Tide.

“It was one of those unbelievable feelings. It was hard for me to believe,” Robinson told The Tuscaloosa News. “We were sitting in the office, and he (Alabama coach Nick Saban) told me 'I'm going to offer you a full scholarship.' I’m like, 'You can't be serious!'”

Robinson had to bide his time in the crowded Tide backfield. He might not have the juice of Najee Harris, he thinks he’s got one ready-made trait.

“I’m one of those backs who, I don’t want to be responsible for my quarterback on the ground, my quarterback getting sacked or a pressure on my quarterback,” Robinson said at the Scouting Combine. “I don’t want to be responsible for that, so I take full responsibility for my pass protection. And I also try to be there to clean up if guys come free.

“I’m not just thinking of my responsibility on play. I’m thinking about how I can protect the quarterback and keep the quarterback off the ground because in football things happen. Guys come free off the edge. Guys slip a block. You know, I always want to be available just to help.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Robinson possesses good vision to read leverage and maintain urgency on zone and gap runs. He finds and exploits holes backside. Above-average contact balance allows him to absorb hits and break poor tackles. He lowers the shoulder and falls forward consistently. Keeping his feet active and churning, Robinson drives piles.

Rachaad White, Arizona State

Measureables: 6-0 3/8, 214 pounds. 9 3/4 hands. 4.48 40.

Stats: A junior-college transfer, White rushed for 420 yards in four games in 2020 and 1,006 yards (5.5 average) in 11 games in 2021. He rushed for 15 touchdowns and, perhaps most impressively, caught 43 passes for 456 yards (10.6 average) and one touchdown.

Deeper Stats: According to Pro Football Focus, he ranked 64th with 3.4 yards after contact on carries. He dropped three passes and fumbled once. Per 100 touches, he forced 19 missed tackles, according to Sports Info Solutions. His heavy-box rate was 15 percent. He averaged a draft-class best 2.7 yards per pass route.

Personal Touch: White had zero Division I offers. He redshirted in 2017 at Division II Nebraska-Kearney, then spent two years at Mount San Antonio Community College.

“In high school I was a good player but I was never ranked and nothing like that, though. I put up stats," White told Arizona Central. "I never got recruited by Division I programs. I got looked at but nobody ever pulled the trigger. "

Sun Devils coach Herm Edwards compared him to Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen. “Rachaad has a lot of Marcus’ mannerisms,” Edwards said. “His height, his length, how he runs … there’s a lot of little mannerisms there that I watch and I go, ‘Man, that’s just like [Marcus].'”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: His ability to have an impact on all three downs and play with a multitude of play styles makes Rachaad White a focal point in both the pass and run game. White is a decisive runner who forces missed tackles and works well in space. Works best in a zone type scheme where he can make reads and cut depending on the flow of the play. Will need to spend some time refining as a blocker but shouldn't take long before he finds his way onto the field in some capacity in the NFL.

Zamir White, Georgia

Measureables: 5-11 3/4, 214 pounds. 8 1/2 hands. 4.40 40.

Stats: A two-year starter ahead of James Cook, White rushed for 2,043 yards (5.3 average) and 25 touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 132 yards (7.8 average). In 2021, he rushed for 856 yards (5.4 average) and 11 scores while adding nine receptions.

Deeper Stats: According to Sports Info Solutions, White averaged 3.1 yards after contact. Per 100 touches, he forced 17 missed tackles and had a loaded-box rate of 19 percent. His positive-run rate ranked second in the draft class behind only Florida’s Dameon Pierce (58 percent). Despite small hands, he had only one fumble.

Personal Touch: White was the No. 1-ranked running back recruit in the nation after rushing for more than 7,000 yards at Scotland High School in Laurinburg, N.C.

His rise is remarkable. Here are the opening paragraphs to a feature at ESPN.com:

Shanee White was 14 years old when she became pregnant with her first child. At six months, a doctor told her that her baby, a boy, weighed just one pound and advised her to abort the pregnancy.

Her grandmother, Nancy White, quickly overruled the doctor.

"The doctor is not God, so he doesn't have the last say," her grandmother told her. "If he takes one breath, he's going to take it."

He was born – with complications so severe that doctors feared he might not live two weeks.

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Power back with good size, White is best running north and south behind his pads. Lowering the shoulder in the hole and keeping his legs churning allows him to grind out tough yardage as an inside runner. High tacklers bounce off of him. In the open field, White opens his stride and shows above average speed for a runner of his size. At low speeds, he is able to change directions enough to avoid defensive linemen. His physicality translates to blocking where he wins as a proactive blocker.

Ty Chandler, North Carolina

Measureables: 5-11 1/4, 204 pounds. 9-inch hands. 4.38 40, 4.41 shuttle.

Stats: A transfer from Tennessee, Chandler starred during his one season in Chapel Hill. He rushed for 1,092 yards (6.0 average) and 13 touchdowns while adding 15 receptions for 216 yards (14.4 average). His five-year totals include 3,138 rushing yards and 73 receptions.

Deeper Stats: According to Sports Info Solutions, he averaged 3.7 yards after contact in 2021 – 1.4 yards better than his previous career best. He averaged 16 missed tackles per 100 touches and saw a loaded box on only 7 percent of his carries. He did not fumble and ranked second with 2.3 yards per pass route.

Personal Touch: Chandler was brought in after the Tar Heels lost star backs Javonte Williams and Michael Carter. Star quarterback Sam Howell taught him the offense.

His father, Chico, played running back at Ole Miss. “Just hearing my dad talk about the game, respecting the game, how it should be played, and him training me, that just gave me an opportunity to see a lot of different perspectives of the college football world,” Chandler told The Daily Tar Heel.

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Urgent, decisive inside runner with good vision. Chandler is able to read leverage and find holes quickly before lowering his pads and picking up extra yardage. He lacks suddenness and does not add third-down value, as he has shaky hands and struggles in pass protection. Chandler projects as a depth back in an inside zone or gap rushing attack.

Tyrion Davis-Price, LSU

Measureables: 6-0 3/8, 211 pounds. 9 1/4 hands. 4.48 40 4.40 shuttle.

Stats: Taking over in the backfield for the Tigers, Davis-Price rushed for 1,003 yards (4.6 average) with six touchdowns and added 10 receptions. In three seasons, he averaged 4.6 yards per carry and caught 28 passes.

Deeper Stats: According to Sports Info Solutions, he averaged 2.4 yards after contact, had a missed-tackle rate of only 11 percent and ran into a heavy box on 10 percent of his attempts. In SIS’ total points metric, he was No. 1 in pass protection and plays to that ranking.

Personal Touch: He rushed for a school-record 287 yards in a victory over Florida. By 49 yards, it smashed Herschel Walker’s record of most rushing yards against the Gators. The record performance came shortly after his running backs coach, LSU legend Kevin Faulk, lost his daughter.

“It’s a great honor just to know the guys who came before me and set the record,” Davis-Price. “The O-line really came with it and took it on. I just did my job and they did an amazing job. I’m just grateful for the opportunity that I had.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: A tough runner, he is difficult to stop when he gets going downhill, running through arm tackles and absorbing high contact with his balance. Davis-Price lowers his pads to reduce his surface area and keeps his legs churning to drive piles. He can get skinny through closing holes. Good speed at his size allows the quick-footed runner to beat defenders to the corner.

Zonovan Knight, N.C. State

Measureables: 5-10 7/8, 209 pounds. 9 1/4 hands. 4.58 40, 4.07 shuttle.

Stats: Knight rushed for 745 yards as a freshman, 788 yards as a sophomore and 753 yards as a junior. That gave him a three-year total of 2,286 rushing yards (5.5 average) and 18 touchdowns. He added 41 catches his final two seasons. Plus, he was a big-time kickoff returner with a 30.8 average and three touchdowns in two seasons of duty.

Deeper Stats: Knight averaged 3.41 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus, and didn’t drop any passes. He forced 28 missed tackles per 100 touches.

Personal Touch: He goes by the nickname “Bam.” It has nothing to do with his running style, though. Instead, he got the name as a toddler. "I was banging on all the toys," Knight said. "And as my uncle walked in, he said, 'that's all you hear is bam, bam, bam'... It kind of just stuck after that."

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Strong inside runner with great vision and contact balance to find lanes and pick up extra yards. Knight is a reliable receiver of checkdowns and screens, showing untapped potential as a route runner. He struggles in pass protection and is only an average straight-line athlete. Knight projects as a future starting running back who should be a very good backup early on.

Hassan Haskins, Michigan

Measureables: 6-1 3/4, 228 pounds. 9 1/4 hands. No testing (ankle).

Stats: Haskins was a breakout star. He earned second-team All-American in 2021 with 1,327 rushing yards (4.9 average) and a school-record 20 rushing touchdowns. He added 18 of his 24 career receptions for 131 yards (7.3 average).

Deeper Stats: Despite his size, he averaged only 2.7 yards after contact and forced just 13 missed tackles per 100 touches, according to Sports Info Solutions. He didn’t fumble in his career. His loaded-box rate of 28 percent certainly played a role in his subpar rushing average.

Personal Touch: Haskins was a three-start running back who was moved to linebacker for his redshirt season of 2018. When spring practices began in 2019, Haskins was back at running back. It was a good move by coach Jim Harbaugh.

“This guy was legitimately a sleeper, a guy that for whatever reason was overlooked,” Harbaugh said in 2019. “You don’t see that as much nowadays.”

Even though he rushed for 3,800 yards and 50 touchdowns during his final two years of high school, he received only two offers from Power-5 schools. ““If you look at him, he looks like a Greek god,” his high school coach told the Detroit Free Press. “He’s got phenomenal, impeccable character — he’s the nicest kid. There’s no character issues. His grades are good. His brother’s in the NFL. And there was a 1-AA team that would email us back, ‘Well, he doesn’t fit our system. He’s not fast enough.’ We had a Big Ten school that comes in and watches him jump 6’7 and practice, and the guy told me, ‘Well, he can’t break 60 yard runs. Maybe he’ll break a 30.’ And I looked at him and said, ‘Well, give it to him twice.’”

Haskins’ older brother is former NFL safety Maurice Alexander.

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Hassan Haskins has the size and linear burst to make a roster early in his career and see the field in a gap or power run scheme. What’s more, he has the play strength to operate in short-yardage situations. Still, the Michigan standout lacks the fluidity and top speed to serve as an every-down back. He can be a high-level special teamer. He has spot-starter and consistent contributor potential.

Keaontay Ingram, USC

Measureables: 5-11 3/4, 221 pounds. 9-inch hands. 4.53 40, 4.44 shuttle.

Stats: Ingram was a four-season contributor, finishing his career with 2,722 rushing yards (5.5 average) and 89 receptions for 671 yards (7.5 average) and six touchdowns. Having spent his first three years at Texas, he transferred to USC and rushed for 911 yards (5.8 average) with 22 receptions (7.1 average). He had 584 career touches.

Deeper Stats: None available.

Personal Touch: Ingram has nine siblings. One of them, Kelvontay Dixon, is a receiver at Texas. His high school teams was filled with Ingrams. "To have that and be playing with each other, that’s gonna be memorable moments when we sit back 20 years down the road,” Keaontay Ingram told East Texas Sports Network.

Ingram used to beat himself up over mistakes. Now, he’s Mr. Positivity. He started reading books on maintaining a positive outlook. “For me to step into that milestone, I feel like I was challenging myself,” Ingram told The Orange County Register. “Inform myself of how to be a better person, which translates to the football field to the classroom to me meeting people for job interviews later in life, whatever the case may be. It’s just a domino effect.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Despite having long legs, he has surprising short-area quickness and contact balance thanks to the low center of gravity he plays with, as well as some active feet. Ingram has a patient approach as a runner and plays behind his pads with his eyes up, scanning for run lanes or oncoming defenders. He has the upper-body build to absorb shots without losing balance and will even deliver a blow from time to time.

Pierre Strong, South Dakota State

Measureables: 5-11 3/8, 207 pounds. 9 1/4 hands. 4.37 40, 4.25 shuttle.

Stats: Strong dominated the FCS ranks. In four seasons, he rushed for 4,527 yards (7.2 average) and 40 touchdowns while adding 62 receptions for 581 yards (9.4 average) and three more scores. As a senior, he rushed for 1,686 yards (7.0 average) and 18 touchdowns while adding a career-high 22 receptions. He led FCS in rushing and also threw four touchdown passes.

Deeper Stats: According to Pro Football Focus, he averaged 3.39 yards after contact and forced 21 missed tackles per 100 touches. He dropped four passes and fumbled four times.

Personal Touch: Despite rushing for almost 4,000 yards during his final two seasons of high school in Little Rock, Ark., Strong was largely ignored by recruiters. But not by South Dakota State.

Then-running backs coach John Johnson “was on me hard, but I was kind of blowing him off – I wasn’t texting him back,” Strong told the Argus Leader. “I’d heard of (South Dakota State) but I wasn’t really into it. It just sounded really cold. But he came for an in-home visit and got me up here for a campus visit. I met some of the players, got out in the community and researched it with my parents and we decided it was the right place for me.”

If he’s drafted, he’ll be the first SDSU running back to be selected since fullback Joe Thorne was picked by the Green Bay Packers in 1962.

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Running back with above-average long speed making him a big-play threat in space. Strong stresses defenses laterally with above-average burst on pitches. He has good quicks and is light on his feet. At the second level, he shows good vision and understanding of leverage. He finds cutback lanes on lateral runs. Against linebackers, he is able to separate with his speed.

Tyler Goodson, Iowa

Measureables: 5-9, 197 pounds. 9-inch hands. 4.42 40, 4.12 shuttle.

Stats: Goodson built upon strong freshman and sophomore years by rushing for 1,151 yards (4.5 average) and six touchdowns and catching 31 passes for 247 yards (8.0 average) and one more score. In three seasons, he touched the ball 603 times.

Deeper Stats: Goodson averaged 15 missed tackles per 100 touches and just 2.35 yards after contact per carry. In the passing game, he dropped only one pass. His PFF elusive rating was one of the worst in the draft class.

Personal Touch: Goodson has always loved football. So much so that he slept with a football as a kid. His younger brother is a linebacker at Mercer.

“I want the ball,” Tyler told The Daily Iowan. “I like scoring touchdowns. Why would you want to make a tackle when you could score a touchdown? That makes no sense to me. That’s the greatest feeling in football for me.”

His youth team in Suwanee, Ga., was coached by Brentson Buckner, a 10-year NFL veteran and current defensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. “All he ever talked about was playing Division I football and having a chance at the NFL," Buckner told Hawk Central. "'What do NFL running backs do? How did they get there?' He was always looking for that at an early age."

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Goodson is a well-put-together shifty back that can add a spark to the offense. Goodson is quick-twitched and an agile mover. His footwork is strong, and he possesses multiple moves to make opponents miss in space. NFL-caliber long speed. His vision at the second level is strong, and he is excellent at cutting-off angles of attack. He is a willing pass-blocker.

Calvin Turner, Hawaii

Measureables: 5-11 3/8, 197 pounds, 9 3/8 hands. 4.48 40, 4.40 shuttle

Stats: In 2021, Turner rushed for 316 yards (4.3 average) and eight touchdowns. Where he really contributed was in the passing game with his 73 receptions for 876 yards (12.0 average) and four touchdowns. In two seasons, he averaged 13.4 yards per reception with 10 touchdowns. He also averaged 24.4 yards with one touchdown as a kickoff returner.

Deeper Stats: Continually put out in space, he averaged 25 missed tackles per 100 touches, according to Pro Football Focus. He ran into a heavy box on 34 percent of his carrier and lined up wide on 85 percent of his snaps. He fumbled four times.

Personal Touch: Turner started his career as an option quarterback and cornerback at Jacksonville University. In 2018 and 2019, he rushed for almost 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. When Jacksonville shuttered the football program, Turner moved from the East Coast to the Pacific Islands.

“I just try to push through,” Turner told The Garden Island. “It’s a beautiful island, and who doesn’t want to play football in paradise.” When he arrived, the plan was to make him a slot receiver. Instead, he went to running back at Hawaii. He might wind up at receiver in the NFL.

“I watch a lot of Odell Beckham and Antonio Brown. They have similar body types,” he told The Spun. “I like to watch Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs as well. I feel like Davante Adams has the best release in the game. I can learn a lot from watching him play.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Calvin Turner Jr is a versatile Swiss Army knife that played WR, RB, and Wildcat QB for Hawaii. He has solid size for the RB position He displays very good overall athletic ability, with excellent body control, balance, acceleration and hip flexibility. He is dynamic in space with his lower body flexibility and slipperiness. Turner is a mismatch out of the backfield and any OC would love to have him on the team.

Leddie Brown, West Virginia

Measureables: 6-foot 1/8, 213 pounds. 9 3/4 hands. 4.64 40, 4.26 shuttle.

Stats: Brown topped 1,000 rushing yards and 30 receptions in each of his final two seasons. As a senior, he rushed for 1,065 yards (4.8 average) and 13 touchdowns while adding 36 receptions for 217 yards (6.0 average) and one more score.

Deeper Stats: According to Sports Info Solutions, Brown averaged 2.6 yards after contact on runs, forced 15 missed tackles per 100 touches and ran into a loaded box 11 percent of the time. However, he fumbled four times.

Personal Touch: Brown considered entering the draft last year but returned because he had something to prove. One of those things was catching the football. He had 31 receptions in 2020 and wanted to do even better in 2021.

“Thirty-one is a pretty good number, but I’m looking to improve that number,” he told WVNews.com. “Me catching the ball more will help me in the eyes of the NFL scouts, because that’s what they they’re looking for, backs who can do it all – run, catch and block – the full package. That’s what I’m trying to show them.”

He was coined the “Baddest Man in Morgantown.” There were even lyrics based on the Jim Croce classic, “Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown.” Such as: “The baddest man in Morgantown. Badder than Old King Kong. And meaner than a Georgia dog.”

He celebrated touchdowns by running bellies with the linemen.

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: An NFL running back build with the capacity to make an impact on special teams and on 3rd down. Lacks burst at the next level but possess the ability to make cuts in space in order to create some room. Despite that, Brown plays with good physicality and a willingness to take on contact when needed.