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2023 NFL Draft Prospects Profiles: Runningbacks

Updated: Apr 6, 2023

Bijon Robinson

Texas

Grade: 1st Rd

Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images


Bijan Robinson played for the University of Texas and is expected to be the top running back selected in the NFL Draft. Robinson's high school career was marked by exceptional performance, including averages of 13.7 yards per carry and a touchdown on more than 20% of his attempts. He was named the best high school player in Arizona twice and was a five-star recruit. At Texas, Robinson continued to dominate, with 1,580 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns in 2022.


Robinson's style of play is characterized by excellent vision and creative instincts that allow him to process angles and manipulate space in congested areas. He has a rare mix of patience and decisiveness that allows him to use quick cuts, spatial awareness, and acceleration to evade early contact. Robinson he is also willing to lower his shoulder and use his mass against defenders to pick up extra yards. As a receiver, Robinson has shown the ability to catch away from his frame with his hands and run routes out of the backfield or motion out and line up in different spots for an offense. As a player that specializes in being a true running back, he's shown flashes as a true receiver a quarterback can connect with deep downfield.


Robinson has great size at 5'11" and 215 pounds, and his dense, compact frame allows him to accelerate instantly out of exchanges. He has impressive bursts on cuts and can throttle up fast with short, urgent strides. Robinson is always pressing forward with urgency while maintaining acceleration through arm tackles and recollecting his feet after being challenged. He's got great contact balance. Additionally, he can lean in and out of cuts effortlessly, maintaining acceleration while pressuring angles in space. His short-area athleticism is excellent, as he is extremely fluid between cuts, very light on his feet, and carries acceleration from lateral to vertical mode extremely well.


Overall, Robinson is a versatile and elite runner with impressive physical traits and exceptional instincts. He has a unique blend of patience, decisiveness, and creativity that make him a nightmare for defenders to tackle. He is also a capable receiver and a threat in run-after-catch situations. With his combination of elite skill sets and little he does not excel at, Robinson is going to be a top-tier running back in the NFL if health continues to stay on his side. PFF projects Robinson to come off the board in the 20s, but his expectation as a generational talent could lead to him being taken earlier.


Zach Charbonnet

UCLA

Grade: 1st Rd

The University of California Los Angeles


Despite being one of the top running backs in 2021, Zach Charbonnet returned for his senior year at UCLA, leading to speculation about whether this hampered his draft ceiling. However, Charbonnet has surpassed 2,200 rushing yards and 25 TDs across two seasons in LA, which included him joining the starting role immediately he arrived, and has been dubbed "The Terminator." His success at UCLA did not begin there though, as Charbonnet was a starter as a true freshman at the University of Michigan. He transferred to UCLA after losing his starting position to Hassan Haskins, and it was Chip Kelly that really pushed Charbonnet to new heights.


Kelly held Charbonnet in high regard, stating he has an innate talent that all great running backs possess, and has an unmatched dedication to the film room, meeting room, and weight room. Charbonnet's natural and powerful running style sees him lowering his shoulders into contact and running behind his pads better than most in this draft class. He is a north-south runner and shrugs off arm tackles, has the leg drive and pure strength to churn through congested areas, and finishes every run with a sought-after forward lean. Since 2011, Charbonnet has a ridiculous 122 forced tackles missed!


Charbonnet's play style, coupled with his nuance as a ball carrier, makes him a dream for any RB coach.

He has shown the ability to carry 220 pounds easily and effortlessly without losing his shake ability. He simply just knows how to either make guys miss or run straight through them. He is also a threat as a dump-off option because when he's in space, he's dangerous for a single player to bring down. He might not be a true route-running threat to line up in the slot, but he has soft hands and can be creative when asked. Charbonnet is one of the few running backs whom to bang the table for in the 2023 NFL Draft, and his talent makes it a moot point whether his decision to return to college hampered his draft ceiling or not.


Jahmyr Gibbs

Alabama

Grade: 2nd Rd

Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports


Jahmyr Gibbs gained notoriety during his high school career, where he amassed 4,882 yards and 70 touchdowns, earning a spot in the top 100 of the 2019 recruiting class. After two successful years with Georgia Tech, he transferred to the University of Alabama where he played for one season before declaring for the draft. Gibbs recorded 926 yards and seven touchdowns on 151 carries, as well as 444 yards and three scores as a receiver. He is known for duel threat abilities as a true runningback and pass-catching prowess in the mold of Alvin Kamara and Austin Ekeler, with explosiveness, agility, and situational awareness, as well as his ability to maximize his short-area athleticism with his vision and instincts.


Gibbs' running style is characterized by his exceptional athleticism, which allows him to generate bursts of momentum when his path is clear and quickly accumulate yards through tight windows. He possesses phenomenal short-area athleticism and loose hips, which enable him to divert course while maintaining acceleration and flow through congested areas to sneak into the open field. Gibbs' vision and creative instincts allow him to employ and maximize his athleticism with excellent full-field vision and superb spatial awareness. He is an instinctive runner who displays situational awareness and discipline and can quickly identify holes and process angles.


At 5'9" and 199 pounds, Gibbs is not an overly imposing back, but he brings measurable physicality to the field. He utilizes stiff arms to push down imbalanced defenders and extend plays, fights to stay on his feet with active footwork, and is willing to lower his shoulder and finish forward on runs. Gibbs is also a multi-phase player with high-level ability as a pass-catching running back, showing impressive nuance and feel for route concepts and soft hands to consistently make plays as a receiver.


Overall, Gibbs' explosive athleticism, agility, situational awareness, and multi-phase ability make him one of the top running back prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft. His size disadvantage is the main drawback with questions concerning how heavy of a workload he can actually maintain with a sub-200 pound frame. Even so, Gibbs is a special player who should hear his name called early in the second round of the draft.


Tyjai Spears

Tulane

Grade: 2nd Rd

University of Tulane


Tyjae Spears played his college football for the Tulane Green Wave. He has displayed his abilities as an explosive runner with easy acceleration and breakaway speed that enables him to gain significant yardage. He has led Tulane in rushing yards for two consecutive seasons while averaging nearly 7.0 yards per carry. Spears is also comfortable functioning in either zone or gap runs, which are used in Tulane's blended run scheme. His competitive nature and ability to battle through contact make him an impressive player on the field.


However, Spears' narrow build limits his potential as a workhorse back, and is more suited to being a complementary piece at the next level. His modest production as a pass-catching threat, coupled with his inconsistent performance in pass protection, raises concerns about his ability to fill that role. Tulane missed an opportunity to get Spears involved as a passer and as a returner to the special team's units. That would have made him much more appealing to NFL teams because his skill set suggests he could be dynamic in that role.


In 2022,, spears had over 1,500 yards rushing and scored 19 touchdowns. He is also good at forcing missed tackles with 66 last season and had 1,052 yards after contact last year, which ranked 6th-most in the NCAA. His big-play ability and competitive instincts make him a valuable asset for any team. While most teams will focus on his lack of size, Spears has the potential to become a dynamic second option.


He stands at 5'10" and weighs 201 lbs but he has big 10" hands and tested well in explosiveness drills at the combine, with a vertical jump of 39", and a broad jump of 10'5", and he completed 18 bench reps. Tyjae Spears' abilities as an explosive runner with easy acceleration, breakaway speed, and competitive instincts make him a valuable player and one of my favorite prospects in this class. PFF has Spears as a riser who was once thought of as a late-day three, now slated to become a mid-round pick.


Devon Achane -

Texas AM - 5’9/185 -

Grade: 3rd Rd

Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports


Devon Achane dominated in high school with 4,823 rushing yards and 88 touchdowns across three seasons, along with impressive performances in track and field. Despite being offered by several top programs, he chose Texas A&M, where he still managed to make an impact on the field, despite being behind two other established players on the depth chart. Achane became a star in his sophomore season, rushing for 910 yards and nine touchdowns, with 308 kick-return yards and a score on nine attempts.


Achane has several traits that make him an impressive prospect. He has great vision and quickly identifies rushing lanes, and possesses the speed to capitalize on them. Achane is also an escapable runner who can navigate traffic and has the ability to turn on the jets once he's found an opening. He's a shifty runner who displays little wasted movement when cutting backside, squeezing through gaps, or maneuvering in the backfield. Achane's physical tools make him a dynamic weapon anywhere on the field, and he has the ability to create extra yardage through his confidence, willingness to lower his shoulder, and contact balance.


Additionally, Achane is a secure ball-handler, with only two fumbles across his three collegiate seasons and 400+ touches. Archane's size is the main drawback. At 5'8, and 188 pounds, he doesn't have the frame to be a bell cow and likely will be a change of pace back with limited touches. His 4.32 speed shows the track star he can be, and as a track and field competitor, he is a 4x100 All-American. He offers upside as a receiver, with 65 receptions across three seasons. He also provides juice as a returner, which adds to his overall value. Achane is projected to be a third-round draft pick.


Zach Evans

OleMiss

Grade: 3rd Rd

Daniel Dunn / USA TODAY Sports


Zach Evans was a five-star recruit in the same 2020 class as Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, though Evans was the No. 2 overall running back in his recruiting class. His natural talent and athleticism made him a highly coveted player who initially signed with TCU Horned Frogs but transferred to Ole Miss. As an NFL Draft prospect, Zach Evans has been endlessly compared to Robinson and Gibbs, and while he may not be at that level as a prospect, he has a comparable upside to his counterparts and is a very good 2023 NFL Draft prospect in his own right.


Evans is known for his natural running abilities and well-proportioned frame, which is easily projectable to the next level. With his frame, Evans also brings elite long-track explosiveness and exceptional long-strider acceleration in space. Moreover, Evans is very well-balanced when stacking acute angle adjustments and accelerating upfield. He can gallop around solo defenders at the line and quickly recollect his stride in space. Evans is a fluid athlete who can stress defenders laterally while moving vertically.


While Evans never ran for over 1,000 yards in his career, it was more of the fact that he has been in deep runningback rooms than a lack of effort or talent. Last year he split the backfield with Quinshon Judkins, who had over 1,500 yards rushing. In 2021, he split time with Kendre Miller at TCU, who looks to be drafted near the mid-rounds himself. Evans never fully lived up to his 5-star pedigree and never took over the backfield as a primary rusher but he still looks the part of a complementary back with 4.45 speed.


  • Kendra Miller - TCU

  • Chase Brown - Illinois

  • Kenny McIntosh - Georgia

  • Israel Abanikonda - Pittsburgh

  • Tank Bigsby - Auburn

  • Eric Gray - Oklahoma

  • Deuce Vaughn - Kansas State

  • Tavion Thomas - Utah

  • Mohomid Ibrahim - Minnesota

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