Every year the draft process comes and goes, with hundreds
of prospects working to achieve the impossible dream of making it to the NFL.
Now the combine is over, we can look at individual prospects and evaluate them
while hearing their own story; something that is very powerful. The media always
likes to concentrate on the well-known players, last year it was Winston and Mariota; this year it will be Wentz
and Goff however, there are plenty
more players who will make up the 2016 draft. In this series, we will be
concentrating on the “lesser known”
players to try and give you a better insight.
We will be starting with an intriguing prospect, Wendell Smallwood, a running back out
of West Virginia University. 2015
was Smallwood’s breakout season running for over 1500 yards from 238 yards,
which gave him an average of 6.4 yards per carry. To put that in perspective,
during Todd Gurley’s best season at Georgia he only attained an average of
6.2 yards per carry. Smallwood shone in the Big 10 championship, claiming this year’s leading rusher accolade.
This in itself magnifies the talent of Smallwood and shows he is someone who
should not be taken lightly during this year’s process.
One promising statistic working in Smallwood’s favour, is
the fact he caught 54 passes over two seasons with the Mountaineers. Ability to effect the passing game is vital in the
modern day with players such as Jamaal Charles and, now free agent, Matt Forte living off their ability to
catch passes out of the backfield. Also, backs have to be jack of all trades,
especially in the protection of the quarterback. On film, it is evident that
Smallwood has little problem picking up rushers on pass protection plays, which
is definitely promising at his current build. This also highlights his football
intelligence, using his smaller build to effectively protect his
quarterback.
One thing that Smallwood has against him is his frame.
Scouts may argue that he lacks the measurables desired at a pro level, standing
at 5’10” and weighing in at 208lbs. We cannot doubt his ability to carry an
offence on his back, even with his frame, averaging 18.75 carries per game,
this season; showing he can take a NFL style work-load. He can also use his
agility and lateral movement to his benefit at the pro level, of which he
showed in abundance during the scouting combine. Outstanding performances in
the 3-cone drill, 6.83 seconds, and the 60-yard shuffle, 11.83 seconds, portray
his agility and put him among the top running backs for those particular drills.
Smallwood’s build can be overlooked, should Smallwood add some weight to his
frame and keep his athleticism.
Smallwood has also not shown big play ability during his
time at West Virginia, during the 2015 season, he only had one run beyond 50
yards, he is not the quickest of backs, running a 4.47 40-yard dash at the
combine although, he is not slow! He rarely comes out of second gear and
sometimes lacks acceleration, staying at one speed during his runs. He does
have the ability to score touchdowns though, scoring 9 in his final college
season, mainly in short yardage situations.
Overall, Wendell Smallwood will most likely fall into the later
2nd to early 4th rounds, for him to succeed at the pro
level a team needs to have a separate back with big play ability and who can
take the pressure of Smallwood. Should a team have this there is no reason why
Smallwood could not become an average starter in the league with the potential
to rise. Teams will be hoping Smallwood is not a one year wonder and can carry
his 2015 production on with him in the future.
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