With the 2022 NFL Draft rapidly approaching, teams are putting final touches on their draft big board while fans and analysts are involved in heavy debate.
The scouting combine and pro days are complete and many big free agency moves having already taken place — it's now important to shift our focus to the top running back prospects and how they are currently ranked.
With his latest NFL mock draft, expert mock-drafter Ryan McCrystal does not have any team drafting a running back in the 1st round — and only two RBs going in the second round.
Ahead of the draft on April 18th, let's take a look at the top 10 running backs from Sports Info Solution's NFL Draft hub:
1. Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
Isaiah Spiller is a running back in Texas A&M’s spread, RPO-heavy offense that features mainly zone running schemes from shotgun offset and pistol backfield formations. S
piller played the 2020 bowl game with a fractured toe. He’s still very young, and won’t turn 21 until August, just before the start of his rookie season.
He’s an excellent athlete with good speed and quickness. He has a long frame with a strong build and thick lower half. He runs hard and tough, competing on every play.
2. Breece Hall, Iowa State
Breece Hall is the starting running back in Iowa State’s spread offense, running mostly zone schemes out of shotgun offset and pistol.
He’ll be 20-years old on Draft Day and still only be 21 for the entirety of his rookie year. He’s cousins with former 49ers All-Pro and Super Bowl Champion running back Roger Craig.
Hall is a good athlete who possesses very good size and a long frame for the position. He’s a strong runner who plays tough and competes, though he just seems like he lacks some urgency from time to time.
3. Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
Kenneth Walker III is a running back in Michigan State’s zone-heavy offense operating out of various alignments, most commonly pistol.
He has played in 32 career games, the first 20 of which came for Wake Forest, where he worked exclusively out of shotgun behind slightly more diverse blocking schemes.
After playing in a backfield committee at Wake, he transferred to Michigan State to become a feature back. Walker has a narrow frame but a very well defined lower half.
He has sufficient speed and elusiveness, but he lacks high-end explosive traits. He absorbs contact well and is not averse to physicality but isn’t a consistently gritty runner.
4. Dameon Pierce, Florida
Dameon Pierce is a running back in Florida’s RPO, spread offense. With Florida mainly in shotgun, he spent most of the time lined up offset to the QB or in pistol.
He split time with a couple of different running backs as Florida likes to operate with a running back by committee. Pierce has a requisite frame that took a step forward prior to 2021, with impressive lower-body strength. He has good athletic ability and explosiveness.
He is a powerful runner who can be a bruising force whenever he touches the ball, playing hard and competing on every snap whether it’s a run or pass.
5. Zamir White, Georgia
Zamir White is a running back in Georgia’s zone scheme aligning directly to the left or right of the QB in shotgun as a rotational back, and was not asked to be much of a threat in the pass game.
He tore his right ACL as a high school senior and his left ACL before his true freshman year at Georgia. White is a good athlete with good straight-line speed, burst, quick feet, balance, and sufficient COD, but is a little too musclebound and tight.
His frame consists of wide shoulders, a well-built upper body, high cut waist, muscled butt and thighs, and smaller ankles.
He is a good competitor who does not shy from contact, will lay his shoulder, and whose tone does not drop late in games.
6. Abram Smith, Baylor
Abram Smith is a running back in Baylor's balanced, zone-based offense. After seeing limited carries his first few seasons, he actually switched over to linebacker for the entire 2020 season before switching back to RB in 2021.
He suffered a torn ACL his sophomore season of high school and again as a freshman at Baylor in 2017, forcing a redshirt. He is a bulky, powerful athlete that is surprisingly light on his feet given his size.
He is a tough runner that does not shy away from contact whenever he is playing.
7. Tyler Allgeier, BYU
Tyler Allgeier is a running back in the BYU spread offense. The Cougars primarily work out of shotgun and pistol back formations and utilize a zone-heavy rushing attack.
He has played in 40 games in his career and started in 22 of those games. He is a former walk-on who also played linebacker through high school and into college while he redshirted. He earned a scholarship after the 2019 season, then became BYU’s starting running back the following year.
He has good overall size for the position with a sturdy lower half, smooth footwork, and a low center of gravity. He’s tough running behind his pads and has shown the ability to carry a heavy workload.
His background as a walk-on and success after a position change speak to his competitiveness and ability to overcome adversity.
8. B.J. Baylor, Oregon State
B.J. Baylor is a running back in Oregon State’s pro-style offense, which mainly operates out of under center and features zone run schemes. He has good size with a strong build for the position.
It’s apparent he’s a good athlete who possesses the speed and quickness necessary. He competes and runs hard and tough on every run.
9. Jerome Ford, Cincinnati
Jerome Ford is a running back in Cincinnati’s RPO-heavy spread offense running mainly zone schemes out of shotgun offset backfield formations. He rarely lined up outside the backfield, but did motion out before the snap on a handful of occasions.
He played his first 2 seasons (2018-19) at Alabama before transferring to Cincinnati in 2020.
He’s a good athlete who has the size and frame to hold up at the next level. He’s got speed and runs hard, competing with toughness on nearly all plays.
10. Brian Robinson, Alabama
Brian Robinson Jr. is a running back for the Alabama Crimson Tide’s RPO-heavy offense that mostly uses a zone run scheme.
He has played in 66 games in his five-year career, yet only started the 14 he played in 2021.
He spent four seasons stuck behind the elite talent of Alabama’s running back depth chart, admirably contributing as a reserve and on special teams, before earning his chance for one season of full-time duty.
He is strongly built throughout but doesn’t have much twitch or burst to his game. However, he plays a physical brand of football in all phases.
Prospect scouting reports provided by Sports Info Solution.
1st Overall Pick Odds, 2022 NFL Draft
| Player | Draft Odds | College | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travon Walker | -300 | Georgia | EDGE |
| Aidan Hutchinson | +300 | Michigan | EDGE |
| Ikem Ekwonu | +400 | NC State | OT |
| Evan Neal | +2000 | Alabama | OT |
| Desmond Ridder | +3000 | Cincinnati | QB |
| Kayvon Thibodeaux | +5000 | Oregon | EDGE |
| Malik Willis | +5000 | Liberty | QB |
| Charles Cross | +10000 | Miss.State | OT |
| Ahmad Gardner | +10000 | Cincinnati | CB |
| Jordan Davis | +10000 | Georgia | DL |
| Derek Stingley | +15000 | LSU | CB |
| Kyle Hamilton | +15000 | Notre Dame | S |
| Matt Corral | +15000 | Ole Miss | QB |
| Sam Howell | +20000 | N. Carolina | QB |
| Garrett Wilson | +20000 | Ohio State | WR |
| Tyler Linderbaum | +20000 | Iowa | IOL |
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