2026 RSP A-Z Running Back Podcast: Matt Waldman’s RSP Cast

Welcome to the RSP cast. I'm Matt Waldman with the rookie scouting portfolio. Today's episode we're gonna do a solo cast on the 2026 running back class. It's considered a weak group of prospects relative to recent years, but is that simply because the league in the public are sleeping on one too many viable options? Well, I'm gonna discuss one of two prevailing thoughts I have about at least 45 of the 53 running backs That's gonna be featured in the 2026 RSP the pre draft publication. It's available for pre order at mattwaldman.com www.matwaldman.com It'll be available for April 1st download now if you haven't purchased the RSP in the past It's a PDF draft guide covers at least 150 players at the offensive skill positions a quarterback running back Wide receiver and tight end and I'll probably have closer to 160 to 165 this year It's been available for download every April 1st going on 21 years and forever that over a decade I've been delivering a post draft guide one week after the NFL draft a week after the final day of the NFL draft And that's part of the subscription price for a total of 2195 so for 2195 you're getting literally a 1,200, 1,300 page draft guides sometimes more covering 160 prospects and You're getting a post draft guide that's gonna update where I think these guys are really benefiting from landing spot Give me depth chart analysis on you know on where these players land So you kind of an idea how long you should expect for these players to be able to make an impact or whether they're gonna have to wait a little bit more good fits bad fits Cheat sheet that kind of helps you understand where players are getting drafted But also where my rankings coincide with those draft values So you can see whether you should wait or you should Pick them a little bit earlier I have something called an x-value formula that I use that helps you understand where you should be taking these guys within reasonable value So like if I'm telling you like I have in the past at Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes or Nick Chub Or Cooper Cup or high-end values relative to where their ADP was In rookie drafts and to their draft capital or even relative to that. I didn't say I may think these guys are worth a You know elite values, but you don't have to pick them first overall I can tell you oh this is based on ADP you can probably get this guy as a 26 pick or the 31st pick or the 36 pick and End up with running back value or I mean excuse me Elite value, you know number one caliber value For a lot less. So this is how I make my living if you like the podcast the YouTube channel Social media that I do all of that content is simply me sharing a small amount of my background research for the publication and I go deep with the RSP it helps you go deep with your knowledge and that way you can go deep on your leg mates so you know what I'm sharing sounds like there's a lot of information and that's great and A lot of people will talk it up and that's and I think I would say the way I would characterize the rookie sky in portfolio is that it's low on frills and Huge on substance new readers always tell me they're pleasantly shocked with what they get and that's kind of become my tagline That's kind of what I've used with that. So I'll share a little more detail about the rookie sky in portfolio later in the podcast This is an 8-Z show on running backs And like my previous solo cast in recent years I'll be sharing one of two things about these ball carries and I find notable and I do it in alphabetical order These thoughts are gonna fall into categories like praise or criticism lingering questions I might have or even broader thoughts about evaluating the position These are far from complete scotter reports for the full deal 95 matwoldman.com it'll get you that and you'll likely Tell me basically from your feedback that You're gonna feel like I you're that you were underpaying for this. That's generally what happens is I like to joke from the extreme Example is that if you're on X or social media the first step to becoming a lifetime subscriber is to think I'm an idiot about football Then maybe change your mind a little bit and start listening to some of the work that I do or reading it or checking out the videos And next thing you know you take a chance on this thing and you're like you should be charging twice as much That's kind of the that's kind of the path from an extreme standpoint Most people I would hope most people don't think I'm an idiot, but you know They do tend to check out the book and go wow or a lot of hype But I didn't expect it to be even better than what I imagined And I'm selling you, but that's the truth of the matter. I mean So let's go ahead and get into the running back class. We'll start with thoughts on the 2026 class You know last year wide receiver Lack really that primary receiver star power of the previous three years of classes and tight end had some skilled talents But most of the fantasy leaks didn't really value the position highly and quarterback was maybe two to three deep Running back was the strength of the 2025 class in terms of skill positions But the demand for the position was low. I mean the potential for most of these players to earn Low NFL draft capital was something that I said would complicate matters and it did you know But when you look at the players who had successful fantasy production Omar and Hampton was 35th and that part of that was due to injury But also that Nashe Harris got injured too because Harris simply was out playing him early once he returned to the field Hampton might have wound up 35th anyway Kyle Menongai 33rd as a guy at the back of the bat depth chart that nobody really was talking about other than maybe the RSP Who you know emerged on the second half of the season as a co-starter Chakory Kroski married another RSP favorite 31st Woody Marks 29th Quinshaw Jenkins 26 Trevor Anderson thanks to injury 21st RJ Harvey 20th same thing due to injury and Ashden Gentie 11th and you would think that Ashden Gentie was the worst running back of everybody on this list The way that some people were criticizing him, but he was 11th overall these guys are all became factors early or due to injuries as I said The 2026 running back class enters a league where 33 of the top 48 performers in 2025 in fantasy have five years of experience or less and Only four of the top 2048 were over the age of 30 so a lot of these guys are in their their prime or peak of their career And of those four aging options who are left may be one of those jobs is going to be available for a rookie at the beginning of the year I mean dare canaries one of those options nothing's coming available there unless he gets injured Forecasting which of the rookies it's you're gonna get one of those spots It's just not as easy as rank in their talent. There's a real narrow margin of difference between most prospects There's a tenth of a point separating the players in tier two this year and there's 3.9 points separating the running back four and the running back 17 in tier three So these first 17 players have grades that are good enough for them to contribute meaningful value and a lineup It means that a running back ranked in the middle to lower end of the top 17 could easily become one of the most productive Options among this group and this is presuming of course that he gets an opportunity and that maybe he improves on one or two facets of his game quickly Or is in an offense that's a suitable fit for his talents and that's not always the case You know teams sometimes draft players based on some aspects of their games and Overlook things that are gonna make a difference Most of these backs are gonna probably earn Low or zero draft capital this year The one to three that earned good draft capital probably will compete for roster spots and playing time but fantasy jams probably Want to draft running backs a little bit later in the middle of the late rounds I still recommend drafting running backs often in fantasy leagues But make sure the bulk of them have value in the middle of the late rounds some things that you want to consider this year is that There is talent in this class It's just that the buzz has been steadily deflating their value this year and Receivers are the strength of this class even if it's not as strong as it has been in recent seasons and we have an Instant starter talent at quarterback this year at Fernando Mendoza There's also some compelling move tight ends But remember the landscape if you listen to the tight end podcast the landscape of what makes the position value maybe changing So there's also the hobbies realization that receivers and quarterbacks Offer more consistent long-term value for a fantasy roster So we know that that Jeremiah love is gonna be the first round pick at quarterback. He's coming running back He's gonna be a first run pick Now we might see one as two others or in picks in the second or third round and we'll see a few more in the fourth But the bulk of the running back class will probably earn a spot with a team between rounds five to seven. And a lot of names that you're going to see valued highly in the RSPs rankings will likely be late round picks and undrafted free agents. The widespread narrative about this year's class is that it's bad. But with the difference between above average average and below average if you're going to tear it that way, essentially amounts to plus or minus one running back. So I think it's probably best to presume that most running back classes are worse classes than advertised. You know, because most running back classes, people tend to say are pretty good or above average. And so I would say maybe presume that it's one less player than you expect. This year's going to be the exception. I'm going to say it's probably best to presume that this class is a better class than advertised and to exploit the potential values during the second half of your drafts. If you make that presumption, I think you're still more likely to place a higher value on receivers and quarterbacks to build your team and trade for established running backs once you develop a stockpile of fantasy talent elsewhere. But if you make the presumption that this running back class has underrated talent, but most of them will be day three NFL picks or UDFA's. The wisest course for most fantasy squads that are not one to two runners away from serious contention is to trade current picks for later picks in 2027, 2028. I mean, I mean, picks in the next year, not later picks. You can get earlier and more, you're going to get picks that are earlier in the draft and more of them in future years when you trade this way. Now the suggestion with this strategy has nothing to do with the talent of the classes in 2027 and 28. It's the idea that you're going to get earlier picks and more of them making these deals. And if the class doesn't have the talent to stockpile running backs or other positions to trade for, you know, down the line, you can just trade again and acquire even more draft capital for 2028, 2029. If you're only one of two runners away from fantasy problems, though, this isn't really a good class to acquire them in the early rounds other than Jeremiah love. He's the one safe bet in terms of talent, draft capital and opportunity. The rest are underrated talents. And I think they'll have, you know, we'll likely have one that gets draft capital and opportunity if not both. But the thing is, is most of them will probably have one of those characteristics, draft capital or opportunity. And you know, that means that you're just hoping for a patient's play. Another strategic suggestion is to acquire one of the top three to five receivers in the first round and then take your chances on running backs in the other rounds. And then I would say a third option is to trade away your first and second round picks for more early picks in the next one to two drafts and then just take chances on these on-sung runners in the later rounds. But I would say really, you know, why not go after the receivers in the early rounds in this this draft. So anyway, the top 17 backs in this class, I think are all capable of delivering fantasy value this year, if given an opportunity. They have a good fit and they have a quick acclimation process. And I think there's 34 runners in this class with the talent to become a running back to a running back three on a depth chart and be a viable weekly contributor when there's an injury to a starter. Alright, so that's my thoughts on the 2026 class overall. Let's get into some of these players here. We're gonna start with Adam Randall of Clemson. So a former wide receiver big back over 230 pounds. His size should be an asset against contact. And sometimes it is. His pad level though is what needs work and it's why it's not a constant. It's more of a variable. And some runs as pads are too high and he gets caught with his hit. You know, basically gets caught with hits into his frame and these are hits that he probably should have run through if he had lower pad level. And then on other runs Randall brings his pads over his waist and he does it in a way where he loses balance before he even reaches the point of attack. So Randall just doesn't have a great feel for pad level right now. As a young running back who converted from wide receiver, we're gonna want to see him get better at this. Aljane Henderson a buffalo. Most you probably haven't heard of him. He has starter size. He has enough explosion to threaten a secondary when he earns along enough runway to get there. So you can see that the acceleration is the question mark here. But put him in a gap scheme with some inside zone sprinkled in and I think you can find cutbacks that are in a big runway like that on occasion. So he may flip the field every once in a while. I think has good hip mobility. He's got curviline here bend and the confidence to hit high creases and take what the defense gives. So this is a combination that gets him into creases and out of him. From there Henderson finishes well enough to generate yards after the contact. I don't know if this guy's gonna even get a UDFA opportunity. But if he does, you know, he might be worth keeping on him a little bit just if you're a fan of the team that he gets signed to. And if he surprises with a little bit more with his explosion, then there might be something there to consider. Anthony Hankerson of Oregon State. He fits that Kiron Williams-Devon to Freeman mold of runner in terms of size, dimension style. He has a low center of gravity. He makes intelligent decisions between the tackles and he's just creative enough to get more than what's blocked for him. Hankerson speed needs a longer runway to reach its top gear than what might prove viable in the NFL. So unlike Williams and Freeman, you know, Hankerson lacks the play strength and contact balance of these starters. Iowa Day A. He is from James Madison, formerly in North Texas. He's a cut-back runner. He's got a low center of gravity. He also has curviliner speed and starter caliber footwork and agility. A day he's speed and acceleration are enough to make the NFL in theory. But in practice, there's a glut of running back talent in the sport and that's up the current baseline for these athletic skills that a day doesn't really have. So that extent. Chip Trianum. Chip Trianum is a former linebacker at Ohio State. After he played, moved to running back there, he then moved to running back at Kentucky and then wound up at Toledo. While the processing speed isn't where he needs to be in the NFL, Trianum has made an enough gains between last season and this season that there's reason to project more gains could be possible with him. He's become a decisive gap runner. He's beginning to press creases as his own runner and if the depth of these presses isn't enough for the professional game right now, doesn't mean that it might not get better. Trianum is now doing a better job of pressing some of the interior gaps on perimeter runs that he didn't do in previous years. And you can see the processing with Trianum kind of bogging down right now and you can see when he's hopping during his gate while assessing potential creases behind the line of scrimmage. Levian Bell would hop behind the line of scrimmage like this but this was a player technique to set up a laner and defender. Trianum is hopping well before he's even setting up a path and I think that hop off and proceeds more tentative behavior from him. CJ Donaldson, Ohio State, he's a former tight end converted to running back. Donaldson's on one speed power runner. He lacks notable acceleration but if you give him a grease to hit, he's gonna create. Feed him the ball underneath zones as a receiver he's gonna make the catch. Ask Donaldson to create when what's supposed to be blocked from isn't there and he'll find solutions there too but you're not gonna expect big gains from him. Kenisaw State, Coleman Bennett not far from here. Bennett is a decisive tight crease runner if he spots the anticipated opening and understands the defense and play design. When he doesn't or the crease is clogged his decision making can go to extremes and this will lead to worse outcomes in the NFL than it occasionally does in the college game. But the same in grace for Bennett is that he accounts for game scripts and field position as a decision maker which makes him a promising game manager and I think NFL teams want from running backs in the black zone and red zones. So he's kind of intriguing as a UDFA tight. Daniel Highshot Jr. of Kansas he's a smart runner he connects you gap or inside zone schemes. He processes information as a runner at a starter level. I mean he spots penetration he finds cutbacks. He presses creases deep enough to set up those rushing lanes. Highshot's power his footwork his change of direction they're all also at starter level of play but what it's hurting his game his ball security pass protection and route running. Devon Booth of Mississippi State you know my first impression of Booth was that he was a more explosive Kyle Menon guy without Menon guys were relentless power in the open field. because Booth has a low center of gravity and pads and footwork he uses well. He uses them well to bounce off hits from linebackers and safety. He'll work through reaches. He wards off contact with a stiff arm and he can pull through some wraps after he's dragged the defender alone. And I still stand by that Menongai characterization somewhat, but there's more to his game. Booth's creative skill in the open field while operating in a good rate of speed, as well as his curvilinear movement reminded me of Daven cook and Carlil Herbert, a pair of accomplished runners between the tackles who can break big play runs that flip the field if not break away runs from the pack. Then I watched Booth catch the ball and he was more reliable than Herbert and more dynamic than cook. Booth can take contact while adjusting the targets that lack pinpoint accuracy. Combine the best of Menongai Herbert and cook and you get a back the caliber of JK Daven's before the Achilles tear and knee surgeries. I just said that I thought the cook was a little more dynamic than cook, but I would say maybe dynamic in terms of movement skills. Let me qualify that. I don't know if he's overall more dynamic than cook. I wouldn't put it that way, but as a mover, I think he's more dynamic. Booth isn't really on JK Daven's level as a creator or after contact runner, but he has the athletic ability and skills to do a mean rendition of Carlil Herbert's Circus Chicago. But the difference is that I think Booth has legitimate passing down potential that Herbert didn't. Dean Conner's of Houston, formerly with Rice. He's a good receiver. He gets both hands tight when attacking with overhead position. He takes hits to his back or chest and maintains possession. He can win the ball on the numbers. He high points. He doesn't leave his feet unnecessarily when he wins the balls over his head. He extends well with his arms wide of his frame and well above his head without leaving his feet. And he has late hands. So he's even good at winning for the ball at the last moment to attack it so he doesn't tip off defenders. He turns behind his break path well when especially facing type coverage, trailing and he'll also even turn away and catch the ball while breaking in the opposite direction or falling backwards. He has good positioning after he makes the catch. And I like the fact that he attacks at the earliest point of vertical routes with his back to the quarterback. The place where Conner has lapses is clap attacking when he has to reach over his head with overhead attack. But he's aware of the boundary, tracks the ball over his shoulders well. And I think that he has some acrobatic skill. And he can even use one hand and show some of that hand eye coordination that makes him, you know, on above average receiver. All right, the mod clayborn. Now if there's an area that can limit the 188 pound clayborn ceiling is professional, it's that frame. It's that size 188 pounds. There's going to be legitimate questions about how much of a workload clayborn can handle each week. And, you know, the question will be, will the league be too punishing for this wake force running back? Javid Best was a great young running back by concussions forced him the retire after three years in the league. And he was a dynamic speedster at 5919. There's some questions right now about Bucky Irving's workload moving forward. He's 510 195 couldn't get healthy last year after suffering an injury that usually doesn't take so long to heal. And now they held on to Sean Tucker and they added Kenny gain well. So maybe they're squeezing out Irving at least squeezing amount of the high volume starting role and using the more as a change of pace. We're going to find out Clinton, Portis even weighed 190 to 195 out of Miami when he had a fantastic rookie year for Denver. Now according to my buddy Cecil Ami, Portis was even lighter by seasons. So this inspired him to add significant muscle. He played most of his career between two 15 and two 25. Now at the same time, despite those guys not having as much success long term, James Cook and Charlie Garner are 190. Garner was a change of pace for most of his career, but he had four seasons as a starter or co-starter for the 49ers and Raiders, re averaged 1718 yards per game. 1718 yards per, excuse me, not per game, but from the line of scrimmage and 7.5 touchdowns during that space. He only missed three games during that time and it was really one game a year for three of those four years. Cook is averaged 1582 yards from scrimmage and 12 and two third scorers for the past three years. And he's only missed one game out of 51 on the schedule. Then he got Jamal Charles. He played at 195 to 200. He had five seasons out of six where the yardage was better than Garner's 1718 yard average during that three years. And his touchdown total Charles touchdown touchdown totals were on par with some of James Cook's best efforts. So Portis Garner and Charles were dynamic movers. They held up under strong workloads in college and Charles has what 582 touches in three seasons of Texas. Garner had 330 touches in two seasons at Tennessee. Portis had 461 touches at three seasons in Miami. Cook was the only back from this group with less than 300 career touches. He had 297 in four years. And you know, to compare that to the Mont Clayborn. Clayborn in four years at Wake Forest had 613 touches. Play more as a skilled pass catcher. He's a decent blocker with flashes of high end skills there. And he's a promising route runner. You know, so Clayborn's 188 pounds may not be the question mark. We believe it to be. Now, I don't think he's going to get the chance to prove it right away as a lead back. But he's going to get to open some eyes as a playmaker early in his career and seen enough touches that fans and teammates want more. And the NFL team that takes him might realize that it's worth taking a chance to see Pittsburgh's does men read. You know, he I would say very dynamic player open field runner, good pass catcher better between the tackles and you'd expect for a guy his size. Even though his size might limit how much touches he actually gets. But Reed's pressure cuts can be a problem when he's running at top speed. The foot working off the plant step. It's got to get further in front of him and steady on the ground. And I've seen him fall backwards. I'm not fall backwards. I've seen him fall down because he hasn't happened to. You know, get his feet stabilized on these cuts across the face of defenders in open space. You also see where maybe the step was far enough in front, but he's putting his weight outside that plant step and slides to the ground trying to bounce outside. So he can make pressure cuts and maintain his footing. But this is something, you know, some of these cuts he has lapses with. Tulsa's Dominic Richardson before that Oklahoma State. This is a physical runner. He fits well in the run schemes that move NFL teams are adopting or excuse me move NFL teams. He he's physical runner who fits well in a scheme that where there are more teams adopting these gap schemes. He has just enough shifting is to thrive on a study diet of off tackle zone inside zone and gap blocking now. Despite limited speed and acceleration Richardson can extend down hill runs between the tackles because of his contact balance, his cutback ability and his shiftingness in open space. So I keep an eye on him a little bit. There's a reserve, but you're going to see some good things with him in the preseason. I think when he has an opportunity to be a power back. So Navy's Eli Hyde-Rike. He's a special teams guy, I think more as a return specialist and coverage option. I think he can contribute on offense as a fourth or fifth receiver. But more likely as a utility player who earns touches as a running back more or as much as he earns as a receiver. Now the Paul Kering skills in Hyde-Rike has a really on the perimeter and open field. He's more of an extension of the ground game in space. And I think that that's something that we need to understand is that he's probably got more upside as a receiver. And he's probably closer to being a good receiver than he is in between the tackles runner. Because of the way he was used it was more in space in perimeter. And it's harder to learn how to run between the tackles if you really have a ton of it. Draw plays don't really count. That's open field space running just starting in the middle of the field. At least by design that's what they hope for. USC's Eli Sanders. Now this is an explosive gap runner. He has confidence on running skills and he's got breakaway speed and strong acceleration. And the footwork is good enough to go. create a lot of these spaces for lift off. So Sanders has an ACL tear. If he can get healthy enough within the next year or two, he might make his way onto a lineup. He's got him, he doesn't lack, he doesn't have significant power, but he runs good enough pad level and breaks tackles when he generates momentum. And because he can get his feet high at the point of attack from low shots, he avoids wrap-ups that drop less agile backs. I think he's a guy that I don't have rated very high, but I could see him surprising. And I'm at Johnson of Nebraska. He is this year's candidate for the NFL combine through a red herring into the collective drafts analysis. That's how I would describe that. 'Cause let's start with his 40-ER dash. You ran 4.56 seconds. It's the same time Aaron Jones had when they had similar dimensions at this point in their careers. That 4.56 mark is fast enough to start in the NFL. So is the 4.29 second 20-yard shuttle. While the 4.3 yard, the 4.3 second mark for that 20 shuttle would be at the minimum standard guidelines for the starter tear. Johnson's just inside of that. For whatever it's worth, though, remember that these times are being measured by technology that's either second or third rate, and has a higher variation with these times that makes these measuring tools much less reliable than they want you to believe. The 4.56 and the 4.29 second marks for the 40 and the 20, they're considered underwhelming marks for Johnson because the median draft culture have been brainwashed to overvalue relative athletic score percentiles. Listen, RAS has a use and it can be an informative resource and it's definitely entertaining. And there's value in knowing that what percentile of the NFL Combine Participants performances looks like relative to his peers. But I think it unintentionally creates noise for that's for what they're trying to have as a signal. The real signal is knowing what the minimum expected times should be for each position based on physical dimension, style of movement, and expected role. Whether is that time a minimum for an elite player, for a starter, for someone who's a contributor who rotates and out of the lineup, or someone who only has like a small situational role or a reserve role, there are numbers you could kind of look at there that might give you the baseline a little bit more. And these factors would provide valuable context well beyond RAS percentile. So when Johnson and his three-cone drill, he ran 7.32 seconds. Well, the RAS percentile apostles of the pseudo science church of oblong money ball that bounces too funny for predictability and everything baseball does immediately. They cited this 30 second percentile three-cone drill like they were saying amen from the pews of Lucas Oil Stadium. Let's dig a little deeper into this good book of that they're spouting here. So first of all, the three-cone drill time commensuring with a starting running back in the RSP is seven seconds flat or less. But there are backs who contributed or have recently contributed at a high level with no better than reserved here three-cone marks of 7.2 seconds. Kind of gain well? 7.26 seconds in the three-cone drill. Daven Cook, 7.27 seconds in the three-cone drill. Sumajepirides, 7.25 Jamal Williams, 7.25. Chris Carson, Chris Carson, the Seahawks starter, a high end starter, 7.53 seconds. OK. Daven Singletary, 7.32 seconds. These backs came in all shapes and sizes. You got P. Ryan, who's the bulldozer with straight line game. When he changes direction, he's kind of working from a base that helps him work through contact. Chris Carson wasn't as extreme in this respect, but there were similarities. And then you got Daven Singletary and kind of gain well. The compensatory factors for their lack luster times is their mental processing of information to line a scrimmage and the speed of executing solutions that combine a variety of tools that a lot of backs, that process that possess a lot more athletic ability just can't perform. Both Singletary and Kenneth Gainwell possess precise footwork. It's footwork that might not work for the three-cone drill, but it's optimal for football. And I would say Williams was a combination of both groups. He was a downhill banger, but he also possessed the-- or excuse me-- process the field well enough to be a step ahead in certain situations, like short yardage and the red zone. Now, the player on this list that stands out alone was arguably the best of the group that was Daven Cook. And I was there when the spark denomination of the percentile of possible-- so is the Asood of Science Church of Oblong Money Ball-- that bounces too funny for predictability and everything baseball does. We're ready to doom cook for football. Condemnum the hell, basically, because of a three-cone drill and a vertical that worn up to their expectations. And it wasn't pretty. But here's what I shared about cook that they didn't consider. And if they did consider it, they couldn't do anything about it because of the limits of the data collection method of the drills. The three-cone drill approximates, changes the direction we see from players performing lateral cuts. The correct assumption is that most running backs make lateral cuts when they changed direction. But Daven Cook was an exception. When he watches film, much of his change of direction was rooted in curvilinear movement, bending around an obstacle to high-rated speed. The best at this skill can bend tight enough in that rate of speed that it can be effective as making cuts. Well, Cook didn't even use lateral cuts as a runner. If you watch, very rarely, if ever I didn't ever see him make one. In some cases, you'd see his feet move in place, like little pistons moving up and down before he rotated in the direction he wanted to run. You can watch this yourself on YouTube highlights. You're going to see it. Cook's curvilinear movement was a compensatory factor if you're comparing one to one to lateral cuts. Another perspective is that curvilinear movement is simply a style of movement that some players favor. Patrick Mahomes is a curvilinear runner when he breaks the pocket. But because the general public and the apostles of the oblong money ball-- I ain't saying that whole mouthful again-- since those apostles didn't consider that they're methodology for measuring performance, cannot be one size fits all. Cook stock fell in the public eye. Now the Vikings knew better. They knew enough to take him in the second round. And Cook had a eight-year career with four-year peak that where he had at least 1,300 yards from Scrimmage. His best season was a 1,918 yard season from Scrimmage with 17 touchdowns. And these four peak years happened in consecutive fashion. They also happened after Cook Tours ACL during his work of year. So in addition to everything else mentioned, the three-code drill is not an everyday football drill. It's one of the more difficult drills to perform with the technique to maximize the results. And only 13% of the combine participants even did it. So Johnson was the only running back to do it this year. The three-code drill has the lowest participatory rate for a while now. And it's because it's a skill unto itself rather than an exercise to mimic the drill skill. They need to get rid of it if you ask me or find something better. Because if a player does well, it matches what I see on the field. I'm going to cite the three-code drill because they had to train for it. They went above and beyond to get the technique done. And there's going to be somebody listening to this who say, well, if they prepare to do what they're supposed to do for this, then it shows that they really want this and that they're going to prepare what they do in the NFL. It's a nice logical thought, but there's a fallacy for that. There are guys who don't train for certain things because they know that it's a waste of time and that they already possess the skills enough to be on a field and don't have to prove anything. And so there's some of that that goes in there. And there's a lot of football players who, when they get a chance to tell a coach later on, when the coach said, so when I shared all this information with you, wasn't helpful. And the player was like coach to be honest with you. Nobody listens to you at this point. There's too much information you're trying to share. The good coach has put you in a situation to where you can leverage your athletic skills without thinking too much to make big plays. So anyway, going above and beyond or training from that standpoint, I mean, I like that they want above and beyond, but I'm not going to put a blanket. You know. statement about all players about that and whether they're good. Now if they didn't train for it and ran well, well they're even quicker on the field than the drill indicates. So that's a good thing too. But if a player doesn't do well and it doesn't match what he does on the field, honestly I just throw it out in the three-cone drill. If too much is made about this drill in a total, I just go ahead and I'd rather just tell you why it's a bullshit drill. Unlike Cook, Emmett Johnson back to him, executes cuts with his game and like Cook, he leans hard on curvilinear movement. So he can do both. Johnson also flips his hips efficiently, now allows him to make 90 degree turns without the need of cutting and like Devon Singletary, he processes information fast and he can be a step ahead. Repeatedly Johnson identifies pre-snap tells from defenders, he leverages it for quick cutbacks or bounces open space. And post-snap Johnson has precise feet to press deep enough into the line to work past a defensive push for penetration. He gets the by-time to assess them and manipulate. Johnson also runs a lot of gap places. There's not a lot of need for cutbacks bounces or reversals of field in this scheme. The back pay, you know, he basically plays with pace and stride length if needed but otherwise he gets the crease hardened without hesitation. Now he's not just a cap runner. He's skilled in experience with duo in varieties his own too. And but he's got precise footwork and maybe his jump currents aren't as electric as the altar boys confirmed by the apostles of money ball wanted to be but he gets his feet over contact and he altars stride in pacing with his steps. So I think that you know I always think of like Frank Gore when folks cite drills instead of footwork on tape. Gore is like the age cliff sitter man with two ACL tears who befuddled these apostles when he was quicker and more precise and more productive on the field on the same plays and obstacles that someone like their appointed Bishop Anthony McFarland was. So last I heard though I heard that the data papacy widely transferred McFarland to the UFL branch. So yeah keep an eye on Emma Johnson. Freddie Brock at George State. Brock and Sharpen is third down game and show decent short range explosion. I think you don't reserve role especially can play special teams. Jamari Taylor. He has the he's at UVA. He has the footwork and cutting ability to create space with efficiency and dynamism and it makes Taylor dangerous between the tackles and the open field I think. Taylor has the acceleration to reach the secondary the power to run through defenders at this level and the speed to at least maintain the separation. He initially earned with his burst so he can prolong the run and force defensive backs to give chase. All right Notre Dame's Jadarian Price. Price has mobile hips. He adjusts his stride length and pace to set up rushing lanes and he keeps his knees and feet high as he runs past low shots and he drops his weight deep enough to for strong acceleration. Pace also possesses curvilinear speed so he doesn't have to make hard cuts with every run. Price got to keep his feet tighter when he's setting up moves while tights the line of scrimmage though because he doesn't operate from a place of balance when this happens and it limits the expression of his other skills. All right Jaden Nixon you set UCF. You know he actioned and Jen she actually backed up Jaden Nixon in high school. Well that was fascinating in the same way that you know Sequan Barclay was 188 pounds as a freshman at Penn State. Things can change fast when there's still a lot of room for growth. Nixon is one of those players who may have been surpassed by Gentie but he's a promising runner. He doesn't and I would say it doesn't really diminish Nixon's value as a potential NFL contributor that Gentie has surpassed him. He's explosive. He has elite speed and acceleration and he sees the field well in space and in traffic and between the tackles he sets up runs well. He mitigates penetration and he really understands how to manage his risk based on game script and field position. He's a fascinating player. He's a lighter player but he's one that I'd keep an eye on you know as a UDFA type. Jaden Otte between the tackles out has some clear strengths and weaknesses and when he's running against tight boxes he's patient. He reads leverage well he takes what the defense gives him but when running against heavier boxes he makes ill-advised cutbacks and bounces and that's something that you notice that he's more of a space player. Jamal Haynes of Georgia Tech the biggest questions whether Haynes can make a living between the tackles. That look would seem more promising if Haynes could gain you know 10 to 15 pounds and have a frame that Aaron Jones has right now. It's likely it is a college slot receiver for most of his career that Haynes will get a chance to add some quick switch muscle to his frame and if he's able to do that then I think you're gonna see you know a player who who could you know perform well. I will remember you know Kyle Williams is a much less explosive player and only way to few pounds more than Haynes when Williams under the league and Bucky Irving arrived at 5 9 192 so there's going to be a public referendum on Irving of course being you know maybe the size is an obstacle to full-time volume but still anytime there's a running back that weighs less than 200 pounds there's going to be questions. So for the sake of Haynes elevator pitch here let's project that Haynes follows Williams Jones and Jameer Gibbs and a few other backs who shared this height and weight and then gained weight to get over 200 pounds after entering the league. If Haynes gets between 205 to 210 pounds and maintains or adds more explosion in the process their skills there to mine in terms of becoming a starter in the NFL. He's good at setting up pullers setting up double teams in gap zone or inside zone and he has leverage reading skills to do the job. Despite his dynamic speed and acceleration and quickness he's also shown wise decision making based on GameScript and down in distance and when defenses foil blocking schemes early Haynes has a good feel for the pursuit and find solutions. Jay Ducker. Jay Ducker of I believe it's Rutgers or maybe it's Temple. I don't remember where Jay's gonna look up where Jay's at sorry folks you'll see it right on the RSP. Jay Ducker has been a while since I watched him other than you know earlier this year. Ducker's a cutback runner. It attacks tight creases with discipline and he sets up defenders and blocks with effective footwork. He's got efficient moves to work around or over contact and when you get him in the open field he has skill the layer moves and succession and make multiple defenders miss. He's when he reaches a secondary and he's got a downhill runway he can hold off pursuit for 30 to 40 yards because he has strong place down with all that movement. Jam Miller of Alabama. Speed and acceleration are gonna be the key for Miller. When he reaches a second level he can at least hold off if not accelerate past most linebackers in the secondary. Now you know he played hurt in 2025 and the speed was not there but if you go back to 2024 you'll see him split linebackers and safety's up the middle for field flipping gains. So if he has enough acceleration to reach the secondary he's he's dangerous. I just don't know if he has enough of that. Jeremiah love Notre Dame. Now he's not just a speedster. Love wins against contact often multiple points of contact during the same touch. He bounces off hits of all three levels of defenses defenders and it's because he attacks collisions. A lot of backs don't do this well anymore but when you can initiate the chain of contact or the chain of actions that happen in a collision you usually have a chance to work away from that colliding defender and love does that well. Washington's Jonah Coleman. What's Coleman's past line of scrimmage? He has to learn to leverage his size and get downhill fast. He's too prone to bouncing plays outside pursuit and he ends up slanting inside thinking that he's gonna find openings against the grain of the defenses flow and he's just not that explosive or that agile to do this. He's big. What he should be doing is sticking his foot in the ground and forcing the pursuit to hit him from angles that won't bring Coleman to the ground as easily but he gets tackled too easily for his size. Indiana's Kaylyn Black. Black's a smart runner. He's got cutback ability. I think he attacks downhill with ferocity for his size and he finds cutbacks with deep presses into the line but when it's time to just hit a crease his design he'll get skinny through that crease. Black's got good footwork and he understands how to manipulate defenders with pace and strike changes and He has that dynamic jump stop and spin to avoid late shops. And if black can get his feet higher in traffic, I think he could be even tougher to bring to the turf. Penn State's Katron Allen. Allen's got the mobile hips to make those 90 degree changes the direction efficiently that are valuable. He adjusts his stride length and pace to set up blockers and pursuit. And when he's in the open field, he can deliver combinations of moves to set up on block defenders. If there's a move, Allen has it. And he delivers it with the confidence and occasional dynamism of a contributor. But speed and acceleration, those are the weaknesses of Allen's ball carrying. They're good enough from to make an active roster in the NFL. Maybe even contributors are running back to at least on paper. But when you look at the current reality of the NFL, there's a glut of running back talent. And most backs on depth charts in the league have starter level acceleration and speed. And not what most NFL combine followers think is starter level explosion. It's even slower than that. But the RSP's minimum standards for that they have. And when you consider that Allen's speed and acceleration are closer to the minimum for a contributor and not a starter, well, most reserves are closer to the starter tier. Mashawn Owens, University of South Florida. He's good at adjusting his gate. He can get his good at lifting his feet and knees high in traffic as he is against unblocked defenders coming downhill to shoot for him. You know, he could be dangerous because when he finishes, he takes online backers, he bounces off hits, he breaks through reaches and he pulls, wrapping defenders down hill. He's a load of the ground runner who may have a little more there than people realize. South Alabama's Kentro Bullock. Bullock's got a low center of gravity, strong contact balance to win against box defenders near the line. And he sets up gap plays effectively. I think his decision making with zone block is competent because he gets within at least two steps of traffic when pressing blocks. And his footwork and ability to bend away from pursuit is a strength of his game. He weaves between defenders at a good pace. His speed just is not as strong as initial acceleration and quickness. So, you know, that's something to be aware of there with him. All right. Lashon Williams of Kansas, formerly of Iowa. He's fast enough to reach the secondary. And once he does, he outruns defenders or takes angles to prolong the chase. He has mobile hips, sufficient footwork and dynamic cuts. He has to acceleration in the stop-start when that often forces pursuit over on angles. So he makes defenders miss in succession with his movement. And if he could just learn, Williams could just learn to get his feet over low shots more often. I think he'd be in the lead tier of the elusiveness category. He has a low center of gravity and his size makes him a bowling ball who can push the pile or drag defenders and work through hits, wraps and reaches. So some of these obstacles, Williams works through just during the same carry. So, you know, he's a compelling running back who does a really good job holding on to football too. Levy on Moss, Texas A&M. He attacks creases with urgency. That's what I love about him. He's decisive. He sets up blocks on perimeter runs. And he is good at taking what the defense has given him in the green zone, which is vital. And he also has a bad habit of cutting back on Gap plays because he's running to open space instead of sticking with the play design. And he's got to learn to show more patience with Gap plays like counter. Now, few backs these days accelerate into collisions anymore. But Moss is one of those guys that does. It makes him a capable tackle breaker who wins collisions with linebackers and safeties. So yeah, definitely valuable at the point of attack or collision. Lincoln Parry, I'm trying to think where I had Lincoln Parry from. I Texas State, yes. Texas State's Lincoln Parry. Parry opens his hips sufficiently with the point of his toes to the boundary. He has effective pressure cuts and the crease. He slides well laterally when he opens his hips so he can work across the crease and look for an open hole for the bounce or the cut back. He has a violent stick and he often uses a debate defenders crashing into the box from the edge. And he uses a double up at the edge of the box to set up safeties coming downhill. He also has jump cuts to avoid even corner backs playing that force roll and cut back inside. And he can use that jump cut well to change direction after a tight press to the line. He's even very good at adjusting stride length and pacing to set up blocks, whole hurdle, low cut attempts to his legs in the open field and he even has some curvilining or speed. So pretty agile for the tech, pretty agile for running back. Mike Washington Jr. Varkinsaw. I think the concern with Washington's game in addition to fumbling is yardage that he leaves on the field because he just doesn't finish runs with optimal form. It's not every run that he does this with but there are enough runs on his tape that it's a habit. It's a bad habit and it's not acceptable practice for running backs to turn their backs in the contact, especially against smaller defenders. The problem is that Washington doesn't see what he's hitting. He turns his power base away from its ideal placement to generate explosion or a push. And Washington is given the opposition more surface area to strike him because his pads are no longer low and he's not moving with high knees and feet through contact. You're not even facing his knees and feet that way. So all of this weekend's Washington's push, his contact balance, his ability to pull defenders and reduce surface level from tackle attempts and strikes at the ball. This happens more often too. So Washington may still be strong and generate push with his back to the opposition but it should be the last resort and not his primary approach to finishing. So when you think about the skill and athletic ability that narrows the margins for success or failure in the NFL, the league often magnifies these issues with detail. And if Washington isn't getting the hard yards and he's fumbling, his role is going to shrink. If he doesn't address these issues, he could become a top tier, I'm sorry, if he addresses the issues, he could become a top tier power back. He's got excellent speed. But if he doesn't, he could be just an inconsistent producer as big play moments but a reputation for too many errors in between. UCF has another back that you guys definitely should be taking on pay attention to and that's Miles Montgomery. This processing information is one of his true strengths. Montgomery sees what's happening early, accurately and it helps him be a step ahead of opponents. He's an accurate runner with efficient moves. He can mitigate the impact of defensive penetration and that foils plays early as well as, excuse me, I mean, one of my side. He's someone with this processing information. He's going to see what happens early, inaccurately, and he's creative enough with his movement and it's efficient enough that defensive penetration that would normally foil a play early is something that Montgomery is able to avoid and at least help him produce as a short yardage runner. Montgomery knows when to attack Tycreases, when to create, when to stick with the play. And he has some lapses though where he over thinks his decision about playing it safe versus taking a risk and heirs on the plane at safe side. But I think overall Montgomery is one of the most underrated movers for his position in this class and I think the thing that sets him apart is his processing of info and that refined skill for combining movement and pacing to generate the desired result. Nick Singleton, Nicholas Singleton, he's a well-built runner from Penn State who can pull through reaches from all three levels of defenders and when he encounters defenders in his path that he can't avoid, he accelerates into the collision with good pad level. And whatever the angle of collision Singleton can bounce off hits of linebackers and he forces opponents to gang tackle. And the fact that he'll, you know, accelerate into the collision point, that's a rarity, like I said earlier, Singleton has that skill too. OJ Arnold, a Georgia Southern, he's a capable Tycrease runner on Gap plays. He can find the cutback lanes. He's efficient with his footwork and he knows how to set up creases with his movement. And when he needs a dynamic solution, he has explosive lateral cuts. Rasoul phase on from South Carolina. He's got good vision and additional value to unlock there because he identifies interior penetration. He finds solutions to avoid defenders. There's runs where he could see it maybe a step earlier and have a little better plan to avoid the defender. But he's also very effective against edge penetration, more effective there actually. He's a decisive gap runner and I think he presses creases when running between, excuse me, running behind zone blocking. He reads the leverage effectively when he's, you know, as if he's running downhill on duo and bends away from penetration into the crease. He's also effective at setting up linebackers into the wrong gap and then splitting the double teams. positive yards. Patient's own runner rides the wave in tight quarters to work across his blocks until he presses linebackers into one crease to cut back to another. Overall, an effective tight crease runner, you can get skinny, work through contact to the second level, and use patient. Robert Henry, UTSA, I think he has the tools to develop into a route runner who could match up effectively against most defenders assigned to running backs out of the backfield. He could also develop into a matchup threat against some safeties because of his ability to decelerate after you know earning a good pace townhill. Henry tracks them all well. He high points, he catches targets arriving over his shoulder, he makes receptions with late hands so he's not tipping off the tight coverage. He heirs on the side of attacking targets early with overhand position rather than just allowing the ball into his frame. That's great. So Henry it also excels at transitioning downhill as soon as he catches the ball. The only real lapse that I've seen with his receiving game as far as that he's turned downfield before securing the ball and dropped the target because he lost focus. Henry wins targets against tight coverage and contact and I think it's reasonable to expect the C Henry developing to a plus receiver in the NFL at this position. Roman Hempi of Indiana has a real feel for setting up good angles for himself and taking away good angles from defenders. Hempi attacks lanes decisively on Gat runs, he sets up double teams on duo with good stride, length and pacing adjustments and he's when he's forced to bounce he's opened his hips efficiently so when he reaches the edge of the defense he also can decelerate efficiently to transition downhill. Hempi finishes runs with starter level power and contact balance is ball security track record is excellent too. I think this is a guy that can earn volume and deliver if called upon to do so. Seth McGowan McGowan's agility is good enough to contribute in a gap scheme but he's going to struggle in a high end contributing role if asked to run a zone scheme. His footwork lacks the precision and balance for the baseline creativity that's needed for that scheme. You know McGowan's power and contact balance just isn't as good as a size might lead people to believe he can win against some linebackers but most of his success against collisions comes against defensive backs. He'll drag defenders and generate a push in the box but he lacks top and power. Shamari Lawrence Missouri State he's an intelligent decision maker he reads the line of scrimmage effectively and he's got a fission dynamic movement and he's quick and fast enough to beat box defenders. Sometimes he can beat all three levels of the defense depending on the play design. Sia Bengora is from Ohio I think his best traits and skills are vision and decision-making power contact balance in the direct hits and power and ball security but even with those traits being on the good side really the only one that's starter quality is contact balance. The rest is kind of more of a rotational committee player off the bench. If he can deliver on special teams maybe he makes it in a fell roster maybe it gives him time to hone his skills and athletic ability just enough to maybe get a career as a backup. TJ Hardin he's agile without SMU he's an agile bulldozer who protects the ball. He decelerates efficiently he's got dynamic jump cuts and spins and tight quarters this helps him mitigate pursuit angles and he pairs his moves well and often turns losses in the gains. Hardin has only two fumbles in nearly 600 career carries or touches excuse me. He's not what he's definitely not one of those power backs with poor technique that gets exploited whenever traffic or fighting for extra yards. This was not like rookie year reader major in Peterson that's for sure. Now Zach Palmer Smith out of UABs and the size and powerful runner. Palmer not only runs through contact and pushes piles but he also gets his feet overload shots and efficiently transitions downhill on permanent runs. Palmer Smith is in a breakaway threat but he can reach the secondary with a good runway on outside zone or gap plays. He's got efficient acceleration which can help him make defenders miss in space or set up angles where he can run through the pursuit. So there you have it 45 of the you know 56 running backs and I've looked at for the 2026 RSP. You can order it at mattwaldman.com. You're going to get cheat sheets within the RSP that are ranked by the depth of talent score that I used to grade their value but you can also see them sorted in a variety of other ways to just kind of see how these guys perform in different circumstances and you even get you know you get these analysis in how I break these players up in a tier so you can see who's the best or worst in each tier of skill sets that I grade. You know so again you know an interesting and instructive draft guide that also gives you value and fantasy in addition to learning more about the football game as a whole. So mattwaldman.com 2195 it'll be available April 1st. I'll email folks when it is ready and then you can use the login and the password that you created to download the RSP in PDF form. It is meant to be downloaded not just access from the site. All right thanks again folks appreciate you. I'll be back with a quarterback podcast within the next couple of days here. Next game.