Could the Giants draft a long-term partner for Tyrone Tracy?
There may have not been much oxygen in the room when it comes to the running back position this year. That’s bound to happen when the nation’s leading rusher has more yards after contact than the next leading rusher has total.
But Kansas running back Devin Neal put teams on notice that there’s more than one running back in the country and more than one in this year’s draft. Neal is a prolific and efficient runner who’s averaged nearly 6 yards per carry over the last three years and has scored 16 rushing touchdown in each of the last two seasons. He’s also surprisingly low-mileage runner who’s never had more than 220 carries in a season.
The New York Giants appear set for now at the position with Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary. But even so, could Neal catch their eye?
Prospect: Devin Neal (4)
Games Watched: vs. BYU (2023), vs. Kansas State (2023), vs. UNLV (2024), vs. Colorado (2024)
Red Flags: none
Measurables
Height: 5-foot-11 (school measurement)
Weight: 208 pounds (school measurement)
Strengths
Best traits: Vision, contact balance, stop-start quickness, receiving
Devin Neal is an athletic and highly productive running back with a knack for generating explosive plays between the 20s.
Neal is an intriguing athlete at the running back position who marries explosive stop-start quickness with a silky smoothness in almost everything he does. He is the type of running back who can cut on a dime and make defenders miss with abrupt changes in speed or direction. However, he also has a very smooth transmission and can effortlessly alter his tempo and speed throughout his run. The two traits combine to give him an incredibly deceptive play speed that makes it very difficult for defenders to anticipate.
He also has excellent intangibles as a ball carrier. Neal plays with good patience behind the line of scrimmage, letting his blocks develop and rarely over-commits to a running lane before he has to. He also has excellent vision to pick out running, or cutback, lanes as well as anticipate defenders at the second level. Neal isn’t a particularly powerful runner, but he has very good contact balance. He’s able to run through incidental contact around the line of scrimmage and drop his hips to survive tackles with bad angles or poor form. He’s a willing runner in short yardage situations and never shies from taking on contact to pick up tough yards when necessary.
Finally, Neal is a capable receiver out of the backfield. He executes the routes he’s asked to run well and has solid ball skills, framing the pass well and consistently making hands catches before turning upfield.
Weaknesses
Worst traits: Pass protection, play strength
The biggest true weakness in Neal’s game is his pass protection. This isn’t to say that he can’t or won’t pass protect, but more that he isn’t good at it in this stage of his development. Neal understands blocking schemes well enough to know his assignments, but needs to be more assertive in coming up and meeting defenders. Likewise, he needs to improve his technique, leverage, and play strength to hold up a bit longer when blocking.
Beyond that, Neal shouldn’t be used as a downhill runner in short-yardage situations. He isn’t small, but he doesn’t have the size and power shown by most between-the-tackles runners in spread offenses. Neal isn’t the type of runner who can truck defenders or push the pile at the goal line.
Game Tape
Projection
Devin Neal projects as a starting running back at the NFL level, though his draft stock could depend heavily on the team scouting him.
Neal will need to be the lead back in a zone-based scheme to reach his full potential in the NFL. He lacks the size and power to be a regular short-yardage back and he’s much better in (outside) zone schemes than man-gap schemes. Neal’s vision and cutting ability lend themselves to finding rushing lanes among the multiple choices offered by outside zone blocking schemes. Likewise, his deceptive play speed makes him very dangerous on the edge.
Teams who run more man-gap based schemes or are looking for a battering ram to run between the tackles will want to look elsewhere. However, teams looking for an explosive runner in a zone scheme or a pass catching weapon out of the backfield will find a lot to like with Neal.
Does he fit the Giants?: Yes
Final Word: A good value on Day 2
