With free agency set to begin today, there are no guarantees the Kansas City Chiefs can land one of the top running backs. If they pass at the onset of free agency, then they’ll need to find their next home run hitter in the NFL Draft.
Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame)
He is a 6’0”, 214-pound running back who played for Notre Dame. This season, he had 199 carries for 1,372 yards (6.9 yards per carry), 18 touchdowns, 27 receptions for 280 yards, and 3 touchdowns. In his college career, he had 433 carries, 2,882 rushing yards (averaging 6.7 yards), 36 rushing touchdowns, 63 receptions, 594 receiving yards (averaging 9.4 yards), and 6 receiving touchdowns. At the combine, he ran 4.36 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Some of his strengths are that he is a workhorse running back, his ability to instantly reaccelerate to help escape the defense, and his ability to hurt all three levels of the defense with his pass-catching. His pass blocking is excellent, and he is able to pick up the blitz well. Some of his weaknesses are that his cuts are sometimes choppy, he loves to go airborne, which is also an issue, and he could get hurt by doing it. I would expect him to go early in the first round, or in the mid-first round.
Emmett Johnson (Nebraska)
He is a 5’11”, 200-pound running back who played at Nebraska his whole career in college. This season, he combined 251 carries for 1,451 yards, which he averaged for 5.8 yards, and he had 12 touchdowns. He had 46 receptions for 370 receiving yards, averaging 8.0 yards, and he had 3 receiving touchdowns. In his whole career, he had 458 carries for 2,460 and averaged 5.4 yards. He had 15 touchdowns. He also had 92 receiving receptions for 702 receiving yards (7.6 yards per reception) and scored 5 receiving touchdowns.
He ran a 4.56 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 35.5” vertical jump, 10 ‘0 ” broad jump, 7.32 seconds 3 cone drill, 4.29 20-yard shuttle, and 16 reps at bench press. He is a hard-charging runner; he brings an urgency, decisiveness in the run game, and the ability to make a downhill cut at top speed. Lacks speed and power to run through contact with force, lacks seeing which gaps are open and what to take. I would expect him to go in the 4th to 6th round.
Mike Washington Jr (Arkansas)
He is a 6’2”, 223-pound running back in his college career with Buffalo, New Mexico State, and finishing off with Arkansas. This season, he had 167 carries, 1,070 rushing yards, an average of 6.4 per carry, and he had 8 rushing touchdowns. Also, he had 28 receptions for 226, averaging 8.1 yards per catch, finishing with 1 receiving touchdown. In his whole career, he had 587 carries for 2,914 rushing yards, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, rushing for 26 touchdowns. He finished with 73 receptions for 470 yards, catching, averaging 6.4 yards per carry, totaling 3 receiving touchdowns.
He had a 4.33 seconds in the 40-yard dash, 39” vertical jump, and finished the combine with 10 ‘8” in the broad jump. Some of the strengths are that he can do damage on some swing passes, and he has a burst to keep the run wide and beat out some pursuit corners. Some of his weaknesses have been fumbling issues over the last two seasons, so protecting the ball could be a priority. Another weakness is that he has the perfect size to be an effective blocker, but sometimes his grit isn’t there. I would expect him to be drafted in the mid-2nd to late-3rd round.
Seth McGowan (Kentucky Wildcats)
He is a 6’1”, 215-pound running back who spent his whole career at Oklahoma, New Mexico State, and his final year at Kentucky. This year, he combined for 165 carries for 725 rushing yards, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns. He had 19 receptions for 126 receiving yards and 4 receiving touchdowns. In his career, he had 375 carries for 1,918 rushing yards, he averaged 5.1 yards per carry, and 18 touchdowns. He had 55 receptions for 604 receiving yards, he averaged 11 yards per catch, and had 4 receiving touchdowns.
He ran a 4.49 seconds in the 40-yard dash; he had a 42.5” vertical jump, 10 ’11” broad jump, and 4.5 seconds in the 20-yard shuffle. Some of his strengths include patience in blocking development and a willingness to square up to pick up blitzers. He is also effective in short-yardage situations. Some of his weaknesses are that he needs more urgency to hit the hole quicker and lacks focus to be a third-down option. I would expect him to be drafted in the 5th round or an early 7th round as a special-teams returner.
