Running Back

Southern Illinois

5-9 210

40 time: 4.37

Draft board overall prospect rank: #171

Draft board running back rank: #15

Overall rating: 56*

            3/27/10: Every year, seemingly, it happens. A small school running back comes out of nowhere to get drafted in the mid rounds and then within a few years, he’s a starting running back in the National Football League. A prime candidate to follow in those footsteps this year is Deji Karim. He’s got a good size/speed combination and a very good explosive burst. He’s short and stocky, but he can plow his way up the middle with a good short burst and a good pad level. His vision needs some work. He has breakaway speed on the outside and often looks like the fastest guy on the team. He has decent hands out of the backfield as well, but isn’t the most adapt runner in the open field. He’s not very shifty or agile and doesn’t change directions or break tackles very often. Level of competition is obviously an issue, but it has been proven that small school running backs have an easier time transitioning to the NFL than any other position. Basically, if you can run, you can run anywhere and Karim sure can run with 1694 yards and 18 touchdowns on 240 carries last year. He is a bit of a one year wonder though and he only had 76 carries before this year, which might suggest a longer career, but also is a possible sign of him being a fluke and being nothing special in the NFL. I am especially wary of one year wonders with running backs, with good reason, and Karim is certainly a one year wonder. He’ll probably be drafted in the 4^th or 5^th round range off of his measurables and potential and he has a very good chance of being, if not a feature back, then a very important back to some team in the near future.

NFL Comparison: Jerome Harrison

*=For a breakdown of what this means, click here