Late round draft propect - RB DeAndre Washington

Like an earlier poster, I love watching a running back break tackles, juke out linebackers and get a long gain. In the draft I want a running back that has shown he can break the long plays. Cfbstats has the following top RBs for long scrimmage (rushing & receiving) plays.

Code:

Name----------------- plays of 10+ Yards DeAndre Washington---66 Wendell Smallwood----65 Derrick Henry--------64 Ezekiel Elliott------55 Tyler Ervin----------55 C.J. Prosise---------50 Devontae Booker------45 Kenneth Dixon--------45 Alex Collins---------45 Paul Perkins---------42 Jordan Howard--------39

The following stats should be a good indicator of RB skill. I looked at these 11 long play prospects for these stats.
1) Total Plays of 10 or more yards
2) Yards per play
3) Touchdowns
4) Career Fumble rate
5) Combine results
6) PFF Elusiveness rating

Total Plays of 10 or more yards

DeAndre led all draft prospect running backs in total of long scrimmage plays. When averaged per game he still leads.

Code:

Name----------------10+--10+/game --- DeAndre Washington--66---5.08--- Wendell Smallwood---65---5.00--- C.J. Prosise--------50---4.55--- Devontae Booker-----45---4.50--- Jordan Howard-------39---4.33--- Derrick Henry-------64---4.27--- Ezekiel Elliott-----55---4.23--- Tyler Ervin---------55---4.23--- Kenneth Dixon-------45---4.09--- Alex Collins--------45---3.46--- Paul Perkins--------42---3.23---

Weighting the long plays by adding 1 for each 10 yards over 10 and then average that per game and DeAndre comes in 2nd behind Dixon.

Code:

Name----------------Game---Ttl---Ttl/game--- Kenneth Dixon-------11------88---8.00--- DeAndre Washington--13------99---7.62--- Ezekiel Elliott-----13------95---7.31--- C.J. Prosise--------11------79---7.18--- Derrick Henry-------15-----106---7.07--- Tyler Ervin---------13------90---6.92--- Devontae Booker-----10------69---6.90--- Alex Collins--------13------80---6.15--- Wendell Smallwood---13------78---6.00--- Jordan Howard--------9------54---6.00--- Paul Perkins--------13------75---5.77---

Yards per play
Here I looked at at total yards/play from scrimmage. DeAndre again is 2nd behind Prosise.

Code:

Name----------------yds/play---yds--- C.J. Prosise--------7.3--------1337--- DeAndre Washington--6.9--------1877--- Kenneth Dixon-------6.7--------1537--- Wendell Smallwood---6.4--------1679--- Jordan Howard-------6.4--------1319--- Ezekiel Elliott-----6.4--------2040--- Alex Collins--------5.9--------1672--- Paul Perkins--------5.9--------1585--- Derrick Henry-------5.7--------2310--- Tyler Ervin---------5.7--------1935--- Devontae Booker-----5.2--------1579---

Touchdowns/Game
It's tough to rush for 1,492 yards and 14 touchdowns in a power-five conference and not be a well-known name, but that's what Washington did at Texas Tech last season. He also got 2 additional touchdowns on pass plays.

Code:

Name----------------TDs---TD/Game--- Kenneth Dixon-------26----2.36--- Derrick Henry-------28----1.87--- Ezekiel Elliott-----23----1.77--- Alex Collins--------20----1.54--- DeAndre Washington--16----1.23--- Tyler Ervin---------15----1.15--- Paul Perkins--------15----1.15--- Jordan Howard-------10----1.11--- Devontae Booker-----11----1.10--- C.J. Prosise--------12----1.09--- Wendell Smallwood----9----0.69---

Career Fumble rate
The average fumble rate for the top-10 rushers in the NFL last season was 88.6, which is the same as saying the running back fumbled once every 88.6 offensive touches. Anything above 140.0 fumble rate is generally considered a strong number among running backs. This is a career fumble rate. DeAndre did have a bad season last year with 5 fumbles and 2 lost. For DeAndre, that wasn’t an issue until this season (one fumble per season before this one).

Code:

Ezekiel Elliott------162.5--- Paul Perkins---------140.4--- Derrick Henry--------123.8--- Tyler Ervin----------123.0--- Jordan Howard--------111.8--- DeAndre Washington---104.1--- Devontae Booker------ 71.1--- Kenneth Dixon-------- 63.5--- Wendell Smallwood---- 61.6--- C.J. Prosise--------- 45.6--- Alex Collins--------- 43.3---

Combine results (by mockdraftable.com)
The total(ttl) is the sum of the prospect's participating events percentiles. The average is the average percentile per events participated in. An average of 70 or better is typically a good combine. DeAndre participated in all RB events and met or bested RB target numbers in all events except one. He was 1.5" below the vertical jump target. DeAndre was one of only 4 on this list to participate in all events. Derrick Henry was the only other RB to meet or beat targets on all but 1 event. Among RBs, DeAndre came in the top 5 in the 3 cone drill and 2nd best in the 20 yd shuttle. In other words, he can cut on a dime.

Code:

Name----------------ttl---avg--- Tyler Ervin---------301---75--- C.J. Prosise--------209---70--- DeAndre Washington--411---59--- Derrick Henry-------403---58--- Wendell Smallwood---397---57--- Kenneth Dixon-------390---56--- Ezekiel Elliott-----149---50--- Paul Perkins--------197---49--- Jordan Howard-------135---45--- Alex Collins-------- 90---23--- Devontae Booker------68---68---

PFF Elusiveness rating
from PFF

Quote:

Washington saw 43.1 percent of his carries go for 15 yards or more, the 10th-highest percentage of anyone in this class. He was tied for 12th in the class with a rushing grade of +13.2, averaging 6.5 yards per carry, with 3.5 of those yards coming after contact. A small back at 5-8, Washington’s work after contact, coupled with his 67 missed tackles forced on 230 carries and 41 receptions saw him finish 2015 with the third best elusive rating in this class at 86.1.

Code:

1 Paul Perkins---------114.7 2 Kenneth Dixon---------99.2 3 DeAndre Washington----86.1 . 7 CJ Prosise------------74.7

Assigning values for place finish in each category I get an overall ranking from 1 to 11. Dixon and DeAndre Washington tie for first place. I'm not saying Washington is better than Elliot but based on production he deserves a look.

01 Dixon
01 Washington
03 Elliot
04 Henry
05 Ervin
06 Prosise
07 Perkins
08 Howard
09 Smallwood
10 Collins
11 Booker

I also wanted a three-down back. The criteria was minimum 1,000 yds rushing last season and at least 35 receptions over the last 2 seasons. The lack of pass catches eliminated Jordan Howard(20), Derrick Henry(16) and Alex Collins(16). They are unproven as receivers. Here are the remaining 8 by projected round according to cat scratch reader consolidated big board.

Round 1 Ezekiel Elliott
Round 2 No RBs
Round 3 Kenneth Dixon, Devontae Booker, Paul Perkins
Round 4 Tyler Ervin, CJ Prosise
Round 5 DeAndre Washington
Round 6 No RBs
Round 7 Wendell Smallwood

I think the Giants have more pressing needs than running back. The first four rounds should be used to get an OT/OG, WR, FS, and LB (not necessarily in that order). DeAndre Washington offers good value for a round 5 pick.

DeAndre is 2015 All-Big 12 Football First Team. An elusive back, he has a great ability to juke and cut on a dime. Good lateral movement. Hard to bring down, Good vision. rarely ends with negative yards;

DeAndre is an excellent pass catcher. He had 71 receptions over the last 2 seasons for 713 yards. He comes in 3rd on this list in receptions behind Booker and Ervin. But DeAndre is 1st in reception yards by 70.

DeAndre is able and willing to block in pass protection. At the Senior Bowl, Washington shined during the week of practice in pass-protection, always giving max effort and keeping his eyes up while looking for work. Some reports on DeAndre - "that dude is tough", "He’s tough as nails, willing to take on anyone physically, giving him better than expected ability in pass protection."

This from Walter Football on Washington at the Senior Bowl:

Quote:

Another standout in the non-linemen one-on-ones was Texas Tech running back DeAndre Washington. He lost a rep to Florida's Antonio Morrison and Oklahoma's Eric Striker, before a super win over Alabama's Reggie Ragland when Washington stonewalled a bull rush from Ragland. In the receiving plays, Washington torched LSU linebacker Deion Jones on an out-and-up. In the scrimmage session, Washington had some nice runs with a burst. This was an eye-opening day from Washington.

DeAndre comes across as a hard working, tough, team oriented RB with a strong work ethic. He was a semifinalist for the 2015 Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award. That player must exhibit the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell, including integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, community, and tenacity – Specifically tenacity to persist, drive, determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals. He battled back from a torn ACL in 2011. Washington was determined to not only come back, but also come back better than before. Teammates and coaches noted his commitment and work ethic. His team bio has ... enjoys playing video games, reading defenses and scoring.



Nov. 14, 2015, DeAndre Washington rushed for 248 yards and 3 TDs in a 59-44 win over Kansas State. That earned the Texas Tech RB #BeastoftheWeek honors.

DeAndre Washington highlights - ( New Window )