Scouting The 2017 NFL Draft: Alvin Kamara, RB, Tennessee

Introduction

Hometown: Norcross, Georgia

High School: Norcross High School

Recruitment: 5*

Measurables

Height: 5'10

Weight: 215lb's

Class: RS Junior

Projected 40 Time: 4.53

Stats

2013 (Alabama) - Redshirt

2014 (Hutchinson Community) - 1,211 yards rushing, 18 TD. 258 yards receiving, 3 TD.

2015 (Tennessee) - 107 carries, 698 yards, 7 TD's. 34 receptions, 291 yards, 3 TD

2016 (Tennessee) - 103 carries, 596 yards, 9 TD's. 40 receptions, 392 yards, 4 TD.

Positives

• Good Balance
• 3 down back, who gives 100% effort.
• Perfect 3rd down back due to his running and hands.
• Hands are good to excellent, played out of the slot at Tennessee
• Nice lateral agility, shows ability to stretch it outside.
• Has deceptive power to run through tackles.
• Good acceleration in his cuts.
• Has some open field wiggle for extra yards.
• Really blossomed at Tennessee into a team leader
• Play speed is above average.

Negatives

• Some behavioural issues early, seems to have cleaned that up.
• Has some nagging injuries, including LCL, meniscus sprain in 2016.
• Needs to do a better job reading and trusting his blockers.
• Vision in the open field isn't overly impressive, should trust his speed more

Conclusion

Kamara is an interesting back to evaluate. It's obvious he has an incredible amount of talent, but he's never been a featured back in his career at a level that is easy to evaluate. First he redshirted at Alabama as a freshman thanks to a knee injury, he had a few behavioural slap on the wrists there too and experienced a traffic arrest in his hometown. He left and enrolled at Hutchinson before finally settling in Tennessee where he was limited to 107 carries and 103 carries in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Saying that, you can't doubt his talent. He has lateral quickness, he has burst and acceleration, he's tough, he's physical, he breaks tackles and he's a 3 down back. Will his body hold up to the physical demands of touching the football? I don't think anyone is expecting him to carry over 300 times like Zeke, but he's had a few injuries with limited carries, so it's worth exploring.

The fact is, for the amount of touches he got...his TD numbers are extremely impressive. You hope that if you increase those carries, those touches, the TD's go with it and with his talent, I don't see any reason why they shouldn't. He's impressive on tape.

I think he'll go early in round two and it wouldn't shock me if someone like the Packers took him towards the end of round one.

Draft Round Prediction: 2nd Round