Even in a draft class that features the nation’s leading rusher from 2020 and a returning 1,000-yard ball carrier from the SEC, the RB1 in the 2022 NFL Draft just might play in East Lansing, Michigan.
Kenneth Walker is tracking toward that prestigious distinction. The Michigan State superstar has 1,194 yards through eight contests, and he’s averaging a bulky 6.6 yards per tote.
And no running back can accumulate those type of statistics without a pulverizing offensive line, but Walker hasn’t simply run unscathed through gigantic lanes this season. In fact, through his epic 23-carry, 197-yard, five-touchdown masterpiece against Michigan, Walker gave the football-watching world a glimpse of his full skill-set, which is that of an NFL feature back.
To flourish in a prominent ball-carrier role in the pros, you have to be able to make defenders miss in tight quarters. Have to. Suddenness is key. And in the second quarter, Walker pieced together a nasty, two-juke cutback to free himself for a big gain.
It’s rare for a back to see the cutback lane that quickly, jump cut to get to that backside lane, then immediately hit another cut to find green grass even further to the outside. Heck, even when it does happen, the runner almost never has enough juice left to continue with much gas up the field.
That wasn’t the case for Walker on that dazzling carry.
And how about a spin move in the backfield for good measure?
Amazing balance, of course. But I was floored by his keen awareness to spin out of that would-be tackle a split-second after he received the handoff. Special.
Back to “juice.” It’s another necessity for an NFL feature back. The lanes on Sundays open and close in a hurry. Watch how, later in the second, Walker slammed on the brakes, used a defender to balance himself, then erupted North-South for nine yards.
Had he followed his lead blocker, the trailing defender probably tackles him for no gain. Instead Walker stretched the defense horizontally for one more gap, felt the edge-setting defender freeing from his block and was still able to dispatch the backside defender for a positive gain for the Spartans.
Elite-level stuff right there.
And while you probably don’t want to strictly be a power back in today’s NFL due to that style shortening your shelf life, finishing runs with authority is a time-tested way to wear down a defense and get a psychological advantage over second-level defenders late in the game.
Check Walker’s pure power at the end of this wildcat run in the fourth.
Now, No. 12 was being engaged by a blocker when contact arrived, but Walker made sure he wasn’t going to be stopped dead in his tracks on the 3rd and 3 carry.
And, lastly, as a ball-carrier in today’s NFL, you must be able to maximize yardage when your offensive line blocks exquisitely for you. Home-run hitters are immensely valuable. Do I think Walker is even a 4.4 guy? Probably not, but for as thick as his lower half is and for how much pop he has behind his pads, he can really open it up in space and run away from some defenders, as he did here in the fourth.
Textbook blocking in front of him and as soon as Walker got to the second level, it was off to the races.
Walker doesn’t have the multiple years of high-volume production of Iowa State’s Breece Hall, the 2020 rushing-yards leader at the FBS level. And Walker isn’t as gifted as a receiver as Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller, who had over 1,000 yards on the ground last year and has 70 career catches in the SEC.
But Walker possesses the full arsenal needed to enter the NFL and instantly be an efficient feature back as a rookie. And, basically out of nowhere, he just might be the first runner off the board in April.
