2014 NFL Draft: RB Bishop Sankey a Sleeper to Watch

Dec 27, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Huskies running back Bishop Sankey (25) holds up the outstanding offensive player of the game award after defeating the Brigham Young Cougars 31-16 at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

We are just under two weeks away from the 2014 NFL Draft and one guy you’ll want to keep an eye on as a potential sleeper is Bishop Sankey. The running back from Washington has the potential to emerge as one of the draft’s best position players.

The 5’10” tailback had a huge 2013 season for the Huskies, rushing for 1870 yards and 20 touchdowns. His 143.8 rushing yards per game is a school record, as is his single-season rushing attempts number (327). Sankey, a team captain, picked up four games over 200 yards in his three-year college career and was an impact player in a run-first Washington offense.

As far as a prospect, I’m certain that Sankey projects to be an NFL starter. While he’s a bit bigger, he compares to a rusher like Ray Rice. He stood out in his final regular-season game against Washington State where he rushed for 200 yards and averaged 5.9 yards per carry. He had a similar breakout performance earlier in the year against California, where he rushed for 241 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 8.9 yards per carry.

Sankey’s speed won’t be a concern at the next level. At times, he showed on tape that he has the ability to be a quick, shifty option out of the backfield. Like Rice, Sankey has sufficient power and stability to handle the big hits that the NFL will bring. He benched the 225-pound bar 26 times at the NFL Scouting Combine, a number that is well above average.

Production was no issue for Sankey in his junior year as he proved to be one of the most effective rushers at the college level. Everything that you want to see in a starting running back is on tape – will a team take a chance on him as high as the second round?