Tennessee Titans undrafted steal: RB Akrum Wadley

The Tennessee Titans got a steal after the 2018 NFL Draft in undrafted free agent running back Akrum Wadley from the Iowa Hawkeyes…

The Tennessee Titans have a new look, and I hate it. They have a new head coach in Mike Vrabel, and I absolutely love it.

The Titans have a brand new rookie class coming in, led by top pick Rashaan Evans from Alabama. Did we expect anything else from Vrabel, a former linebacker himself, than to bring in a potential signal caller for his defense with their top pick?

It will be really exciting to see what this Titans team can do as a follow up to their playoff appearance and road victory in Kansas City last year. They are taking on a coaching and culture change, but many of the key pieces on the roster remain.

With Vrabel coming on as the team’s head coach, the Titans didn’t shy away from adding former Patriots or rookies whose college coaches have connections to Bill Belichick, and that extended into undrafted free agency.

The Titans made one of the most shrewd moves after the draft, stealing Iowa running back Akrum Wadley, one of my favorite playmakers at the running back position in a draft class full of them.

Despite some small variance in height, Wadley and his new teammate Dion Lewis are quite similar.

The Titans likely saw a little bit of Lewis in Wadley’s game, with his ability to compete for a roster spot not only as a tougher inside runner than you would think given his size (5-foot-9, 194 pounds) but also as a receiver out of the backfield and return specialist.

The Hawkeyes got some stellar games out of Wadley, and he proved himself a very capable featured running back over the past two seasons.

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With 607 total touches in his four years with the Hawkeyes, Wadley totaled 3,633 yards from scrimmage and 35 total touchdowns (28 rushing, 7 receiving) including 10 rushing touchdowns in each of the past two seasons.

His production didn’t just come against poor competition, either. Wadley was putting up these numbers against some of the toughest teams in the Big Ten conference.

One of the signature games of his Senior season came against Ohio State, where he racked up 158 yards from scrimmage with three rushing touchdowns.

Wadley’s combination of speed and quickness bode well for him as a change of pace back in the NFL, perfect for a ‘Patriot’ style of offense.

He doesn’t need heavy workloads to be effective, though one of my favorite statistics about Wadley is this: Iowa only lost one of the 14 games where he rushed for at least 100 yards.

I think the Titans got themselves a gem who can contribute in the NFL very early on.

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