2019 NFL Draft: Devin Singletary is this year’s RB sleeper

FAU RB Devin Singletary enters this year’s NFL Draft as a name not as well known as it should be. Here’s why he could be this year’s RB sleeper.

Who is Devin Singletary? Some may not know him at all. Some know him as just the running back for Florida Atlantic. Some say he’s the best player in FAU history. Others say he’s the next big star running back in the NFL.

Despite the high praise for the FAU RB, Singletary is being overlooked by many in the 2019 NFL Draft, making him this year’s top sleeper at the running back position.

Position:  RB

School: Florida Atlantic

Year: Junior

Height: 5’9″

Weight: 200 lbs

Strengths:

• Production

If NFL teams are looking for a player who knows how to score, Devin Singletary is their guy. In three seasons at FAU, Singletary totaled 66 rushing TDs. Singletary tallied 12 rushing TDs in his first college season, 32 (yes you read that correctly) in his second season, and 22 in his third season. This guy had more than 20 rushing TDs in two straight seasons.

To make his production look even better, he had three straight years with 1,000-plus rushing yards and 10-plus TDs.

To further highlight his insane production, Singletary had a career average of 6.0 yards per carry. He averaged 6.7 in 2016, 6.4 in 2017, and 5.2 in 2018. His rush yards per carry did decline every season in college, but heck, I’ll take a 5.2 yards per carry average any day!

Playing in the CUSA, people will knock Singletary’s production because he went against lower competition. His small school status is also the main reason why he’s the RB sleeper in this draft class.

For me, production is production. It’s not often you see a back total 66 rushing TDs throughout their career. It’s not often you see a RB total 30-plus rushing TDs in a single season. The kid can flat out ball! An NFL team looking for a new offensive weapon is going to love Devin Singletary.

• Running between the tackles

One reason why Devin Singletary is able to be so productive as a runner is because one of his biggest strengths is an ability to run between the tackles. Singletary isn’t a guy who has to break a big run outside to make a play. His best work is done on the inside.

Singletary is a smaller back, which allows him to use his quickness to slip past defenders. While he may be smaller, he’s also got a solid build. Being 200 pounds at 5’9″ allows him to not only slip past defenders, but run over and through them.

When a runner can do that like Singletary does, it forces a defense to stack the box. I feel like Singletary would be a perfect running back to help a young QB who’s still developing. He can force the defense to focus on stopping the run, which will then open everything up for the pass game.

This may be a very underrated strength for Singletary, which is a reason why he’s this year’s RB sleeper.

• Runs with power

This strength is similar to what I mentioned while talking about Singletary’s ability to run between the tackles. However, his ability to run with power doesn’t just come on the inside. Singletary runs with power and burst on every play. There’s a reason his nickname is “Motor.” This guy just doesn’t stop. He doesn’t take plays off. Even if he doesn’t start for an NFL team, whoever gets him will love his effort on every play.

• Patience

To be a successful RB in the NFL, you have to be patient. The right hole may not always be where it’s supposed to be. If the right hole does open up, it may take longer than expected. Successful NFL RBs require patience. Singletary has that.

Singletary isn’t the type of RB to just instantly run to where the hole should be. He’s great at waiting for plays to develop. A lot of times he had to wait for his pulling lineman. On a play like that, being impatient would have killed him. The right hole isn’t always going to be there for Singletary in the NFL. Like all the great RBs do, he’s going to have to improvise a little bit at times.

• Change of direction

There may not be a RB in this draft class better than Singletary at changing direction. Singletary has the ability to change directions on a dime. Watch the following the video to see just how lethal his cuts are.

Wow! That’s some serious change of direction ability. Singletary may not be the fastest guy on the field, but there may not be anybody who can move with lateral quickness like he does. Singletary forced 94 missed tackles during his college career. Now you’ve seen why.

Weaknesses:

• Lack of NFL size

When you think about some of the best RBs in the NFL, who comes to mind? You’re likely going to think about players such as Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, Saquon Barkley and Le’Veon Bell. What do all of those RBs have in common? They all fit the typical NFL RB mold. All of those guys are over six feet tall, weighing in at least 220 lbs.

While Devin Singletary does have a thick body allowing him to run through defenders, his lack of height is not the desirable measurement teams are looking for. Teams want a big back who can consistently run through and punish defenses.

Teams will look at Singletary’s height and instantly be turned off by it. His size is why he’s this year’s RB sleeper. If he was 6’0″ or taller, Singletary could easily be the first RB off the board.

• Long speed

Singletary is a quick RB. He can make quick cuts and make defenders miss. However, he’s not the type of RB who’s going to blow you away with his speed. Singletary can make big plays, but his lack of long speed stops him from making bigger plays than he could. In the NFL, it’s not likely Singletary is going to consistently win a foot race against defenders who run 4.4 or faster forty times.

• Pass Protection

If an NFL team is looking for an RB they can consider complete, Devin Singletary likely isn’t their guy. When I say complete, I mean a RB who can not only run, but do everything like pass protect and catch the ball out of the backfield. Those are two of Singletary’s weaknesses.

When Singletary was asked to pass protect, he often missed opportunities to pick up the extra rushers coming through. This may have something to do with his lack of size, but mostly it’s because he doesn’t use his hands to really engage with the rusher. NFL teams are going to want to see that from him if they’re going to be keeping him on the field every down.

• Receiving

I believe Singletary has the ability to be a better receiver out of the backfield than he gets credit for, but I marked it as a weakness because he didn’t do it a lot in college. If he’s used as a receiver in the NFL, I’m sure he can do it, but for now, he hasn’t shown that ability too often.

In his three college seasons, Singletary caught 51 passes for 397 yards and one TD. The 51 passes look pretty good, but 26 of those came in his first college season in 2016. His catches declined every year in college. He went from 26 in 2016 to 19 in 2017. Then he went all the way down to just six catches in 2018. His career high in receiving yards in a season is 198.

I think Singletary’s numbers as a receiver show he has potential to be a good receiving back, but they also show he needs to work on that area of his game. Him not being used a lot in the passing game is another reason why he’s this year’s RB sleeper. An NFL team can get more from him in the passing game if they choose to do so.

Pro Comparison: Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers RB

I think Singletary may have a little more potential than Aaron Jones, but these two are a lot alike. They’re both built about the same. They both stand at 5’9″ and about 220 lbs. Jones weighs a little less, but it’s relatively the same build.

Both players are shorter, but have a thick frame. That allows them to run with a lot of power and run through weak tackles. Aaron Jones hasn’t been as productive as he could be because of injuries, but when he’s healthy, he’s a quality starting RB in the NFL. Singletary has potential to be a long time NFL starter who makes his fair share of Pro Bowls.

Best Team Fits: Arizona Cardinals

To give a little reasoning as to why RB sleeper Devin Singletary is a good fit for the Cardinals, I’ll throw this number at you: 208. That’s the amount of rushing yards Cardinals backup RB Chase Edmonds had last season.

Yes, the Cardinals have David Johnson in the backfield, but who else? Until Josh Rosen develops into a solid threat to a defense, all the focus is going to be on stopping David Johnson. This is why the Cardinals need to find another weapon in the backfield. Enter the RB sleeper. Devin Singletary can give a defense something else to worry about stopping, which will then take the pressure off David Johnson and Josh Rosen.

There’s also this number: 14.1. That’s the amount of points per game the Cardinals scored last season. Given his production and proven ability to find the end zone in college, Singletary would instantly upgrade an offense that struggled mightily to score in 2018.

Projection: Mid-2nd to early 3rd round pick