2021 Senior Bowl: Who stood out and struggled at every position

2021 Senior Bowl: Running Backs

Standouts

This was one of the better running back groups from top to bottom that we’ve seen at the Senior Bowl, so plenty of guys stood out this week.

Michael Carter had a very impressive week. He looked great running routes against linebackers, especially working over the middle and winning deep on wheel routes, and showed off his natural hands. He looks every bit the part of a top-five running back in the 2021 NFL Draft.

The other two major standouts were Missouri’s Larry Rountree III and Virginia Tech’s Khalil Herbert. Rountree looked smooth on his routes and was decisive in full-team drills. His lateral quickness and quick processing skills were on display, and he made some linebackers look silly in coverage. While Herbert was a bit inconsistent with his hands, he flashed similar positive traits to Rountree.

Rhamondre Stevenson and Kylin Hill also flashed this week against linebackers in passing drills, and Hill showed his ability to handle linebackers in pass protection.

Struggled

The biggest struggles coming out of the running back group was pass protection. Everyone but Hill struggled in that area, something that will bring about the attention of scouts and general managers. However, in a league center more on finding three-down threats, it may not be as important.

While Elijah Mitchell and Chris Evans didn’t struggle per se, those two didn’t stand out like the rest. Their inconsistencies in drills, along with pass protection, will limit their draft stock.