2022 NFL Draft: Breece Hall Leads Preseason RB Rankings

Iowa State’s Breece Hall, Notre Dame’s Kyren Williams lead preseason 2022 NFL Draft RB Rankings.

College football is set to begin on Saturday with Week 0, meaning that we are so close to having football back. A new college season starts an incredibly joyous process, as we gear up for the 2022 NFL Draft cycle. A whole new class with new strengths and players who could make big jumps to boost their stock is ready to go.

Throughout the next week or so, leading up to next Thursday’s action, NFL Mocks will have preseason player rankings dropping and a final preseason big board to finish things out. Up first are the running backs.

The running back class for the 2022 NFL Draft has a few guys at the top, but as it stands around the draft community, there isn’t necessarily a consensus number one guy. We will see if one separates from the pack. A few backs with some serious juice will be looking to make a jump.

Without further ado, let’s jump in to the early 2022 NFL Draft running back rankings.

1. Breece Hall, Iowa State

Cyclones running back Breece Hall leads the early rankings here, and in this writer’s opinion, might be in his own tier to start the season. Hall has the production, as he rushed for 1,572 yards and 21 touchdowns last season.

The traits also stand out. Hall often makes the first defender miss, whether it be in the backfield or in space. This is due to his exceptional balance and improvisational deception, where he can manipulate space and process quickly to leave defenders tackling air. Despite being more of an upright runner, Hall isn’t afraid to lower the pads at contact and has good lower body explosion, with adequate speed and stamina to match.

Hall’s processing also stands out between the tackles, where he possesses great patience to let blocks develop in front of him, and excellent vision to recognize cutback lanes and anticipate where creases will open up.

While Hall’s traits are exciting, it will be important to see more contributions from him in the passing game this fall. Being a three down workhorse is everything when it comes to draft position for RBs, and Hall can get there with advancement in the passing game. Hall also isn’t the most flexible back, and will also need to up his processing speed and reduce his patience at the next level.

Grade: Early 2nd Round (33-45)