After splitting time across four seasons at Buffalo and New Mexico State, Mike Washington Jr. put an exclamation mark on his college career with his first 1,000-yard season in 2025. His first season with the Arkansas Razorbacks was his long-awaited breakout, and he carried his momentum into a strong Senior Bowl performance and rising draft stock.
The 2026 NFL Draft prospect hails from Cicero-North Syracuse high school, where he graduated in 2021 and began his college career with the Buffalo Bulls. He played sporadically across three years, before hitting the transfer portal and seeing his most success to date in one season with the NMSU Aggies. Washington Jr.'s upward trajectory continued into 2025, with his aforementioned best collegiate campaign coming in his senior year with the Razorbacks.
Mike Washington Jr. NFL Draft Profile
Position: RB
School: Arkansas Razorbacks
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 228 pounds
Hometown: Utica, New York
Statistics:
- 2025: 167 Carries, 1,070 Yards, 8 TDs, 28 Receptions, 226 Yards, 1 TD
- Career: 587 Carries, 2,914 Yards, 26 TDs, 73 Receptions, 470 Yards, 3 TDs
Strengths:
- Powerful build, can lower his shoulder and run through defenders with his leverage and size.
- Game-changing top speed, can break away from DBs in an instant, and hits his high-end speed ceiling quickly.
- Solid leg drive to work through lower body tackle attempts, will consistently move through defenders to pick up extra yards.
- Some solid jump cuts on tape when working through his base, throws off defenders and can work both laterally and vertically to cut upfield when moving through the LOS.
- Surprisingly effective compact mover with his upper half as a rusher through traffic, generates extra space, and beats physicality.
- Hits a high gear so impressively fast, will blow through the line before the second level of defenders can even react.
- Comfortable receiver through his catch transitions, uses his burst to glide through the catch and drive upfield.
Weaknesses:
- Doesn’t have much patience as a runner, has one speed when he takes the handoff, which can lead to running into contact before holes open up.
- Clunkier as a downfield route runner, tries to make too many compact movements instead of letting his speed do the work.
- Base stays very high and uncomfortable-looking as a pass blocker. Quicker moves can beat him, as well as larger rushers with power.
- Needs to sink lower into his base in short-yardage situations. A combination of patience issues and high pad level (could be frame limitations) makes him ineffective at times.
- Balance takes some hits at the line in traffic, won't push the pile as much as desired, and goes down too quickly.
- Needs to be more decisive in using the outside, will get blocked up in the middle, and not give himself a chance to use his speed to maximize yardage on the outside.
- Looks somewhat uncomfortable starting up as a receiver, and does little to extend plays and improvise late.
- Gets dragged with the flow of the pass rush too often as a pass blocker, doesn’t plant, and gets moved far off his base too easily.
- Needs to widen out his awareness and peripherals, and he gets caught off guard by lateral tackles too often.
- Can get lost at times as a pass blocker, needs to seek out rushers more instead of waiting for them to come to him.
NFL Outlook:
Washington Jr. is a flat-out special linear mover; his downhill burst is a rare trait, and he absolutely explodes to a high-level top speed. He has the contact balance and above-average frame to be a physically-imposing runner, and can be a real home run threat with the ability for a handful of 10+ yard runs every game. His awareness, pass blocking, and patience struggles could give him some ceiling limitations and/or early issues, but he has all of the tools to be a productive starter with star potential.
NFL Player Comparison:
While Washington Jr.'s top speed is much higher, his incredibly explosive and powerful linear running style shows flashes of former Pro Bowl RB Jay Ajayi. Similar to the Boise State product, Washington Jr. simply never stops moving forward and still offers the ability to break off chunk plays. Like Ajayi, the Razorback can become a bell cow running back in the right system and be a solid addition to an NFL offense.
Prospect Grade:
- Mid 3rd Round