2020 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
JULY 4, 2020
NFL Draft 2020 Scouting Report: RB Eno Benjamin, Arizona State
*Our RB grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.
*We use the term “Power RB” to separate physically bigger, more between-the-tackles–capable RBs from our “speed RBs” group. “Speed RBs” are physically smaller, but much faster/quicker, and less likely to flourish between the tackles.
Our Quick Hit (QH) scouting reports are a modified/shorter version of our full-scale reports. On these Quick Hits, I look at a lesser amount of tape and write a shorter amount of flowy words – these are usually designed more for sleeper prospects that I want to get more acquainted with and if something really jumps out, I’ll go deeper. It’s just me trying to get in and get out and deliver the pertinent notes to you for your consideration and for review later if they start to make waves in a year or two.
I’ll do a chunk of these pre-Draft and then more after the Draft, going through the players that caught my attention in the draft (because of how high they were taken) or that I stumble across in training camp or the preseason that catch my eye.
Most of my notes on these Quick Hits will be short and sweet bullet points versions of our full- scale reports. Enjoy…
======
I had Eno Benjamin on my list of prospects to do a deeper dive on pre-NFL Draft, but I never got to it…I kept finding more interesting players to work on ahead of him.
I liked (not loved) what I saw in my preview work on him ahead of the Senior Bowl, and then I thought he looked solid at the Senior Bowl practices and then took another peek ahead on him pre- Combine…and, again, I thought he was solid/scrappy. His 2020 NFL Combine was solid enough but taking everything into consideration, I was surprised that Benjamin graded fairly ‘average’ in our computer scouting models – I thought he’d be a more of a sleeper/better graded prospect (was like a C- /D+).
The NFL wasn’t too wild on him either…a 7th-round pick (#222) by Arizona – which puts him behind Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds, but an injury away from the #2 RB role. I’ve had mixed emotions on
College Football Metrics| 1
2020 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
JULY 4, 2020
Benjamin since the NFL Draft – yes, he was drafted…but I don’t love the landing spot or the number he was selected at. I wanted to dig deeper, so here we are…
I’m going to spoil my thoughts on my scouting of Benjamin right away, so you can read intently or just skim through the rest of this if you want. I have to give this context upfront to help set the table because it explains a lot/gives context here:
After doing background research on Benjamin personally and medically, etc., and right before I was about to spend a chunk of time going through more of his game tape, I was adding more commentary to our Fantasy Football Draft Guide and it just so happened that randomly the 49ers’ rookie UDFA RB duo of Salvon Ahmed (Washington) and JaMycal Hasty (Baylor) were on my daily list of players/prospects to add to our 2020 Fantasy outlook/commentary. Before I did their commentary, I pulled up some college tape to get re-re-reacquainted with them for my ‘take’.
So, I watched Ahmed and Hasty…and then several games of Benjamin. I have to say…watching them in a grouping/same time frame helped me compare and contrast – and I have to say I was much more impressed with Ahmed and Hasty than Benjamin (but expected it to be the other way around). What I saw with Benjamin made me go in and add some extra red flags I noticed and took his grade down (while Ahmed’s went higher). I think we got some issues with Benjamin.
Now, Benjamin is NFL capable enough. A grinder, hard worker, high effort guy…I just don’t see the juice of a star, or a starter, or even a good backup. We’ll get into why now…
Game Tape Notes (in no particular order):
-- Like JaMycal Hasty, Benjamin is a Devonta Freeman-like prospect…smaller in stature but fairly thick/not thin. Works hard every touch but is very limited/not a big playmaker. Devonta Freeman’s career was made off running for a lot of short TDs but never a lot of yards or highlight type plays. Defenses were not in fear of facing Freeman…he was an average talent for an NFL back, one who got very good touches in a nice functioning offense to produce decent numbers (and get a big contract that Atlanta got royally burned on).
-- The red flag that scared me watching more tape? His hands are an issue. They’re small (8 5/8”) and it shows in his play. Six fumbles in his 2019 season, and several fumbles going to/hitting the ground and ending booth review not-fumbles but almost…and that’s what I went in and marked him down on. He might have had 10+ fumbles (not six last year) counting his near-miss ones. Ball security is an issue, especially considering his hand size and running style -- he’s the kind of runner that isn’t big or fast but he’s tenacious so he doesn’t want to go down and thus bigger defenders come in and hit/strip the ball loose on his little hands.
College Football Metrics| 2
2020 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
JULY 4, 2020
-- To go with the fumbles concern…he drops passes, easy ones. He had 42 catches in 2019 season, which is great for a college back. It’s not that he can’t catch…it’s that he does not have super smooth hands that you’d like in a back like him…one that may wind up a 3rd-down back in the NFL, at best.
-- Poor blocker. Willing, but not good…some of it just because of size. Eno Benjamin is very likely not going to be seen or succeed as a three-down NFL lead back. He’s just not. He’s not the right size or athleticism or hands to pull it off. He’s a ‘grinder’ 3rd-down profile…not very exciting in this era of emerging talent, great athlete/speedster 3rd-down back options.
-- Doesn’t have breakaway speed. He’s a tough runner. Shifty enough, but he’s not making any big plays at the next level. It’s not his game. Who wants to push a 205+ pound decent/solid interior runner in this era in the NFL?
-- Solid RB/worker bee, good character, respected by teammates and coaches, a team captain at Arizona State. He could make an NFL roster by ‘grit’.
Eno Benjamin, Through the Lens of Our RB Scouting Algorithm:
-- Several 100+ yard rushing games the past two seasons (15 of them). It’s impressive numbers but but consider he got the ball a ton for a college back. In 12 of his 15 games with 100+ yards rushing he took 25 or more carries – that’s a lot for a college back. He got numbers from heavy attempts/workload not amazing talent.
His three non-25+ carry games for 100+ yards were all against out of conference/weaker opponents.
Many 25-30+ carries for 100+ yards producing lower yards per carry because he was just accumulating yards in the PAC-12. It’s a tribute to his ‘grind’ but not a showcase of NFL talent.
-- Led the PAC-12 in carries in 2018 and 2019 but was never top 5 in yards per carry #8 in 2018 was his best showing in ypc in the PAC-12).
-- In 2018, Benjamin led all the NCAA in touches with 335…he’s an accumulator profile not a playmaker.
College Football Metrics| 3
2020 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
JULY 4, 2020
2020 NFL Combine data:
5’8.7”/207, 8 5/8” hands, 31 ¼” arms
4.57 40-time, 1.62 10-yard, 4.25 shuttle, 6.97 three-cone
12 bench reps, 39” vertical, 10’2” broad jump
The Historical RB Prospects to Whom Eno Benjamin Most Compares Within Our System:
He reminds me so much of 2020 rookie JaMycal Hasty, I left that comparison on here (I usually do not list/compare 2020 prospects from the same class for our computer comparisons). The remaining historical comp prospects to Benjamin aren’t very exciting…
RB RB- RB- Last First College Yr H H W Speed Agility Power Score Re ru Metric Metric Metric 5.843 5.76 4.84 Benjamin Eno Arizona St. 2020 5 8.7 207 -0.92 5.00 3.65 5.960 4.32 6.30 Hasty JaMycal Baylor 2020 5 8.0 205 1.02 5.52 3.62 5.873 2.69 4.35 Alexander Alvester Wyoming 2012 5 10.3 206 2.76 2.26 5.95 3.465 4.28 2.43 Williams Jerodis Furman 2013 5 10.3 203 1.11 3.78 4.48 4.728 5.13 4.52 Volker Charlie Princeton 2019 5 10.7 213 1.88 7.42 5.80
*A score of 8.50+ is where we see a stronger correlation of RBs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system and indicates a greater probability of becoming an elite NFL RB. All of the RB ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances. Overall rating/score = A combination of several on-field performance measures, including refinement for the strength of opponents faced, mixed with all the physical measurement metrics – then compared/rated historically within our database and formulas. More of a traditional three-down search – runner, blocker, and receiver. *RB-Re score = Our new formula/rating that attempts to identify and quantify a prospect's receiving skills even deeper than in our original formulas. RB prospects can now make it/thrive in the NFL strictly based on their receiving skills – it is an individual attribute sought out for the NFL and no longer
College Football Metrics| 4
2020 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
JULY 4, 2020
dismissed or overlooked. Our rating combines a study of their receiving numbers in college in relation to their offense and opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with hand size measurables, etc. *RB-Ru score = Our new formula/rating that attempts to classify and quantify an RB prospect's ability strictly as a runner of the ball. Our rating combines a study of their rushing numbers in college in relation to their offense and strength of opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with various size measurables, etc. Raw Speed Metric = A combination of several speed and size measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile. Agility Metric = A combination of several speed and agility measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile.
2020 NFL Draft Outlook:
7th-round pick (#222) of the Arizona Cardinals.
NFL Outlook:
Benjamin will be liked by coaches because he is a grinder, so he’s likely to hang on NFL rosters. He should make the Cardinals’ roster as a #3 RB this season. I fear over time, Benjamin will be ‘just another guy’ and will be forgotten quickly by fans and coaches. If Benjamin is pressed into duty because of injury, he’d hold his own in a short time span opportunity. He’s nowhere near as good as Kenyan Drake or Chase Edmonds, so there is not surprise hostile takeover of a #2 or #1 spot happening here.
College Football Metrics| 5
2020 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
JULY 4, 2020
Copyright Statement
Copyright at date and time signed below by R.C. Fischer
All rights reserved. All content is for entertainment purposes only and TFA is not responsible or liable for personal adverse outcomes nor are any game results or forecasting guaranteed. Past results do not predict future outcomes. We are not held liable for any personal loses incurred. We are solely here to produce and provide content for recreational purposes. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email the publisher at [email protected]
Signature______Date______7/4/2020
College Football Metrics| 6