J.K. Dobbins was one of the most highly sought after prospects out of high school in 2017, even after he missed all but one game of his senior season due to injury. In his sophomore and junior high school seasons, Dobbins rushed for a combined 4,983 yards and 72 touchdowns. After being recruited to Ohio State, Dobbins continued on with his insane stat lines as he rushed for 4,459 yards and 38 touchdowns and added on another 645 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns in three seasons with the Buckeyes.
Unlike Jonathan Taylor and D’Andre Swift, Dobbins probably won’t start right away for the team that drafts him…or at least not get the full load of carries. In order to be a professional for a long time in the NFL, J.K. Dobbins is going to have to improve his vision and hit the open holes with more force. He is excellent out of the backfield as a pass catcher, but his pass protection skills can definitely use some work. He also runs into the same issues that Taylor will in that he had a very big workload in college, especially his senior season when he ran the ball over 300 times.
NFL teams looking to draft Dobbins are going to have to decide if these negatives outweigh the fact that he is a big-time game, big-time performance player, always played through injury in college, and is just a solid runner through and through. Dobbins should be expecting to hear his name called somewhere in the mid to late part of the second round. If he slips through the second round, some team will be getting a third round steal.
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 209lbs
Arms: 29 3/4″
Hands: 9 1/2″
40-Yard Time: did not participate
Potential Landing Spots: Bengals, Bucs, Jaguars, Seahawks