Khalil Herbert transferred from Kansas to Virginia Tech between the 2019 and 2020 season and at Virginia Tech he played a heightened level of competition in the ACC and he really succeeded running for almost 1200 yards on an absurd 7.7 yards per carry. He could really be a great supplemental back or a starter for a team going RB by committee.

Strengths: 

  • Great Vision

Khalil Herbert has great vision and he’s able to see holes open up before they do. He pairs this with great patience which allows him to make something out of nothing often times as well as allowing his chunk plays to go further.

  • Pairs Vision with Patience

Without patience, a running backs vision is completely misutilized but Herbert doesn’t overcommit to a lane and he keeps his feet moving while waiting for a hole to open.

  • Good Burst

Herbert does a good job of hitting holes and he’s able to accelerate quickly to get into open space.

  • Good Body Control

While some think that he has bad contact balance I think it’s overall pretty average and his body control as a whole is good. He contorts his body to get through holes and he runs on the sideline very well.

  • Return Value

With his great vision he sees the field better when returning it. He also returned kicks at Virginia Tech, so he certainly has value in the return game.

Weaknesses: 

  • Not Very Elusive

Khalil Herbert isn’t an elusive shifty back whatsoever. He runs pretty linearly and you rarely ever see him try to juke a defender. He doesn’t have the twitchiness that other running backs do.

  • Not a 3 Down Back Yet

Khalil Herbert is simply not going to be able to play all 3 downs at the pro level unless he improves significantly. His receiving and route running ability are both subpar and he provides little use in the blocking game as well.

Player Comp: Khalil Herbert reminds me quite a bit of a running back from last year who did better than people expected and that’s Myles Gaskin of the Miami Dolphins. There is an obvious size difference with Herbert having 10-15 pounds on Gaskin but the play style in terms of the vision, patience, burst, body control, lack of amazing quickness, and lack of a threat to be a 3 down guy coming out. I think Herbert will be similar in that he’s a bottom tier running back if he’s the starter but in a committee he can be very good.

Final Thoughts: Khalil Herbert was a guy that was really exciting to watch but I just don’t think that he has all the tools necessary to be the lead back for an NFL franchise. He doesn’t have any really elite traits and he’s not an overly shifty guy either. I think Round 4 or Round 5 is a solid spot for him and if used in a committee he can be a very efficient back for some team.