CJ Verdell, Oregon RB

Games Watched: Stanford, Washington State, Wisconsin (2019)

Pros:

  • Hits small holes that most RBs would miss
  • Great job accelerating into the hole
  • Great vision to find and time small holes opening up
  • Contorts his body to fit through the hole
  • Creates chunk plays out of small holes opening up
  • Good power to push ahead for extra yards
  • Shows flashes of using footwork to move defenders
  • Agility and speed isn’t bad
  • Great focus and ball skills as a receiver

Cons:

  • Weaker contact is often enough to make him stumble
  • Not amazing change of direction ability and elusiveness to break lose
  • Sometimes misses easy holes
  • Doesn’t reduce his tackling surface to make tackling him harder
  • Not patient, just barges ahead when he doesn’t see anything
  • Can be beat by speed and power when blocking

Summary: CJ Verdell’s bread and butter is finding a small hole and exploding through that hole. He doesn’t do much else and doesn’t create big plays after fighting through the hole, but he consistently creates chunk plays with his skill. He also has upside as a good receiver but needs work as a blocker to be a 3 down back.

Hopeful Improvements: One small thing Verdell should clean up is to cut out of the plays where he misses easy holes. He should also learn to be more patient to let holes open up, as well as improving his blocking technique to square defenders early.

Grade: CJ Verdell is a 5th round running back now and he likely will be next year. He does what he’s good at very well but he doesn’t create big plays and isn’t overly athletic. He’ll be a solid back but doesn’t have a great ceiling.