Israel Abanikanda

Pos: RB

School: Pitt

Ht. 5’10″ 

Wt. 216

Games Watched: Tennessee, West Virginia, Clemson(2021)

One Liner: Speedy running back who wins with his ability to change direction, break tackles, and athletic ability

Strengths: 

  • Very good long speed. Abanikanda can turn on the jets at any point in his run and has blazing speed with great acceleration, allowing for big play potential at the next level. Once he attacks and decides his gap, he runs with great explosiveness and build up speed, attacking the front 7. 
  • Very good ability to break tackles. Abanikanda has the ability to break tackles and evade contact. He is tough to bring down on the first attempt, and has good enough balance to keep himself upright and attacking as a ball carrier, in space and in the first level of the front 7.
  • Good change of direction. Abanikanda is a good one-cut running back who has the ability to stop and go with great balance and fluidity. He can make the desired re-allignments that you would like to see out of a zone running back, and has the fluidity in his body to be a high upside zone back.
  • Good athleticism. Abanikanda’s athleticism allows for his twitch and shiftiness to be on full display in the backfield and past the line of scrimmage. He has good burst and short area quickness, and his ability to break tackles with great body control and speed will help him win one on ones at the next level.

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate power. Although Abanikanda has ideal size, his power is lacking, and he struggles to win often with him tucking his head down and aiming for extra yardage. While he can fight for extra yardage, a good wrap up tackler or a heavy defender should have no trouble eating up Abanikanda right at the line of scrimmage unless Abanikanda finds his way out in space.
  • Adequate reads. Abanikanda makes some poor reads at times, and lacks decisiveness when making zone reads. He struggles to identify which zone to attack on a consistent basis, and will be slightly hesitant in the backfield leading to slowly developing, negative plays.

Overall Assessment: Israel Abanikanda is a well sized, speedy running back who has big play potential at the next level. He plays with really good speed, and has the potential to blow by defenders in space. He has an above average ability to break tackles in space, and is athletic enough to win with shiftiness and twitch as an elusive back. Abanikanda struggles with making consistent zone reads, and lacks the decisiveness needed to be a high level zone back. Although he has good size, Abanikanda could look to play stronger and with more violence, but this could come with more time in an NFL weight room. 

Scheme Fit: Gap scheme running back that has the athletic ability to play for a zone blocking team but will need to develop his reads.

Pick Projection: Early 4th

Grade: 6.27