Dynasty Scouts Player Spotlight: Thomas Tyner

Russell Clay

tyner

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With the hype the 2015 running back class is absorbing, and deservedly so, 2016 seems like a long time away, and not something at the forefront of discussion. For the first time in quite a few years we have prospects that are worthy of our attention. Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon and Mike Davis are the headliners of a new era at running back, and I couldn’t be more excited. That being said, 2016 is shaping up to be quite impressive in it’s own right, with Oregon’s Thomas Tyner leading the charge.

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Tyner hasn’t ever been a secret; he came into his true freshman year at Oregon as a highly touted 5 star recruit. While most true freshman need a year or two to acclimate themselves to the college game, Tyner was a natural. Not only did he play in every game in 2013, he dominated in every opportunity he was given. He totaled 711 rushing yards (6.2 per carry), nine rushing touchdowns and he also added 134 receiving yards (9.6 per catch.) Not too shabby of a true freshman season.

Anyhow, let’s take a look at a few plays and what makes Tyner so impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g2UJ9fdHE4

1:49 and 2:37 mark

One of Tyner’s greatest assets is his ability to catch the football, a unique ability for a back on the bigger side. In the first play, you see Tyner catch the slip screen and take off. The best part of this is how efficient he is with his movements. He’s reading the field the entire time, but since no huge holes opened up he took what was there, outran a few angles, and most importantly, he got the first down. Some running backs have a lot of trouble their first few years in the NFL because they aren’t assertive in space, Tyner will not have this problem.

The second reception is the type of thing that can push Tyner’s fantasy value to the next level. You hardly ever see a running back fully extend and stretch out to make a catch like this. This would be a rare attribute that would set Tyner apart from normal running backs, and with that, would probably come more opportunity for touches.

5:09 mark

Tyner takes a handoff out of the shotgun and slips through the line, even considering Oregon State gets a decent push off the snap. While most runs in college have more space and are much easier to read, this run was done in very close quarters, impressive vision here. Once Tyner gets through the first wall of defense he easily breaks a secondary tackle and gets up to full speed within five steps of breaking the tackle, another ability that could set him apart from the rest. What I consider the best part of the run was at the end. Tyner spins off one tackler, regains his balance, and realizes he’s got a chance for a few more yards before he barrels into a group of Oregon State defenders. He shows great leg drive and a great sense of when and where he can gain the most yards. Identifying when to go for it all and when to put your head down and gain a few is an extremely important trait and its on full display throughout the video.

We obviously have a very small sample size on Tyner, so he still has a ton of work to do before I can proclaim him a sure-fire first round pick. What we can notice though, is the potentially special skills Tyner displays and how those skills could set him apart if he continues to work hard and avoids the injury bug. Tyner’s skill set fits the mold of the new NFL perfectly. He has the speed and ability to catch the ball out of the backfield that will give an NFL team confidence to throw to him, and also has the patience and discipline to read and run through what’s there both between the tackles and in the secondary.

Player Comparison: A combination of Doug Martin and Jonathan Stewart

While it seems easy and lazy to compare him to another Oregon player, Tyner and Stewart have very similar profiles, both from a physique standpoint and how they excel at seemingly everything. In terms of pure running style, I see a few shades of Martin. No nonsense, but with subtle speed to break big plays.

If you haven’t noticed already, both of those players were first round picks. While I don’t think Tyner will flirt with top ten status like Stewart, I do believe he’ll eventually be a mid-late first round pick. Oregon has an extremely running back friendly system and by his junior season, when his college career is over, there should be some gaudy career totals. This should help convince anyone who’s skeptical with the current, small sample size.

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