20/20: Wayne Gallman

Stephen Gill

Welcome to the 20/20 series. As part of our continued Dynasty Scouts coverage and in preparation for the NFL Combine, we’ll be profiling 20 of the top incoming rookies of the class of 2017 by giving you 20 facts you must know.

1.) Player Name – Wayne Gallman

2.) College – Clemson

3.) Height/Weight – 6’0”, 210 lbs

4.) Birth date – 10/1/94 (22)

5.) Class – Redshirt Junior

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6.) College stats – 2014-2016: 675 carries for 3416 yards, 66 receptions for 486 yards, 36 total touchdowns

7.) NFL Draft round projection – Second/third round. Gallman was taken in the third round of Matt Miller’s latest mock draft.

8.) Current NFL comp – There’s not much of a consensus pick for an NFL comparison now, but my favorite of those I’ve seen is Jordan Howard. Both are tall, hard runners with troublesome frames for tacklers, who passed through their respective draft processes relatively under-the-radar. We saw last year what a player of Gallman’s approximate skill can do in a backfield of their own as Howard burst onto the scene in Chicago. If Gallman falls into such a fortunate situation, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Clemson Tiger follow suit.

9.) Best possible destination – Ideally, as for most backs, Gallman would fall into a spot with the backfield all to himself. The best fit for the national champion’s skill set might be in Carolina. As Jonathan Stewart ages and is on his way out, the Panthers need a new workhorse for their run-heavy offense. Gallman offers a couple unique benefits if Carolina snags him, experience and ability run blocking for a mobile quarterback and the capacity to gain tough yardage in confined areas, taking stress and hits off Cam Newton.

10.) Worst possible destination – Outside a situation with a clogged backfield, Gallman could struggle behind a poor offensive line. His vision at this point isn’t the best, so if he makes no improvements in that department, he will have trouble in producing yards. Additionally, considering his current agility and size, he could face serious troubles in bouncing around in the backfield. The locations it would be best for him to stay away from include Minnesota, Detroit, and Tampa Bay, some of the league’s worst offensive lines in terms of stuff rate.

11.) Best current skill – Running style. Gallman runs about as physically as anyone in this draft class, which is wise given his size. He gets where he can, then lowers his pads and drives his feet to maximize yardage while defenders try to bring him down.

12.) Skill that needs to be improved – Agility. The Clemson Tiger doesn’t necessarily possess bad lateral quickness, but it has room for improvement. Factor in his somewhat-awkward frame, and an inability to deftly navigate backfields can lead to problems with getting caught in spots where he shouldn’t. As things stand now, occupied defenders can grab him as he runs by at times. Fixing this problem would go a long way to raising both his floor and ceiling.

13.) Past/Current Rookie ADP – Early second round. He is currently ranked 14 in the DLF Dynasty Scouts rookie rankings.

14.) Projected dynasty value – In a loaded draft class, Gallman could go as high as the back-end of the first round in rookie drafts. I, myself, am a bit bullish on Gallman, and would place him around the likes of Derrick Henry and LeSean McCoy when ranking all running backs. The Tiger has the potential to be a workhorse back if he falls into the right situation, so there is definite upside in taking him. At the very least, he will be a solid power back than can manufacture touchdowns out of goal-line carries. His most likely outcome, in my opinion, is fluctuating among RB2’s year-by-year in a solid but unspectacular fashion.

15.) Proven competitor – As a leading member of the Clemson Tigers, Gallman fought through the season and playoffs to face off against Alabama twice. He did not post gaudy numbers, but against a staunch Rolling Tide defense, he managed 191 total yards and two touchdowns between the two games, doing nearly enough for them to win the first matchup and helping them get over the top in the second.

16.) Quick to take the reins – By the middle of his freshman season, Wayne Gallman seized the primary running spot in the Clemson offense. He never gave this role up, posting over 3900 total yards in an offense that fed mouths like Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams.

17.) Chunks, not gashes – A Clemson running game headed by Wayne Gallman was, in total, quite effective, ranking 21st in Bill Connelly’s Rushing S&P+ (a statistic comparable to DVOA). An additional look into the attack’s numbers show that they were much better with consistency than big plays, as they were near the top of teams in success rate and near the bottom in explosiveness. Gallman’s skills allow him to work best in moving the chains, while he comes down to earth more at the second level.

18.) Underutilized in the passing game – Gallman caught well under two passes per game in his career, despite a size or athleticism advantage on essentially any defender that would try covering him. In his final season, he ranked seventh for targets among players in the Clemson offense, showing how little of a priority it was for him to be involved in the passing game. I think he potential to do more with more opportunity at the next level.

19.) Recognized – Despite being overshadowed by tremendous players in Watson and Williams, Gallman managed to turn heads with his play. In his latter two years, the big back notched all-conference nods in an ACC full of impact runners such as Dalvin Cook, Elijah Hood, James Conner, and Joseph Yearby.

20.) Durable – After three seasons and 42 games played, Gallman enters the league without about as clean of an injury slate as you could ask for. He sustained a concussion in 2016, though that held him out of action for a limited amount of time. Otherwise, the only full game he missed came in 2015.

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stephen gill