2018 Rookie Class: An Early Look at Akrum Wadley

Jake Anderson

Editor’s note: It’s draft season, and the rookie content will be flowing in from here until the NFL draft at the end of April. Make sure you check out all of our Dynasty Scouts content in the build-up, and especially the rest of our ‘Early Look’ series.

Today, we’re taking a look at a talented runner out of Iowa, Akrum Wadley.

As a Recruit

Iowa running back Akrum Wadley was not a top recruit coming out of Weequahic High School in New Jersey. He only had 105 career carries in high school, but did amass an impressive 1,548 yards with a 14.74 yards-per-carry, and punched in 29 rushing touchdowns. Wadley was only a two-star prospect according to 247 sports, was recruited by Darrell Wilson (an Iowa coach at the time) and signed with the Hawkeyes back in February of 2013. He redshirted his first year.

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Collegiate Production

screen shot 2018 01 16 at 10.03.42

Statistics from Sports-Reference.com.

Wadley finished his career at Iowa with 514 rushing attempts for 2,784 yards and 27 touchdowns. He showed to be a valuable asset is the passing game as well, with 69 receptions for 737 yards and seven touchdowns.

According to Hawk Eye Sports, his 204 rushing yards in 2015 versus Northwestern was the 14th-best single-game total in school history. His 6.3 yards per carry average gives him the best mark in school history among running backs with over 1,000 career rushing yards. He also recorded three touchdown runs of 50 yards or more in 2016, and one in 2015,  which shows his home run potential. Wadley has proven to be one of Iowa’s best players over the past two years and will most likely be Iowa’s highest-drafted player in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Athletic Profile

Wadley is sub six feet and under 200 pounds, but this should help him post some good numbers at the 2018 NFL Combine. He’s projected to run in the 4.4s in the 40-yard dash, and should also perform well in the three-cone, short shuttle, and on-field drills to show off his quick-twitch cutting ability. Because he wasn’t a big-name recruit, there aren’t any athletic metrics available for Wadley. Many people, including me, will be intrigued to watch him perform at the combine.

2017 Pinstripe Bowl

Wadley’s 283 all-purpose yards at against Boston College on December 27th were very impressive and landed him the Pinstripe Bowl MVP trophy. Considering the field was completely frozen for a player who relies on his elusiveness, the conditions were certainly far from ideal.

Iowa only garnered 200 yards from scrimmage for the game and Wadley accounted for 56 percent of them. He ended the game with 29 touches. 22 were runs (for 88 yards), two were catches (24 yards) and he had five kickoff returns for an Iowa Bowl-record 171 yards, showing off his special teams ability.

My Thoughts

Wadley is one of my favorite players to watch in this class. He shows a phenomenal jump-cutting ability to move laterally to set up defenders in space. He also possesses one of the best spin moves in this class, as he’s able to spin off potential tacklers, leaving them standing in place. He’s easily one of the most elusive players in this class.

Wadley accepted his invitation to this year’s Senior Bowl. This will give him a great opportunity to increase awareness and boost his draft stock prior to the NFL combine. There are some other notable running backs who also have accepted their invites as well, including Royce Freeman (Oregon), Kalen Ballage (Arizona State), Rashaad Penny (San Diego State) and Ito Smith (Southern Mississippi). Wadley may have an advantage here. Freeman, Ballage, and Penny are bigger bodied backs and Wadley could really stand out as the dynamic back in the mix. Smith is also very elusive, but coming out of Conference USA and playing for Southern Miss might not attract scouts quite as easily.

I can’t help but think back to last year’s Senior Bowl where Kareem Hunt (one of my favorites last year who was also under the radar) won “North Outstanding Player”. Wadley could see a similar boost to his draft stock if he impresses like Hunt did. I personally love to DVR the Senior Bowl practices and watch when I get home from work. They start broadcasting on Tuesday, January 23rd through Thursday, January 25th from 1:00 pm – 6:00 pm EST on NFL Network. The Reese’s Senior Bowl Game is on Saturday, January 27th at 2:30 pm EST. This is our last opportunity to see these players in game action and is beneficial for dynasty owner’s evaluation process of some of these 2018 rookies.

People will be sure to knock Wadley on size, but he does play bigger than that size would indicate, and that’s very important when scouting undersized prospects. He’s not that much smaller than LeSean McCoy was when the current Buffalo Bill came out of Pittsburgh, and although Wadley doesn’t have the strength or elite explosiveness that McCoy has, there are some similarities in their games. I’d look more at a Giovani Bernard, Chris Thompson or Duke Johnson for an NFL comparison. Also, the fact he will be 23 years old by the start of next season could be a knock for some.

NFL Role and Dynasty Value

At the very least, Wadley should be drafted in the middle rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft and become part of a timeshare in a running back committee. He shows natural pass-catching ability and could easily step into a third-down role early on in the NFL. Mel Kiper Jr said that if he’d have declared in last years draft, Wadley would have been his RB6 in the class. Looking back on what an amazing class last year’s was, that puts Wadley in some good company. Even if he’s a mid-to-late round NFL draft pick, you can count on him making a team and sticking because of his ability to contribute on special teams.

Depending on draft capital, Wadley should be a strong second-round pick in dynasty rookie drafts. He may not be a ‘pounder’, but he is fully capable of running between the tackles. However, he does need a running lane to maximize his skill set. Wadley’s landing spot, much like with many prospects, will be important for his dynasty value. Teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins or Seattle Seahawks that run primarily a zone-based running game would be a good fit for his skill set.

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