2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB Oklahoma
Our NFL rookie profile series continues with this analysis of 2021 NFL Draft prospect Rhamondre Stevenson, RB from Oklahoma. We will continue to provide you with these in-depth rookie profiles and a ton of other fantasy football rookie analysis right up through the NFL Draft. Stay tuned and stay ahead of your league!
Running back is the most lucrative position in fantasy football. No matter what format you play, what draft strategy you implement, the goal is to be the smartest person in the room when it comes to manipulating the running back position.
The 2021 NFL Draft doesn’t present a strong running back class. The lack of talent at the position is creating some value gaps for dynasty players to capitalize on throughout rookie drafts. Rhamondre Stevenson is one of those players who does a lot of good things on film but also has enough warning signals in his profile to stunt his dynasty value.
THE STATS
Courtesy of Cerritosfalcons.com.
The path to the NFL is much different for Stevenson compared to many rookies in this year’s draft. He broke his foot during his senior year in high school. On top of that, he was an unranked prospect out of college. With next to no offers on the table, Stevenson took the year off to heal his foot.
The following year he attended Cerritos College which is a JUCO program in California. He took over as the lead back his true sophomore season, rushing for 2,111 yards and 16 touchdowns. His massive season got him noticed by multiple colleges and made him a three-start JUCO recruit and was ranked second in the nation among 247sports.
Courtesy of Sports Reference.
Stevenson signed his letter of intent with the Oklahoma Sooners where he shared a backfield with Kennedy Brooks and Trey Sermon. Most of his stats came in mop-up duty against Kansas and South Dakota where he rushed for 213 yards and two touchdowns combined in those two games. He also finished his season with a 50-yard performance against Oklahoma State and a 48-yard performance against Baylor.
Unfortunately, he missed the first five games of his senior season due to a suspension. Stevenson made up for the lost time by rushing for 332 yards and five touchdowns in his first three games. His best game of the season came against Florida in the Cotton Bowl when he rushed for 186 yards and one touchdown. In his six games, Stevenson owned a 29.37 percent market share of Oklahoma’s offensive production.
THE FILM
The clip above is from his performance against Florida in the Cotton Bowl. He touched the ball 18 times in that contest, showing multiple looks of what he can do on the football field. This is one of the best performances of his career and showcases a good representation of what he is as a player.
Come for Rhamondre Stevenson's 4th quarter touchdown, stay for his tackle on the ensuing kickoff. pic.twitter.com/MglIUJnV5L
— Eddie Radosevich (@Eddie_Rado) October 5, 2019
Stevenson has the prototypical size you expect for a three-down back at the next level. He’s a power back who will truck defenders at the point of contact. We consistently see him finishing his runs by lowering his shoulder and keeping his feet moving. He can build a lot of inertia once he starts running downhill.
The exciting part about his game is that he’s very nimble on his feet for his size. He moves laterally well to make defenders miss in the open fields. This adds another dimension to his rushing attack, creating another way he can win on the field.
The red flags are also evident. He lacks long speed and burst. We will never see him string together multiple long runs. He will also be more likely to get caught from behind in the open field due to his inability to scoot past the defense in the second level.
THE MEASURABLES
His athletic measurables match what we see on tape. He clocked a 4.63-second 40-yard dash. He’s one of the slowest running backs in this year’s draft. The integrity of the 40-yard dash times from pro days are in question which means he could be much slower than what he tested.
Stevenson also tested with a below-average 31.5-inch vertical jump, proving what we saw on tape about his lack of burst is true. Whether it’s due to his size or genetic makeup, he is unable to rapidly change gears to get to top speed.
His 7.02 three-cone isn’t great, but it’s not a complete red flag when adjusted for his size. We see him being able to quickly make cuts and move laterally to maneuver through traffic. His three-cone score proves that he can move side-to-side to make defenders miss.
DYNASTY VALUE
In DLF’s March Rookie ADP, he is falling to the middle portion of the third round of rookie drafts with a 30.50 average draft position. Stevenson is being selected in the RB10 range of drafts. Unless he gets over-drafted, it’s highly unlikely that we see him experience an increase in value between and when rookie drafts start to go in full swing.
When we look at his value in startup drafts, he’s falling to the double-digit rounds with a 167.17 ADP and is generally drafted as the 54th running back off the board. Stevenson has a cheap price tag in startup drafts, but dynasty gamers will need to make some hard decisions when they make their selection. We are seeing prospects like Darrell Henderson, Preston Williams, Van Jefferson, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and Austin Hooper getting drafted after him. It’s a pick your poison situation where there is plenty of speculative talent left on the draft board.
CONCLUSION
From the surface, it appears Stevenson has the skill set to become a productive fantasy asset. His limitations with speed and burst might prevent him from truly breaking out and hitting his full potential. His draft pedigree will provide an insight into how the NFL values him as a player. His draft position will initially dictate his value in dynasty. We could see a pump in value if he gets selected within the top 100 to a team that has a pathway in the depth chart to touches.
This isn’t the strongest running back class we’ve seen in recent years. The fact that he’s not recommended as a top-five running back is a testament to the red flags in his player profile. He’s a boom-bust type of player who needs to be in the right situation to be successful.
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