2022 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: Isaiah Spiller, RB, Texas A&M
Isaiah Spiller was a highly productive running back at Texas A&M yet left many more questions than answers after a mediocre NFL Combine display.
Overall, Spiller seems to be one of those backs good at many things but not great at anything. Similarly, from a statistical standpoint, Spiller's greatest asset may be his consistency.
According to PFF weekly RB grades, Spiller achieved a grade over 70 every week of the season except for two. Interestingly, that of Spiller has been one of the biggest falls in the draft.
Coming into the season, most saw Spiller as a top 40-60 pick, yet he is now going between 100-120 in most mock drafts. As mentioned, much of this likely has to do with Combine results.
Frankly, these are the types of players with the best values in the NFL: players who only fell because of insufficient "underwear Olympics" scores.
Isaiah Spiller Profile
Isaiah Spiller Combine Results
Isaiah Spiller Scouting Report
Isaiah Spiller was a Four-Star running back from high school and participated in the Under-Armour All-American game. He immediately impacted his Freshman year with 946 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, garnering SEC All-Freshman honors.
Texas A&M RB Isaiah Spiller:
youtube.com/watch?v=K2joHG…
He finished his final two seasons with back-to-back 1,000+ rushing yards. Despite being a starter and earning Second-Team All-SEC honors in his last season, he split many reps with his backup.
Strengths
Isaiah Spiller is a quick and elusive running back who understands blocking assignments well. He is more than capable of making sharp cuts while maintaining his speed. He can also juke defenders in the backfield when plays break down.
Isiah Spiller is is in a tier of his own for me
RB 3 all day long, really liking his film https://t.co/6dW1cPl0OK
He possesses excellent body control and has great patience waiting for blocks to develop. He also can stop on a dime and quickly build up his speed again.
Lastly, Isaiah has good blocking skills and the willingness to meet defenders at the line scrimmage to buy time for his quarterback.
Weaknesses
Isaiah Spiller struggles with being decisive when determining which hole to hit. He struggles with running downhill and fighting for extra yards. He also needs improvement in his receiving skills in running routes and catching the ball.
The most significant area of concern for Spiller is his ball control. He did end his career at Texas A&M with no fumbles but was still very loose with the football at times.
Trait-Based Projection
Isaiah Spiller is an elusive and quick running back who would thrive most in an outside-zone running scheme. In an outside-zone style running scheme, he would be able to read his blocks and decide which direction he wants to run. He would also benefit from beating defenders with his speed and elusiveness in an outside zone run scheme.
He does not possess many traits to be a power back, despite his larger frame, and will most likely be subbed out in goal-line situations. Isaiah is also not a threat in the passing game and will likely be subbed out in two-minute drill situations.
Analytics Corner
Spiller can clearly make defenders miss, but diving into some interesting splits thanks to Sports Info Solutions data, it can help us understand how he does so. Specifically, when splitting his carries where he breaks a tackle (typically by using strength) vs making a defender miss (typically by using agility or elusiveness), we can glean a bit more about what the back has to offer.
According to SIS, although Isaiah Spiller was ranked number one among his draft peers in Missed Tackleswas only 100 touches, he was only ranked 19th in Broken Tackles per 100 touches. This may start to feel a bit “Madden video game-ish”, yet it gives us some critical information in understanding what Spiller brings to the table.
One thing that is a bit concerning is Spiller’s “Success Rate” vs. “Boom Rate”. This is a bit of an advanced analytics split OF an advanced analytics split. Simply put, success rates help give us a consistent vantage point, whereas boom rates tell us how explosive a player is. Think getting on base vs. home runs in baseball. Given that Spiller only came in with a 45% (16th among Draft Peers) Success Rate, yet a 12% Boom rate, means his overall production may have been propped up by big plays (which are not as predictive as consistent smaller gains).
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