2015 NFL Draft: Top 10 Running Backs

10. Jeremy Langford, Michigan State

What you see is what you get from Michigan State’s Jeremy Langford. And what you will get is nothing fancy; in a good way.

Somewhere along the way, the running back position became less about running the ball through people and more about running away from people. Langford is a back that will be looking to provide an NFL team with the former this coming season.

Langford has little to no dressing on his game. He just takes the ball, drives it into the offensive line, and gets yards. Though he is 6-foot, he runs low to the ground, gets his pads lower than the defenders, and keeps those legs churning for some extra yards. His greatest strength comes in the passing game where he has shown great instincts protecting the quarterback on blitzes.

During his senior season, Langford improved his vision at the line and had 1,522 yards on the ground with a steady 5.5 yards per carry. Though he was buried under Big Ten backs like Melvin Gordon and Ameer Abdullah for attention, he proved that he is an efficient option at running back.

Even though he improved his vision, he still had trouble finding gaps in the Michigan State offensive line, running into his blockers quite a bit. He also lacks acceleration once the first defender makes contact with him and has not shown the breakaway speed that teams usually covet.

Still, NFL teams seek out hard running backs to soften up the defense and Langford provides that service with a smile, getting stronger as the game goes on. With his strong running, he should be a back that teams will look to add to their team quickly.

Projected Pick: late third round

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