Vision/Decision Making
Dixon consistently made solid choices when running the football. He has good vision, particularly at the second level, and understands how to set up his blockers for success. He can also create space for himself when his blockers start to fail or when he doesn’t have someone blocking in front of him.
Blocking gets Dixon to the second level on the first play, but Dixon’s vision gets him into the end zone. He trusts his lead blocker (the pulling lineman), and is looking ahead to the two defensive backs. He able to manipulate the first one by staying really close to that lineman, forcing the defender inside, and then Dixon cuts to the sideline.
The second play is a great example of Dixon setting up his blocker for success. He stays right behind his blocker, which gives the pulling tackle more flexibility to block the defender. He then cuts across his blocker to make sure that defender has no chance at getting him. On the third play, Dixon makes a subtle cut to make his lead blocker more effective.
On the fourth play, Dixon makes numerous good decisions by always sticking to the side where his linemen have the advantage. The final play shows mental acumen from Dixon. Sometimes, the best choice a runner can make is to realize he doesn’t have a chance on the play and just try to go forward to pick up as much as he can. Dixon did this many times on tape, and here he had no chance at success if he bounced it to the outside, so diving forward is the correct choice.
Second level speed
With a 4.58 40, Dixon isn’t going to be the fastest player in the league but he has adequate speed. He showed the ability to out run defensive backs at lower levels of play, but won’t be able to have quite that success at the NFL level. Still, his speed is good enough that while he might occasionally get run down by a DB, he won’t be chased down by LBs.
The first play shows that Dixon has the ability to outrun Western Kentucky’s DBs, but also shows a nice little nuance where he rotates his shoulders away from the chasing DB to minimize his potential contact area. The second play shows him outrunning a litany of defenders once again.
The third play shows Dixon has great speed to the edge. He sprints past three Marshall defenders in the fourth run. On the final run, it seems like Dixon is shot out of a cannon as he goes untouched for 99 yards. In the NFL, great top end speed is the cherry on top of a RB. Dixon’s speed will not rival the best in the league, but when the rest of the sundae is really good you’re not going to complain about the fruit on top being mediocre, and Dixon certainly has adequate speed.
Fumble
From his tape, Dixon generally ran with good ball security. He typically ran with the ball high and tight and certainly didn’t have any Demarco Murray-like moments. However, he did have this fumble. Honestly, it’s not that concerning because the defender appears to get a perfect hit on the ball, contacting it with his helmet. This is a play where Dixon really just got unlucky, because it’s essentially impossible to hold on to the ball in this scenario.
