Scouting Report: Duke Johnson, RB, Miami

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Low Pad Level

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I’ve mentioned Johnson’s small size a number of times so far. However, even big back that you would think should be powerful will fail to run if they run too upright. I think Duke can be a successful runner between the tackles at the NFL level because he consistently runs with a low pad level. Leverage is one of the most important concepts in football, whether it’s in blocking, trying to shed blocks, tackling, or trying to shed tackles. Duke Johnson seems to understand this concept. As you can see in the plays above, the fact that he keeps low allows him to fall forward for extra yards while being tackled. In some cases, it even causes defenders to just bounce off of him. Now, there will be cases where Johnson’s lack of size hurts him. In short yardage situations where defenses stack the box and Johnson has to go one on one against a defender in the hole, the law of momentum is going to take over and he’s probably going to lose. However, I wouldn’t be concerned about his ability to run between the tackles on standard downs and distances at the next level.

Lightning in a bottle

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What I mean by calling Johnson lightning in a bottle is that he has excellent burst. He hits full speed almost immediately after taking the handoff and is really fast through the hole. In some players, this can be a problem if they hit the hole too fast and run into the back of their blockers, but the Duke is smart enough to avoid that. He doesn’t have elite speed, but his burst is as good as any RB in this class. As you can notice in some of the plays above, he’s even able to hurdle players lying on the ground without breaking stride. There were a number of plays where linebackers were diving at him because he surprised them with his burst and was able to accelerate past them before they could close in on him. This should carry over into the NFL.

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