RB — Rashaad Penny 7.31
scout- Ryan Lippert
College: San Diego State
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 220 lbs
40-Time: 4.46
Bench Press: 13
3-Cone: TBD
Athleticism
Q.A.B. 8.00 Penny shows great quickness, agility and balance. He makes people miss very often with his quick cuts
Flexibility 7.00 Isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder when finishing on defenders. However, still tends to run high at times.
C.O.D. 7.50 Penny is light on his feet which helps him change direction easily. He can plant and cut very effectively.
Explosion 8.00 Has a great burst of speed through the hole and isn’t afraid to run through defenders.
Top End Speed 8.50 Penny has an outstanding top burst of speed.
With Ball in Hands
Vision/Instincts 6.00 Is inconsistent with vision. Sees open holes but sometimes misses cutback lanes. Bounces around too much at times.
Cutting Ability 8.00 Is able to make quick cuts, makes defenders miss frequently.
Elusiveness 7.50 Penny’s quickness helps him avoid tacklers at the line of scrimmage and in the open field.
Yards After Contact 6.50 Can break tackles at times, lacks consistency in this regard.
Ball Security 9.00 Excellent ball security. Didn’t see a single fumble in the film I reviewed.
Receiving
Hands 8.00 Solid hands. Didn’t see any dropped passes in film.
Route Running 5.00 Didn’t see him run actual routes, mainly just checkdowns and screens.
Ability In Space 7.50 Was great on screens in the open field, used his quickness to make defenders miss.
Ability to Separate 5.50 Didn’t have enough routes to get a clear picture but has the speed to get open.
Blocking
Lead Blocking 5.00 Never saw him have to lead block.
Blocking In Space 7.00 Solid blocker in the open field.
Pass Blocking 7.00 Very good at picking up blitzing linebackers/edge rushers
Situational Awareness 7.00 Showed awareness when QB was in trouble, would come off blocks at the last second to provide a target
Competitiveness
Toughness 7.00 Showed great amount of toughness as he took on a huge workload each game.
Production 9.00 Highly productive throughout his college career. Led the nation in rushing.
Consistency/Motor 8.50 Plays at a very fast pace with a high motor.
Team Player 7.50 From the film I watched, seems to be a true team player.
Intelligence
Instincts 7.00 Could be inconsistent at times but for the most part, showed great instincts.
Learn/Retain 7.50 After bad play/loss of yards, would come back with a positive gain.
Versatility 8.50 Very versatile player, both on offense and special teams.
Strengths
Penny’s greatest traits are definitely quickness, production and motor.His quickness helps lead to the other two. The way that Penny can cut and make defenders miss will be a great trait to have in the league. Also, he plays at a very high speed throughout the game and keeps his high motor going at a consistent rate. Both of these things helped Penny in his production in which he led the nation in rushing yards as a senior.
Weaknesses
Penny’s quickness can also come back to hurt him at times. There were times when defenders would be in the backfield and he would try to dance around too much instead of turning upfield and taking what the defense gives you. He will also have to learn how to run routes at the next level as he wasn’t required to run many routes in college.
Big Picture
I strongly believe that Penny is the third best running back in this class behind Barkley and Guice. He is an underappreciated prospect who will likely fall to the mid 2nd-3rd tound in the draft. Although he may not be the feature back for a team right away, I see him as a solid second option who can give a team a nice two-back system. For teams who may have one running back carrying the workload, I believe Penny would be a great option to help take off some pressure and give the star back some rest. Penny also adds a ton of value to a team as a kick off returner. I can see Penny having an outstanding career in the NFL.
