Overview
Position: Running back
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 191 pounds
School: Iowa Hawkeyes
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.54 seconds
Bench press: 12 reps
Vertical jump: 32 inches
Akrum Wadley 2018 NFL Draft Profile
Rutgers joining the Big Ten has certainly expanded the conference’s recruiting footprint. And Iowa has been a beneficiary, gaining four prospects from the state of New Jersey since the Scarlet Knights’ inaugural year in the league back in 2014. They only had three in the five years prior. Akrum Wadley was one of them, comprising the Hawkeyes 2013 recruiting class. He starred at Weequahic High School in Newark, scoring a school record 25 rushing touchdowns as a senior. But he wasn’t the most highly touted recruit, with Iowa and Temple his only scholarship offers.
After redshirting in 2013, Wadley saw minimal action in the backfield the following season, managing just 186 yards and a touchdown. But that gradually changed over the next three seasons to the point where he emerged as one of the Big Ten’s top backs as an upperclassman. As a redshirt junior, he made just a single start but comprised a fairly dynamic committee backfield with LeShun Daniels. Both finished with 10 touchdowns that year but Wadley narrowly outgained Daniels 1,081-1,058. The following year, Wadley became the Hawkeyes bell cow in accounting for 61.2 percent of the team’s rushing offense. That amounted to 1,109 yards, the fifth-best total in the Big Ten. He also added a further 10 touchdowns.
Wadley capped his collegiate career in style with 283 all-purpose yards in Iowa’s win over Boston College in last year’s Pinstripe Bowl. It included a rushing touchdown and 171 kickoff return yards en route to game MVP honors. For his career, Wadley joined Sedrick Shaw, Ladell Betts, and Fred Russell as the only players in school history to have consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons. He’s also fourth all-time among Iowa running backs in career yardage and rushing touchdowns.
Strengths
- extremely elusive in space with impressive juke moves to make would-be tacklers miss;
- a solid combination of initial burst and top-end speed in the open field;
- has vision and lateral athleticism to find cutback lanes on outside zone runs;
- can hop cut in the backfield to turn potential negative plays into positive ones;
- scheme versatile back comfortable with zone and gap blocking in front of him;
- capable pass-catcher who tallied six receiving touchdowns as a junior and senior;
- a potential asset after the catch on screens, underneath routes, and short comebacks;
Weaknesses
- a tad underdeveloped in the lower body;
- may not have the frame to shoulder an extended workload in the NFL;
- footwork can get hurried and panicky when running lanes narrow;
- tends to carry the ball a bit nonchalantly which could make him a fumble risk;
- too easily brought down on initial contact;
- could sharpen his route transitions in pass game;
- inconsistent as a pass protector.
NFL Comparison: Theo Riddick
Teams With Need at Position: Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins
Projection: Fourth to fifth round
Bottom Line
Wadley is a speedy back with an exciting running style that looks like it’s straight out of a game of Madden at times. He also adds a reliable pass-catching element that’s become an essential element of any NFL caliber running back’s skill set nowadays. But he’s more elusive than powerful and there are legitimate concerns over whether his body can hold up to the physicality he’ll see at the next level. His ideal fit may be in a “thunder and lightning” kind of backfield a la Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara for the New Orleans Saints. Add in his special teams value and Wadley has the potential to see the field regularly as a rookie, even if it’s not necessarily in a starter’s role.
