Demetric Felton 2021 NFL Draft Overview
Position: Running Back/Wide Receiver/Returner
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 189 pounds
School: UCLA
Demetric Felton 2021 NFL Draft Profile
Demetric Felton was born in Memphis, Tennessee and played high school football at Great Oak High School in California where he amassed over 3,000 rushing yards and 40 touchdowns. He began his career has a wide receiver before making the change to running back midway through his junior season. In his senior season he received All-Conference honors and helped Great Oak High School reach the playoffs for the first time in team history.
Felton enrolled at UCLA early in 2016 but was redshirted. He then only saw action in four games the following season, including the Cactus Bowl when the Bruins played the Kansas State Wildcats. In 2018 he was utilized more at wide receiver than running back and he proved to be a very capable receiver. But in 2019 Felton really started to show he could play at the next level. That season he put up almost 1,000 all-purpose yards, including over 500 receiving yards and four touchdowns of over 75 yards. Then, in 2020 Felton was used predominantly as a running back and had a career-high 668 rushing yards and was a first-team All-Pac 12 selection. He also had the sixth most all-purpose yards per game in the NCAA.
In his career at UCLA Felton had 233 carries for 1,101 yards (4.7 yards per carry) and 99 receptions for 958 yards. He had seven rushing touchdowns and eight scores through the air. Throughout his collegiate career, Felton proved that he is explosive and capable of producing as a running back or wide receiver.
Strengths
- Can line up at running back and wide receiver
- Explosive ball carrier
- Patient and waits for blocks to develop
- Incredible instincts and vision
- Always keeps his feet moving
- Breaks arm tackles
- Quick-footed
- Great short-area quickness
- Great pass catching abilities
- Good contact balance
- Can handle punt/kick return duties
Weaknesses
- Lacks true breakaway speed
- Bit short for a receiver
- Not an effective pass protector
NFL Comparison: Antonio Gibson, Nyheim Hines
Teams With Need at Position: Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets
Projection: fourth or fifth round
Bottom Line on Demetric Felton
The way NFL running backs are utilized has changed and the NFL is a copycat league. Most teams no longer feature a big, “bell cow,” running back, but instead look to find smaller, more athletic and explosive backs who can catch the ball out of the backfield. Demetric Felton is one such player and he stood out at the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl. He could be an extremely versatile offensive weapon as both a runner and receiver for a team that runs a spread offense.
If this were 10+ years ago, Felton may have gone undrafted and joined a team as an undrafted free agent. But the NFL has changed and so has the position of running back. Felton will get drafted this year and he will be a very versatile weapon for the team that drafts him.
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