Top-10 Running Backs 2027 NFL Draft: Pre-Season Scouting Reports
- Zak Drapeau
- 3 hours ago
- 14 min read
by Zak Drapeau
Sportz Nation - 8/26/2026
10. Isaac Brown
5'9" 190 lbs.
Louisville
Pro Comparison
Bucky Irving
2025 Overview
Brown was starting 2025 pretty good before a hamstring injury would keep him out of 5 games towards the end of the season. In the 3 games before his injury, Brown was TORCHING ACC defenses for 150 yards per game and 10 yards per carry. He would even return for Louisville's final game of the season and went for 10-102-2.
Brown would have some troubling fumbles and can be a liability on 3rd downs both as a receiver and in pass pro, but his main hang up will be his health. Lingering Hamstring injuries are definitely not uncommon among RBs but it looked to be managed well in the final Bowl game.
Positives
-Killer out in space
-Great speed and ability to turn corner
-home run hitter potential
Negatives
-Leg injury kept him out of 5 games in 2025 but came back for great Bowl game.
-Slender frame leads to unlikely, every-down role in the NFL.
-Small frame is bad for pass blocking
-several fumbles in already limited role
Player Summary
Brown's prospect grade will be heavily affected by his inability to be used on 3rd downs at the next level. His injury last season is absolutely something to watch for but for the most part I am comfortable putting together his report with that in the past.
When Brown is healthy and running the ball he is a beast. He can hit a hole through the line or bounce it outside just as easily and is a threat to breakaway everytime. I need to see him with a good workload this season or at least without injury, and even more importantly for him to not put the ball on the ground.
Prospect Grade: 78
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9. Caleb Hawkins
6'0" 219 lbs.
Oklahoma State
Pro Comparison
Dameon Pierce
2025 Overview
North Texas had an unbelievable 12-2 season last year and their clear offensive focus behind QB Drew Mestemaker. The Mean Green had the 2nd most TDs in FBS last year largely in part to Hawkins nation-leading 29 by himself. In his lone year in CFB while in the American conference, Hawkins didn't really get the RB1 role until Week 5, but would go on to average over 150 yards and 2 TDs a game in the following 10.
Hawkins hit the hole hard to make defenses clamp down and then would take the ball off to the side on a pitch or reception to blow the lid off. Consistently he made the weak defenses in the American Conference look at a loss. Besides their conference championship loss to Tulane, Hawkins had multiple TDs in their last 6 games and would put up over 200 yards of offense in 4 of their last 5.
Positives
-Pretty good receiver for his size
-Tremendous first season with North Texas last season saw 1,800 total yards and 29 TDs.
-One of the best rushers after contact in 2025
Negatives
-Lacks experience against good defenses
-Limited route tree
-Needs to improve pass protection
-Just average speed
Player Summary
Hawkins was the bell cow back for North Texas last year and will likely see a large usage again with basically his entire team coming with Coach Eric Morris. Hawkins is a good rusher who falls forward thanks to his size and is useful out of the backfield when in a disguised, checkdown role.
We will get to see Hawkins play much better defenses this year as he goes from the American Conference to the Big12. As the team's lead rusher and goalline RB, Hawkins will inevitably see a drop off from his 29 TDs last year but should keep up a high level within 5 yards in what should be his calling card for the NFL.
Prospect Grade: 78.5
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8. Justice Haynes
5'11" 210 lbs.
Georgia Tech
Pro Comparison
Blake Corum
2025 Overview
There was a time when I had Justice Haynes closing the gap with Jeremiyah Love as RB1 of the 2024 class before he went down in Week 8. Between the tackles or on the outside in space this guy busted tacklers or out ran them to 6 of his 7 games played going over 100 yards.
His lowest YPC average on the season was in Michigan's blowout loss at USC where he only got 13 carries. The very next game he went 26-152-2 and got the foot injury that would end his season.
Positives
-Very good speed for his size
-Proved himself at both Alabama and Michigan
-#2 RB from High School class
-Over 7 yards per carry before injury last season
-Great at cutbacks or power moves to break tackles
Negatives
-Foot surgery in 2025 caused Haynes to miss final 6 games
-Little-to-No upside on 3rd downs at NFL-level
-Serious doubts around durability
Player Summary
I have serious doubts about Haynes at the next level but you can't deny that when he's on the field he's money. With only 225 carries in 3 seasons, Haynes had his first chance at a full workload last year and got injured after only 7 games.
Haynes is a low to the ground runner who can break tackles in any way you could imagine. He is lacking in receiving and pass blocking skills and therefore doesn't have much hope as a 3DRB in the NFL but when healthy, I fully believe he can be a reliable chunk-getter on first and second down.
Prospect Grade: 78.5
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7. Raleek Brown
5'9" 195 lbs.
Texas
2025 Overview
Brown was a 4th year Junior by the time he got his first season as a lead back at ASU and finally showed the talent we saw as a 5-star High School prospect. 2025 was also the first time in 3 season Brown was playing without a lingering hamstring injury and almost right away you could see the difference.
Brown was a home run hitter and ran for 20+ yard rushes in 8 of his 12 games last season. He absolutely torched Mississippi St, Texas St, TCU and ESPECIALLY Colorado, the latter of whom saw Brown go for 288 yards and a TD.
For as many brilliant games Brown had, he had just as many where he was stifled. Arizona St's O-line wasn't great last season but Brown looked lost at times against Texas Tech, Houston, West Virginia and at Utah.
Positives
-Elite speed and frequent long yardage plays
-Very good receiver with high upside vertically
-Explosive off cut move
-Former 5-star recruit
Negatives
-Small frame and doesn't try to mitigate damage
-Needs to improve pass protection to become 3rd down threat we anticipate at the next level
-Hamstring injury lingered from 2023-24
-Had mostly mediocre games unless he broke a "home run" run
Player Summary
Brown could be one of the real risers in this group if he can stay healthy in 2026. After his first season as a starter was a breakout at ASU, Brown will now be at Texas with one of the most high-powered offenses and best O-lines in the country.
Brown's work as a pass catcher should show improvements this season with Texas and behind a much better O-line should allow him to be more consistent this year. Previously, he's been a one-trick pony and relied too heavily on long gains so I'll be looking to see if he has what it takes to be more consistent with the 4-6 yard carries.
Prospect Grade: 80
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6. Mark Fletcher Jr.
6'2" 225 lbs.
Miami
Pro Comparison
Brian Robinson Jr.
2025 Overview
Fletcher had a pretty good foundation at the beginning of the 2025 season as
Positives
-CFP record 507 rushing yards
-Very good speed for his size
-Biggest RB of his class
-Shown ability to have breakout games against top defenses
Negatives
-Very little receiving upside
-Needs work in pass protection
-Regular season was nowhere near Post season production
-433 carries already in career
Player Summary
When evaluating Fletcher, it's all about if you believe he can repeat his Playoff-form consistently or not. Fletcher was a good back in the regular season, falling forward for first downs, elite on the goal line and able to handle 25+ touches in a game. Once he got to the Playoffs though, he may have had the single-best 4-game stretch of any back last season.
In the 4 Playoff games, Fletcher and Miami faced the 36th, 1st, 37th and 2nd ranked defenses respectively and averaged 127 yards and 6.8 yards per carry while saving his best game for last in a 2-TD performance against Indiana.
So what do we make of this? Does Fletcher save his best performances for the big games or did Miami raise it's game at the end of the year and Fletcher benefitted. I think it's a little bit of both so I'll be looking for him to be more consistent in 2026.
Prospect Grade: 81
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5. L.J. Martin
6'2" 220 lbs.
BYU
Pro Comparison
Najee Harris
2025 Overview
Martin's 3rd season at BYU was exactly what we wanted to see from the big guy. As a bruising Running Back, Martin took the workload as BYU's main focus on offense and turned it into a Big12 Offensive Player of the Year season.
By the end of the season even with a nagging shoulder injury, Martin was getting 25+ touches per game and consistently getting 5-6 yards per touch. In those 25+ touches per game, Martin was also averaging almost 5 catches per game as a reliable checkdown and outlet threat. A HUGE game for BYU's conference play was late in the season at Cincinnati where Martin went for 266 total yards and 2 TDs.
-Big12 Offensive Player of the Year
-First Team All-Big12
Positives
-Elite frame and ability to fall forward
-Much better receiver than almost any back his size
-Very good breakaway speed for his size
-Showed an uptick in production in first season not splitting carries
-very secure hands led to 1 fumble all season
Negatives
-little to no receiving upside more than 3 yards down the field
-pass protection needs a lot of work
-Doesn't break tackles at a high enough rate
-Shoulder Injury last season seemed to nag
Player Summary
Martin is a medium-end bruiser of a Running Back that doesn't have the home run ability but definitely has the ability to move the line and fall forward for First Downs. With 4 years of experience in the Big12 including a standout 2025, Martin has one of the highest carry rates of anyone returning for the 2026 season.
That is both good and bad for the prospect. At his size and strength, Martin should definitely be durable enough to handle the workload but his carry-count already at 492 will always be a factor to me of an incoming Running Back.
For now though, nothing has stopped me from expecting anything less than another tough running season from Martin. Will he be the next Derrick Henry; capable of smashing through defenders for 300 carries per season? Or will he be more Najee Harris; a few years of tough running and decent stats before his workload gets the better of him.
Prospect Grade: 82.5
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4. Nate Frazier
5'10" 210 lbs.
Georgia
Pro Comparison
J.K. Dobbins
2025 Overview
Frazier's sophomore campaign with the Georgia Bulldogs built off his talented freshman season as he split carries with Travis Etienne, to being the more favored RB in another shared backfield this past season. Every statistic for Frazier improved this season but the eye test for Frazier got significantly better.
Even though Frazier saved his biggest games in 2025 for the likes of Mississippi St and Georgia Tech, he regularly had over 5 yards per carry against SEC teams and showed up big in Georgia's two CFP games this season.
Positives
-Great line speed
-Elite talent since High School
-Year-by-Year progress as a receiver
-Not a lot of mileage
-Only 20-years old
Negatives
-Pass protection need work
-Route running looks good but still needs work after catch
-Over 20 carries only once in his career (against UMass)
Player Summary
If anyone in this class is most likely to rocket up this list come April I might put my money on Frazier. Right now I'd have to say he's the most well-balanced with his receiving upside not to mention Georgia has done a great job in limiting his workload which should carry on through the 2026 season. Frazier's top-end speed is also very appealing to NFL teams even if he doesn't have the number of breakaways it would suggest.
Point blank, Frazier is probably a Top-3 athlete at his position and has the pedigree and balanced workload to assume his best work is ahead of him even if we don't know yet what level his ceiling is.
Prospect Grade: 83.5
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3. Ahmad Hardy
5'10" 205 lbs.
Mizzou
Pro Comparison
Travis Etienne
2025 Overview
Hardy had a spectacular 2024 at ULM as a True Freshman and when he transferred to Mizzou we had high hopes, but almost no one expected what we saw. Besides a 2-game stretch mid season against Bama and at Auburn, Hardy averaged 7 yards per carry all season while scoring 14 TDs in 11 games.
Hardy did everything you want to see out of a top prospect; he broke tackles at a better rate than anyone, he had 17 runs of over 20 yards, he was able to be a bruiser at the goal line and he had 8 games with over 20 carries.
He did not show us anything as a receiver but he didn't need to, Missouri's entire offense relied on Hardy running the ball and he didn't disappoint. Hardy had the 4th most carries in FBS last season and his 6.4 yards per carry was more than .6 more per carry than anyone else who had 250+ rushes.
For his trouble, Hardy took home Consensus First-Team All-American honors.
Positives
-Consensus best rusher last season
-Rarely gets brought down by first tackler
-best skillset to make tacklers miss
-patience-to-burst is NFL-ready
-Will be only 21-years old at the draft
Negatives
-Gunshot wound suffered in May will keep him out of at least Week 1 this season.
-Willing pass catcher but with almost nothing to show for it
-Good but not great breakaway speed
-Already has 493 carries in 2 years
Player Summary
It's literally all about the gunshot wound for Hardy. This Summer, Hardy was an innocent bystander at a concert when he was shot through the crowd in his upper leg; an injury he has been medically cleared from but hasn't resumed practicing since.
If Hardy had a clean bill of health he would be my, no-doubt RB1 of his class. Not on the same level as Love, Jeanty or Bijan, Hardy doesn't quite have that wow-factor but has just about everything else.
Patience and vision behind the line: check. Both agile and strength ball-carrier moves: check. Breakaway speed to pull away from defenders in long runs: kinda check. If Hardy comes back this 2026 season and plays more than 8 games, and looks like himself from last year, he will be right back to my RB1 of the class.
Prospect Grade: 84
(89 when not injured)
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2. Kewan Lacy
5'11" 200 lbs.
Ole Miss
Pro Comparison
Regular Season Kenneth Walker
2025 Overview
Lacy was the best-statistical Running Back in 2025 with almost 1,750 yards and 24 TDs in his first season at Ole Miss after transferring from Mizzou. As a part of Lane Kiffin's system, Lacy showed the ability to run the ball 20-30 times a game and run it hard every time.
Lacy took a while to get going in conference play last year, being held to under 100 yards and under 4 yards per carry in 4 straight-SEC games. Starting in Week 9 and through the Rebels' last 7 games Lacy couldn't be stopped and ran for 124 yards and 1.7 TDs per game. Running through S. Carolina, Florida, Tulane, Georgia and Miami, Lacy continued to put his team on his back especially in the CFP when Ole Miss had to go without Kiffin.
There's no way around it, when Kiffin left the way he did, Kewan Lacy (and Trinidad Chambliss) outperformed EVERYONE'S expectations. Ole Miss made it to the Semi-Finals in part due to Lacy's ability to consistently get big runs on First Down and his ability to run hard from the very first snap all the way until the final whistle blows.
-2025 All-American 1st Team
-2025 All SEC 1st Team
Positives
-Ironman and bell cow
-Contact balance showed in yards after contact especially in the Playoffs
-Not elite but very good speed
-8 games over 5 yards per carry
-Only 329 carries in his career
-Only 20 years old
Negatives
-Receiving game is still raw both in routes and hands
-Fumbles are an issue in big games
-Product of his system?
Player Summary
Lacy came on the scene in 2025 and may have had a slow start but became the workhorse Running Back most NFL teams dream of. He has little upside as a receiver, at least more than a few check downs a season but what he brings from the backfield is a little bit of everything.
Lacy isn't the flashiest runner nor is he a bowling ball but he is an extremely-high floor and consistent getter of yardage. Very rarely does he not fall forward and even more rare does he not find the right hole. His skillset to make tacklers miss is just better than good but certainly not elite. Lacy is fast, agile, patient and durable but far from the elusive runners we've seen at the top end of draft classes in the past.
Lacy can be as highly or low-graded as anyone wants but the truth is we don't really know how good he is until he plays the 2026 season without Kiffin. If we see the same bellcow from a year ago it wouldn't shock me at all to see him go RB1 in the draft. But if we see a drop in production or a lack of creativity from him especially behind the line, he will be burdened with a "Product of the System" label he won't be able to shake.
Prospect Grade: 84
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1. Jadan Baugh
6'1" 230 lbs.
Florida
Pro Comparison
Isiah Pacheco on ReBull
2025 Overview
After splitting carries in 2024 as a True Freshman, Baugh came back for his sophomore season as the clear RB`1 and right away we could tell that this kid would be in the league.
First and foremost, Baugh has the strength and mass to have 20+ touches per game. We saw that 6 times last season including 4 games with 4 or more receptions, showing us he's not just the bowling ball back he came into the season as.
Through the season, I was most impressed with how he got better against the best teams. 123 and a TD against Texas, 171 and a TD against Mississippi St, 89 and a TD against Georgia, 131 and a TD against Tennessee with the final game of the season being a monster-266 yard performance on the ground with 2 TDs.
-2025 All SEC 2nd Team
Positives
-Elite frame and agility combination
-Patience behind the line of scrimmage allows him to hit open holes while accelerating
-Great as a checkdown-receiver
-only fumble in college career as a true freshman
-Only 20 years old
Negatives
-Not a Home Run hitter
-Willing but unskilled pass blocker
-Uses his shoulders and trucking at times when he should go around defenders
Player Summary
The NFL has made a shift to agile and receiving-friendly backs over the last decade or so and Baugh is WAY more of the old school-breed. Baugh has a lot of Le'Veon Bell to him behind the offensive line but then runs hard and through people rather than trying to separate.
I believe that Baugh's combine will show a slower 40-time than we want and could hurt his draft stock in the Spring. As far as the receiving aspect goes, Baugh has soft hands and is willing to go into open space so even if his downfield routes aren't very crisp I believe NFL teams won't shy away from using him in flats and outs.
With Joe Sumrall coming in I think we'll see the best version of Baugh this year and highlight his ability to find the best hole and break through it on most if not every play. I just hope he doesn't have a 300-touch season and get burnt out before getting into the league. If Baugh was splitting carries still and saving his body for the NFL, the comparison to Josh Jacobs would have been uncanny.
Prospect Grade: 85.5
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