J.K. Dobbins NFL draft profile and fantasy projection

J.K. Dobbins broke his right leg his senior season in high school, but still went on to start his freshman year at Ohio State, accumulating 1,403 yards and 7 touchdowns on 194 attempts for a 7.2 ypc average. His sophomore season wasn’t as productive but he went off his junior year, rushing for over 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns at 6.7 ypc, adding 23 receptions for 247 yards and two more touchdowns. He never missed a game to injury and totaled 796 touches through three season.

Scouting Report

Robbins is the real deal. He can read defenses like a veteran, has excellent vision, can change directions on a dime, and has the acceleration and balance to get through a crease and make defenders miss.

At 5’9” 209 pounds, Dobbins has a stout base to work from reminding you of Ray Rice as he stops and goes with ease. He’s not going to outrun defensive backs to the end zone but he has the ability to get them into bad angles and make them miss when underestimating his burst out of cuts. He’s a hard player for defenders to square up on, which has likely helped him avoid major injuries despite a big workload.

J.K. Dobbins is a late Day 1/early Day 2 candidate for teams looking for a feature back. Dobbins’ vision is perhaps the best in the class, and his delightful change of direction skills allow him to flip angles and sneak through gaps that backs of his size typically don’t take advantage of. — Benjamin Solak, The Draft Network

One of the most prolific runners in Ohio State history, Dobbins is short and thick with a low center of gravity. He possesses an exciting combination of balance, grace, explosion, and toughness that—for brief moments—reminds me of LaDainian Tomlinson. — Matt Waldman, Rookie Scouting Portfolio

Mock Draft Results

Mel Kiper, ESPN: 2nd RB on big board, not in 1st round
Daniel Jeremiah, NFL.com: Not in 1st round
Eric Edholm, Yahoo Sports: Dolphins, 2nd round
Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire: Not in 1st round

Fantasy impact: Rookie year

Dobbins will likely end up going in the second round to a running back needy team, which should give him a good chance to see meaningful work his rookie season. He should hit the ground running and has the stuff to win a competition for snaps and touches. We’ll know more about his upside after the draft, but he is someone I’d take a risk on even if he’s in a tough situation to start.

Fantasy impact: Career

Dobbins’ is a no-doubt first rounder in dynasty rookie drafts and could be a Top-10 fantasy back in year one with the right offense. If we can get that production early, we’d be off to a great start as a fantasy commodity. Running back probably shouldn’t be forced to spend three years in college, as they already have a short shelf life, so teams and fantasy players need to get those fantasy points from Day 1 and Dobbins has that ability.