This contribution is from Conor Butts, his debut at UTHDynasty.com. Follow him on Twitter.
2017 was his year. Akrum Wadley just came off of a season of 1081 yards and 6.4 yards per carry during his junior year. Expectations were high for him for his senior season in college, and he did not disappoint because he showed what type of prospect he is and the talent that he has for the pro game.
To start, Wadley is 5’11 and 195 pounds which is a good height but a little undersized for the running back position. But his niche in the NFL will not be the power running back on early downs, it will be a PPR receiving back.
In high school, Wadley was not highly recruited and did not receive a college scholarship offer until January 21st of his senior year with Temple and Iowa being the only two. He chose Iowa and during his freshman year but did not receive much playing time where he only received 33 carries for 186 yards and a reception for negative yardage. But over the next 2 years he worked his way into becoming the feature back for his last two seasons.
Junior + Senior Statistics
| Rushes | RUSH Yards | RUSH TD | REC | REC Yards | REC TD | 100yd GM | YPG | YPC | |
| 2016 | 168 | 1081 | 10 | 36 | 315 | 3 | 8/13 | 107.4 | 6.4 |
| 2017 | 252 | 1109 | 10 | 28 | 356 | 3 | 8/13 | 112.46 | 4.4 |
He had standout games against Ohio State, Nebraska, and Penn State which Iowa to an 8-5 record this season.
The positives with Wadley are his exceptional quickness and agility. Multiple times against Ohio State he used his jump cut in one-on-one situations, frequently turning a loss into a gain, stepping defenders in the backfield. He has good vision on the interior, also getting skinny through small holes. Wadley excels in the passing game as he has strong hands with great elusiveness.
The negatives with Wadley is his lack of size and power. When there are two or more defenders around him he tends to go down easily and doesn’t gain extra yards. He also lacks the long speed on breakaway runs and some defenders can catch him from behind
Wadley projects to be an early Day 3 pick in the draft and will be a 3rd down receiving back. He is a willing blocker which helps his chances for playing time. In a rookie draft his fit is at the end of the 2nd round because he has PPR upside, but doesn’t have 3 down potential. He compares favorably to Chris Thompson or Gio Bernard because they all are exceptional in quickness/elusiveness and have very good hands receiving.
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