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Isaiah Spiller-Rookie Report Card

A football rests on a field

Isaiah Spiller 

Texas A&M

Size:   6’1/ 225lbs (I’ve also saw 215) 

 

I Rate all RB’s on a scale of 1-10

 

  • Footwork: 6
  • Vision: 8
  • Patience: 6
  • Elusiveness/ Evasion: 5
  • Contact Balance:  6
  • Tackle Breaking Ability (when a defender has a hand on him):  7
  • Game Speed: 6
  • Burst: 7
  • Hands:  8  
  • Receiving Ability:  8.5
  • Run Toughness:  8
  • Pass Block: 9.5

OVERALL: 83

I also tally the following:

 

Games Watched:   8

Successful Stiff Arms: 3

Successful Spin Moves: 1 

Trucks: 7

Tackles Shed:  46

Evaded Tackles:  23

Pass Block Losses:   2

Pass Block Wins:   18

Fall Forwards:  78

 

College Stats:

2019: 174 Att./ 946 yards/ 5.4 YPC/ 10TDs

2020: 188 Att./ 1,086 yards/ 5.5 YPC/ 9 TDs

2021: 179 Att./ 1,011 yards/ 5.6 YPC/ 6 TDs

Career Receiving Stats: 

74 Rec./ 585 Yards/ 1 TD

 

Summary/Fantasy Upside: 

Isaiah Spiller will be a guy I am paying close attention to when he weighs in at the combine. If he’s 225 instead of 215 that’s a lot different in terms of how I would value him. At the higher weight he would be a guy I valued more vs if he were smaller because his movement for his size would be much more impressive. 

 

Spiller is a solid RB. He’s not going to blow your mind a ton when you watch him, but he will consistently churn out yards. He’s one of those guys the coaches will adore. Great pass blocker, can play FB, and sells out for any given play.

 

He certainly will have tackle break ability, but nothing like Breece Hall from Iowa State, who I’ve also written a report about, and that can be found here. He’s a better all around receiver than Breece and a much better blocker, though.

 

Isaiah Spiller isn’t not incapable of big plays but I do think he will be contained in the NFL and be forced to rely more on volume and TDs than the truly elite RBs. I have included my notes as I watched him below, which I have divided into categories. 

Best situations: BUF, NYJ, ATL, MIA, SF

 

Physical Gifts

  • Can change his running angles without losing a ton of speed 
  • Can be difficult to bring down 1 on 1 
  • Decent burst but not elite
  • Would like to seem him retain more speed after contact 
  • Much harder to bring down in the second and third levels- doesn’t make a lot of people miss at the first level 
  • Open field is when he’s at his best for creating 
  • Does have nice subtle shiftiness 
  • Has decent breakaway speed
  • He can waste a little movement at times 
  • Has some nice hesitation moves in his arsenal 
  • He can get run down from behind 
  • Doesn’t have elite change of direction 
  • Looks like his tackle breaking ability improved during 2021 season 
  • Footwork better in 2021 also 
  • Can manipulate defenders well with little to no room 

 

Awareness

  • Doesn’t get cute, gets N and S ASAP 
  • Great cutback vision 
  • Lets ball get away from his body with contact sometimes which leads to fumbles
  • Good nose for first downs and the end zone 
  • All around good vision and lane finder 
  • Gets low quickly to take contact, allowing for some extra yards
  • Reads his blockers leverages well 

 

Effort and Versatility 

  • Sells out for runs 
  • Enjoys running with physicality 
  • Coaches will love him- always playing 110%
  • Can get the tough yards 
  • Unselfish player
  • I hope he goes to a team with a good OL or he may struggle more so than a guy like Breece Hall would  
  • Not afraid to hit a hole hard 
  • Can be used as a blocker in the run game as well at FB 
  • He’s going to be great in the option game 
  • Always playing fired up- will be a high energy player

 

Passing Game 

  • Needs to plant leg harder and make more distincts cuts on angle routes out of backfield 
  • Good recovery speed in pass pro
  • Great pass blocking skills- doesn’t give up much ground to blitzers- good form, good angles, and great understanding of who to pick up 
  • Honestly some of the best blitz pickups I’ve ever saw at the college level
  • Can win routes outside
  • Can make contested grabs 
  • Feels when to sit down in zones well
  • Good route runner overall- will definitely be able to separate from LBs and Safeties 

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Written by Scott Acquard

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