JK Dobbins, Ohio State
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 209 pounds
40-yard dash: NA
Vertical Jump: NA
Broad Jump: NA
3-Cone Drill: NA
(Games Scouted: TCU (2018) | Maryland (2018) | Nebraska (2018) | Wisconsin (2019) | Nebraska (2019) | Michigan State (2019) | Northwestern (2019))
If you’re looking for pure talent at the RB position, you don’t need to look any further than former Ohio State RB, JK Dobbins.
The dynamic playmaker had a stellar freshman season, where he totaled 7.2 YPC on 194 attempts. His sophomore season saw him come back down to earth slightly, but he put on an absolute show in 2019. In his junior season, Dobbins had 301 attempts on the ground for 2003 yards and 21 touchdowns, while adding 247 yards and another two touchdowns through the air. If you’re looking for a producer in college football, Dobbins and Jonathan Taylor should be at the top of your list.
Unfortunately, Dobbins was dealing with an ankle injury he suffered in the College Football Playoff and was unable to participate in the NFL Combine. In previous years, he would have been able to fall back on his Pro Day to generate athletic testing numbers, but that’s just not going to happen this year. As a result, we only have the tape to go off of evaluating Dobbins as a prospect and what he brings to a NFL team. This may be concerning to NFL GMs and we could potentially see a fall in the draft from Dobbins as a result.
Does Dobbins’ game translate to the NFL level? Where should we be drafting him in our Dynasty rookie drafts?
Those questions are answered here in my detailed scouting report on JK Dobbins (ratings out of five stars):
Vision/Awareness
I came away impressed with Dobbins’ vision and patience behind the line of scrimmage. He consistently shows the willingness to follow his lead blockers and shows a high proficiency in being able to read the full field well. He has a myriad of attack moves to freeze defenders when met at the line of scrimmage and then has the burst to pull away from them for additional yardage.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
One lucky NFL team is going to get an absolute steal in Jk Dobbins 💪 pic.twitter.com/0HOO2QzQvE
— Barstool OSU (@BarstoolOSU) March 26, 2020
Elusiveness (twitch, juke, tackle-breaking)
Dobbins is actually much more of a grinder than you would anticipate and he loves embracing contact. He has several instances on tape where he is simply lowering his shoulder and moving a defender backwards, but he still maintains his balance and picks up additional yardage. With that being said, Dobbins also has great elusiveness in the open field and this is primarily due to his great start/stop ability. He is able to throw on the brakes, let the defender continue on by him, and then use his burst and acceleration to quickly get back to top speed. He’s a nightmare in the open field to tackle.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
Please get out of JK Dobbins way or he will do it for youpic.twitter.com/nvAdI6o634
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) August 31, 2019
Size/Speed
Throughout the 2018 games and early 2019 games that I watched, I wasn’t exactly impressed with Dobbins’ top-end speed. He certainly had enough burst and agility to excel in the NFL, but it wasn’t something that I would’ve classified as his best trait…and then the College Football Playoff hit and Dobbins kicked things into another gear. The below clip shows Dobbins’ ability in the open field and shows how he can kick into another gear when he sees daylight. There’s no reason to doubt that Dobbins could have run in the mid-4.4’s, if not faster, at the NFL Combine. He’s an explosive athlete and showed that with his vertical jump numbers (43 inches) coming out of high school.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
JK Dobbins made that Clemson safety look SILLY pic.twitter.com/YTwaXADN4m
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 29, 2019
Pass-catching/Pass Protection
From a pass protection standpoint, Dobbins may be the best in this class. His recognition and technique is outstanding and he’ll be able to stay on the field all three downs. From a pass catching standpoint, he’s an incredibly natural receiver and runs incredibly crisp routes out of the backfield. He’ll become a favorite target of a QB in the short passing game immediately.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
JK Dobbins saying hello to the looping blitzer pic.twitter.com/DlbxukWn7y
— Dalton Miller (@DaltonBMiller) April 5, 2020
Versatility
As mentioned above, Dobbins brings the ability to stay on the field for all three downs and can be used in every facet of the game. He’ll be able to step onto the field week one and be a great option for protecting the QB and being a receiving outlet out of the backfield.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins is FUN
🔸Vision/decision-making defines the path
🔸Mobility in the lower half EXECUTES
🔸Instincts help him string moves togetherDobbins' change of direction skills are sneaky awesome, especially for a guy of his density. OILY HIPS #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/jw4oR5aB7H
— Benjamin Solak (@BenjaminSolak) February 10, 2020
Projected Draft Spot
Right now, the talent level of Dobbins should have him up with the consensus top-two players in Jonathan Taylor and D’Andre Swift. However, the ankle issue and inability to gather athletic testing numbers has his draft stock up in the air. He’s still likely to go off the board in the second round of the NFL Draft though, but it’s simply a question of where…he’s likely to fall into a great spot for fantasy football though and should receive a ton of work right out of the gates. I’m in the camp that believes Dobbins needs to be considered with a top-6 Dynasty rookie draft pick currently and that could potentially move up after the NFL Draft when we know his landing spot. (The Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round make a ton of sense as a landing spot, which would send him skyrocketing up my Dynasty rookie rankings)
Click here for our complete list of NFL Draft prospect profiles.
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Kyle Yates is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Kyle, check out his archive and follow him @KyleYNFL.
