Devin Neal

Devin "Sweet Feet" Neal is a fun player to watch. He can carve up run defenses with his insanely quick feet. Neal's stop/start ability is special, with the skill to cut on a dime and change directions effortlessly. Neal can string together multiple moves fluidly without losing a ton of speed. Neal has a great feel for the press and flow of outside zone runs, the short-area agility to excel with duo, and the vision to operate well with inside zone. He's a nice fit in multiple run schemes, which can add to his appeal to NFL teams. Neal wins with quickness and lateral agility while flashing immediate speed. He gets up to top speed in a hurry. It helps offset the fact that he doesn't an elite home run gear. Neal's tackle-breaking ability isn't great, though. He goes down easily when wrapped up well or hit low. He needs to continue to add strength to his lower half and improve his leg drive. I can't wait to see how his game evolves in the NFL, especially after spending some time in an NFL strength and conditioning program. If he can add some more in this realm to his game, his upside is huge. Neal was deployed out of the backfield on check-downs. He displayed a set of soft hands that rarely dropped a ball. I want to see Neal deployed with a creative play-caller in the NFL. He didn't see more than an 8% slot rate in the 2024 season until his final three games of the season. I want to see what Neal can do from the slot, on wheel routes, and with angle routes. His short area quickness leads me to believe there's another evolution of his game as a receiver that could take place in the NFL. Neal made substantial improvements as a pass protector in 2024. He only allowed five pressures all season, and four of them came in one game. Neal had a 76.2 or higher pass pro grade in seven games in 2024. In previous seasons, he had a hard time anchoring and would routinely get blown off his spot and out of his cleats. He has the willingness and tenacity to develop into a trusted pass protector, and his improvements in 2024 suggest he could take that next step in the NFL.

Devin Neal had more than 1,000 rushing yards and 20-plus catches in each of his last three college seasons, averaging 6.0 yards per carry over that span. He had 16 TD runs in each of the last two years. Although his top-end speed isn't great, Neal has terrific lateral agility and is a dangerous cutback runner. He can stop on a dime and then quickly re-accelerate. Neal also has good vision and patience. In other years, Neal might be a top-five RB prospect. That he's not a unanimous top-10 RB prospect speaks volumes about how loaded this RB class is.