Javian Hawkins

Hawkins is an explosive athlete with incredible top end speed, but it might be difficult to find a place for him in the NFL due to his body type and skillset. Hawkins is a bit undersized, which forced Louisville to run Hawkins to the outside on stretch plays or wide zone runs frequently. He very rarely ran it between the tackles. He has excellent vision on stretches and outside runs though. Able to identify running lanes quickly and able to slow his momentum just enough to put himself in the best position to explode through the hole. However, struggles in between the tackles on standard runs and he might not have the size to do this repeatedly at the next level. Good burst and acceleration for his size. It's not as explosive as some of the other players in this class, but it's more than serviceable. Good lateral mobility and able to frequently make jump cuts. Able to juke defenders in the open field with his start/stop ability and good footwork.Little to no power aspect to his game with his size. Very unlikely to move defenders backwards or even try to engage with them repeatedly. Tremendous top-end speed. Able to take any sliver of daylight and take it to the house. Evidenced by his 75-yard TD run against Pitt. Decent contact balance. Able to navigate traffic on zone runs and regain his footing if he's knocked off center. Didn't show a proficient ability to consistently break tackles in the open field, but does have a solid center of gravity to regain his balance. Wasn't targeted much on tape. Brought the ball into his body a bit too much rather than using his hands, which isn't a death sentence for RBs but it is concerning. Unlikely to be featured much in this role in the NFL. Struggles mightily in pass protection. Has one pass protection block move, which is to drop his head and throw himself at the feet of the incoming blitzer. Got him in trouble quite a few times and NFL LBs and Safeties are going to simply just go right around him. Overall, Hawkins is a speed threat that would be a good fit in an outside zone running scheme. However, what he weighs in at at his Pro Day is going to be critical for his draft stock. Can he get over 200 pounds and still run in the low 4.4's? Then he might be a late Day 3 pick. If not, he might be a UDFA and struggling to find a spot on a roster. He needs to improve in both pass-catching and pass protection first before he can be considered a solid option for a NFL offense.

Javian Hawkins scores a touchdown in Titans debut

Titans running back Javian Hawkins only got 10 carries in Saturday's preseason game, but he was efficient in tallying up 49 yards and a score while also catching his lone target for seven yards.

Fantasy Impact

It was Hawkins' first game with the Titans after being waived by the Atlanta Falcons earlier this week and he certainly played well enough to warrant a roster spot. Hawkins figures to be a depth piece on the Titans roster but has shown the explosiveness to eventually carve out a role for himself.