About J.K.

Here we are, once again, talking about a Texas breed football stud. J.K. Dobbins is from La Grange, Texas, which is a town in between Austin and Houston. He attended La Grange High School, and earned a 4 star rating at running back from ESPN, and 247Sports. Any school you could think of was recruiting J.K., and would narrow down on Texas, Oklahoma, and Ohio State. Dobbins missed most of his senior season after an injury Week 1, but finished his career with 5,149 yards and 74 rushing touchdowns. He credits that injury as motivation to work hard to get back on the field, which he says had helped lead him to the success he has seen now.

J.K. would receive playing time immediately, playing in all 14 games as a freshman. Even by his standards he would be better than expected, rushing for 1,403 yards, seven rushing touchdowns and 22 catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. That’s the most rushing yards ever recorded by an Ohio State freshman. Dobbins finished 2nd in the Big-Ten rushing yards even though he had to split time with 2016 Big-Ten Freshman of the Year Mike Weber. His big play ability helped lead the Buckeyes to a 12-2 record and a BIg-Ten Championship. Though they were passed up by Alabama for the College Football Playoff, they would still earn an invite to the 2017 Cotton Bowl vs USC.

Ohio State would still have Dobbins split carries with Mike Weber,and saw an uptick in the passing offense due to Dwayne Haskin’s becoming the starter. He remained the Buckeyes leading rusher, but saw a decrease in production. He finished with 1,043 yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, and 26 receptions for 263 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He would earn a spot on Second Team All Big-Ten list for the second time in his young career. Once again the Buckeyes would be looking from the outside of the College Football Playoff after another 12-1 season. They would get an invite to play in the Rose Bowl vs Washington, where they would get their 13th win of the season, 28-23.

2019 would be another record breaking year for Dobbins, and the Ohio State offense. He would become the only Ohio State rusher to break 2,000 rushing yards, and break Eddie George’s single season rushing record for the Buckeyes. It is only fitting that he broke the record on an explosive 64 yard rush. He would finish the season with 2,003 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, and 23 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Not only did he earn a nod on the first team All Big-Ten list, he was also a First Team All-American and finished 6th in Heisman voting.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths

He is lightning in a bottle. Very explosive and elusive. I love his big play capability, and the way he never tends to take negative yards either. You could partially give it to the Buckeyes’ offensive line, but you have to give credit where credit is due. Dobbins runs hard, and has awesome balance that helps him get yards after contact.

Recorded over 5,100 all-purpose yards in three years at Ohio State, and has the 2nd most rushing yards in school history. Dobbins has two career games with over 200 rushing yards and five with over 175. He did all that against some of the best defenses in the country, Big-Ten or SEC. Proving yourself against the best is a big thing in my book.

Weaknesses

There isn’t too much to not like about Dobbins. He has room to grow as a receiver. His lateral quickness can hinder him from getting initial separation with defensive backs. Most of his catches came from making do with a broken play, and moving out from the backfield. You would like to see him work on his route tree more and be able to work himself open.

NFL Draft Projection/NFL Player Comp

NFL Draft Projection

We just saw a Super Bowl featuring two undrafted free agent running backs be key factors in their teams success. On the other hand we see some of the NFL’s highest paid running backs hitting the trade block according to some NFL sources. It isn’t a great time to be an NFL running back prospect. With that being said, I feel like some team is going to fall in love with Dobbin’s tape, and play making ability.

I would be surprised if Dobbins isn’t one of the Top 60 players selected in this year’s class, especially with the middle of the draft featuring a lot of run heavy offenses. He is my 54th ranked player on my latest NFL Draft Big Board, which is about the range I think he will be selected. I currently have him going to the Houston Texans with their 57th overall pick. Dobbins is the perfect running back to help Deshaun Watson not have to be Superman all the time. Houston doesn’t have too many holes they need to fix, but adding a running back like Dobbins will make this offense not so one dimensional

NFL Player Comp

Dobbins is a physical runner, who is a pain to bring down with a single tackler. Even though he is smaller in size, he can pack a lot of power in his punches, and still offers a ton of elusiveness. He is a nice combination of what made Ray Rice great, and what I love about Mark Ingram as well.

While he is known for his rushing, Dobbins is a capable receiver too. He caught 71 passes over his career, and has enough ball skills to keep him in on 3rd downs. I keep thinking back on his 4th & 29 play against the Chargers, allowing them to tie the game. Rice was able to catch the ball at the line of scrimmage and work his way through the entire defense, literally leaving a pile of 4 Chargers behind him. That’s the best play I could use to describe what you will get out of J.K Dobbins.