When evaluating and projecting college football players to the NFL it is important that you look at each player and grade them individually; oftentimes, too many pundits set certain standards that each player must meet or they will be discarded. However, this will lead to evaluators missing on some great players just because they don’t fit into the prototypical mold a player at that position should have. Instead, evaluators should look to see if that player has necessary qualities that will allow him to overcome those established shortcomings.

Russell Wilson wasn’t supposed to succeed because he didn’t meet the height requirement that many evaluators set for quarterbacks. However, his intelligence, athleticism and accuracy have allowed him to overcome his lack of height and become one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Telvin Smith was deemed too small to thrive as a linebacker, but his speed, athleticism and coverage ability have helped him to win the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in his rookie year.

This year, we have Duke Johnson, junior running back out of the University of Miami, who may fall in the draft because he falls short (no pun intended) of certain benchmarks that have been set for his position much like Smith and Wilson. However, in the same vein of Smith and Wilson, Johnson has other characteristics that will allow him to prosper in the NFL.

Two of the baseline requirements that many experts have in regards to running backs is that they must have enough size to hold up against an NFL pounding, if they don’t they must have elite long speed to make up for it. Furthermore, they can’t have ball-security issues, because that is the quickest way to the bench in the NFL.

Duke Johnson isn’t blessed with any of those baseline requirements. He has below average size (5-foot-9 and 206 pounds), he’s doesn’t have the type of elite long speed that is required to outrun defenders no matter what their angle is and he has had a fumbling problem. While some will discredit Johnson’s ability to produce in the NFL based on those absent traits, Johnson has what it takes to be an impactful and productive NFL running back.

We have talked enough about what qualities Johnson possesses that may push him down draft boards, but what characteristics does he have that will allow him to flourish in the NFL?

Johnson’s best trait is his great change of direction abilities. No matter how fast he is moving; he can cut into the open field without having to break his stride. This allows Johnson to get into running lanes that few running backs can get into. Time and again, he is accelerating as he makes his cut, which allows him to gain a great deal of separation from opposing defenders.

This change of direction is illustrated incredibly here:

On this play, Johnson displays the mental maturity to be patient and allow his blocks to develop, while exhibiting the physical ability to make nimble cuts at multiple levels of the defense. At the start of the play, he has the wherewithal to press the outside to widen the edge defender so that he has space to cut back inside. After his cut inside, four Cincinnati defenders surround him; therefore, he makes an outstanding lateral cut to his outside into the open field where he can easily outrun the Cincinnati defensive lineman for the 80-yard touchdown.

To make that play, Johnson had to have the vision to see the running lanes, the cognitive ability to understand where the defenders were with respect to his body and the ankle and hip flexibility along with the foot speed to make two lateral cuts without losing speed. Those traits are rare and the main reasons why Johnson will be a productive NFL running back; however, they are not his only positive traits that will translate well to the NFL.

Johnson is at his best in the open field where can use his fantastic change of direction skills to make opponents miss. However, he is not averse to making the tough runs between the tackles where he must fight for any positive yardage. In the NFL, running backs make their money between the tackles because it is too hard to get to the outside on a regular basis against the extremely athletic and disciplined defenses. The great running backs don’t try to hit the home run on every play; instead, they make decisive decisions and get downhill as soon as possible.

Johnson understands this concept very well, which is illustrated here:

On this play, most athletic running backs would try and bounce it outside to try to outrun the edge defender who has the better angle. Nevertheless, Johnson comes downhill after the handoff and starts to move laterally to help set up the pulling guards block. For just a moment, he thinks about bouncing the run outside, but he sees that the linebacker has the angle on him to the sideline. He then turns his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage and gets three yards where a lot of running backs would have danced and got tackled for negative yardage.

The most underrated aspect of Johnson’s toolkit is his ability to pass protect. One of the biggest reasons why talented running backs don’t see the field is because they are a liability in protecting the quarterback. The running back has to be able to diagnose where the free defenders are coming from and they must have the strength, power and technique to absorb the blow from the defender, keep their feet and maintain the block until the quarterback throws the ball.

While Johnson may be small, he doesn’t get blown back when blocking defenders who are much bigger than him. This means that Johnson knows how to use his hands, hips and feet in concert with one another so that he can give the quarterback more time to throw the ball. Johnson isn’t asked to pass protect often because Miami would rather utilize his skills as a receiver, but when he is asked he gets the job done.

Here is a great example of Johnson’s ability as a pass-blocker:

In this play, Johnson does a terrific job of coming across the formation to make a great block on the unblocked Georgia Tech linebacker. He does a great job of coiling his hips and then exploding into the linebacker, which knocks him out of the play and unable to affect the quarterback’s pass.

When Johnson isn’t pass protecting, he is a very capable receiver who runs precise route while exhibiting natural hands when catching passes. Johnson has the ability to take a simple swing pass and turn it into a game-changing type of play.

While Johnson can’t change his stature, there are areas where he will need to improve once he gets to the NFL. First, he needs to get much more powerful in his lower half. All too often, Johnson is taken down by tackles around his ankles. Johnson needs to be able to run through those at the next level. If Johnson stays committed to the weight room in the NFL, it shouldn’t take long for him to develop the leg strength and drive to break those ankle tackles. Most importantly, he must get better with his ball security. Like many young running backs, Johnson doesn’t protect the ball enough against oncoming contact. He must do a better job of maintaining his three points of contact, while absorbing the impact of defenders. If Johnson can become more secure with the ball, then there is nothing holding him back from becoming an effective running back in the NFL.

Johnson’s skill set seems to best fit with a team that uses a zone-blocking scheme. This will allow Johnson to utilize his vision, patience and lateral agility to press the edge, make a cut and get north-south immediately. Johnson is at his best when he can use his vision to read running lanes and then accelerate as he makes his cut to get into the hole and through the defense.

Johnson’s injury history and size concerns suggest that he is best in an offense that employs a rotation at the running back position much in the same vein as the Cleveland Browns. They rotate different running backs in and utilize each of their strengths while they are in the game. This would limit the chance of an injury, while also maximizing Johnson’s playmaking ability.

Johnson compares well with Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard. They are both undersized running backs that are quicker than fast with incredible vision and lateral agility, which allows them to knife through opposing defenses. They both have great ability as receivers out of the backfield as well. Bernard has been a very effective player for the Bengals, which lays the blueprint for how Johnson can succeed.

If you take a narrow-minded, rigid look at Johnson, you are going to miss what makes him great. Usually, it’s not okay to break the rules, but if those rules won’t allow you to see Johnson’s potential then it should be encouraged.