Dedrick Mills NFL Draft Scouting Report

Dedrick Mills came to Nebraska after a stretch that saw him play a fullback type role for Georgia Tech’s triple option and then a strong stint at Garden City. His two seasons at Nebraska saw him have 745 yards and 10 touchdowns during his junior season before an injury took out a chunk of the 2020 season. Here is a look at how Dedrick Mills projects forward into the NFL.

Measurables

Height: 5’10

Weight: 223

Hands: 9”

Arm: 32”

Wingspan: 76”

Grading

Position Ranking: 18

Trait Grade: 6.2/10 (Average)

Projection Grade: 6.0/10 (Depth Player)

Projection: 7th Round - Undrafted Free Agent

Strengths

• Strong contact balance that requires defenders to have to wrap him up to take him down
• Uses his speed to generate power that allows him to run through arm tackles
• Feet don’t stop moving which allows him to get tough yards or finish going forward
• Has the vision to see defenders coming off blocks and running lanes developing
• Able to make quick cuts to get to the running lane or run past defenders
• Shows enough burst and acceleration to get through the hole and to the second level

Weaknesses

• Lacks the lateral agility needed to elude defenders
• Does not have natural hands and often traps the ball or lets it get to his body
• Limited scheme fit due to lack of lateral agility and stop and start ability
• Not a quick twitch or explosive runner who needs to run north and south
• Lacks top end speed
• Limited route runner who only can run basic routes

Summary

At his best Dedrick Mills is an outside zone runner who is best suited to get running upfield as soon as possible. The outside zone run is Mills best fit as he shows good vision to see open lanes, put a foot down and get north and south as soon as possible. From there Mills is able to build up speed which allows him to generate power to run through arm tackles and reel off chunk runs. If asked to stop and start or run lateral, Mills will struggle because he lacks the change of direction ability and top end speed.

Projection

Mills has the traits to compete for a roster spot, but since he is scheme dependent it will all depend on landing with a team that runs a zone heavy scheme. In that scheme Mills can come in and use his vision, bust and contact balance to pick up yardage in a complementary role. With limited high end traits and a deep running back class it will be hard for Mills to be drafted. Devine Ozigbo was a better prospect than Mills coming out and he went undrafted. That likely means Mills ends up being an undrafted free agent and then has a shot to pick a team that best suits his skill set.