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Brandon Wilds, RB
School: South Carolina | Conference: SEC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 22
Height / Weight: 6-1 / 220 lbs
SPARQ: 126.2 / NFL %: 63.5
Projected Draft Status: 5th - 7th Round
NFL Comparison: Arian Foster
College Statistics
| Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Class | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| *2011 | 13 | 107 | 486 | 4.5 | 3 | 15 | 136 | 9.1 | 0 | 122 | 622 | 5.1 | 3 | |
| *2013 | SO | 7 | 43 | 221 | 5.1 | 3 | 9 | 119 | 13.2 | 2 | 52 | 340 | 6.5 | 5 |
| *2014 | JR | 12 | 106 | 570 | 5.4 | 4 | 18 | 143 | 7.9 | 1 | 124 | 713 | 5.8 | 5 |
| 2015 | SR | 9 | 123 | 567 | 4.6 | 3 | 17 | 142 | 8.4 | 0 | 140 | 709 | 5.1 | 3 |
| Career | 379 | 1844 | 4.9 | 13 | 59 | 540 | 9.2 | 3 | 438 | 2384 | 5.4 | 16 | ||
Player Overview
The Arian Foster comparison is easy, so easy he actually made it himself, but I like it much more than I like the Matt Forte comparison, which he also made, that is thrown around so often. Not only does Brandon Wilds run more like Foster than he does Forte, but the two had markedly similar collegiate careers in the SEC, featuring a bevy of injuries, low draft stock and more questions than answers about his potential.
Wilds does a good job of hitting holes, he's got a strong upper body and a strong lower body, and he has decent hands. He doesn't look especially fast on film, and his pedestrian 40-time of 4.54 at the Combine reinforces the notion that his outright speed is minimal. He's got a pretty good burst, however, which is why he sometimes breaks long runs.
Strengths
- A tactful player, Wilds hits the holes that are available and falls forward when he's getting tackled.
- He has soft hands, and while he isn't the type to make amazing catches, he can be expected to reliably catch the ones he should catch.
- Wilds is solidly built, as evidenced by his strong showing in the vertical jump (36.5", the sixth best among running backs, despite carrying 220 pounds) and his respectable showings in the broad jump and bench press. His legs keep churning when he's on his way down, much like Foster, as well as Alfred Morris.
Weaknesses
- He can't stay on the field. This is easily the biggest concern with Wilds, who played in just 41 games in four seasons. The relatively good news is it was a variety of injuries as opposed to one recurring injury. A hamstring here, an ankle there, a shoulder elsewhere — it was always something with the poor guy.
- In the linked video above, from one of his Combine interviews, Wilds predicts a sub-4.5 40 and claims he ran a 4.40 in workouts. He then turned in a 4.54. He'll likely improve on that time at his Pro Day, as just about everybody does, but he would need to dramatically improve upon that number to really impact his draft stock.
- He doesn't really do anything extraordinarily well. Plenty of running backs have had success in the NFL with the same deficiency, but that still isn't a great sign.
How He Would Fit on the Redskins
The Redskins need to add another running back, preferably one who can help in the passing game, so Wilds makes sense right off the bat. However, Washington is reluctant to put too much on Matt Jones' plate, and Wilds' injury history makes it likely that he won't be around often. And while he and Chris Thompson are very different running backs, Thompson is an injury-prone back who largely maintains a roster spot for his ability as a pass-catcher — Wilds might cause more headaches than he's worth in that regard.