There are hundreds of stories and opinions shared during the planning and anticipation stages of the 2018 NFL Draft. As a former high school football coach and educator by trade, one of my passions include providing film-based reviews on rookie prospects and focusing on their strengths and weakness which may assist other fantasy football enthusiasts in their evaluations.

After reviewing five of his games, here’s my scouting report on Tennessee Volunteers running back John Kelly:

[Note: These game videos are available via YouTube and DraftBreakdown]

RB John Kelly, Tennessee
5’9” | 212 lbs.

Games Studied: Florida, Georgia, U of Mass, Georgia Tech, Kentucky (2016)

Cons: Character issues for John Kelly have been jumping off all over the place. Back in his freshman season, he stomped on a Georgia player’s head at the bottom of a pile. In 2017, the Kelly was suspended one game for marijuana use, and rumors continue to circulate that he was involved in a domestic violence dispute sometime in January 2018. These concerns might make it difficult to draft Kelly early in both NFL and fantasy drafts scenarios. Also, the former Volunteer has never received a full workload of touches. He shared carries with a better athlete in Alvin Kamara (2015-2016), but only got 189 carries his junior season with two younger backs combining for 102 carries.

Questions are surfacing about Kelly’s 40-yard dash time as he chose not to run it at the NFL Combine. Reports state that he ran a 4.50 at Tennessee’s Pro Day, but conflicting reports state the time was closer to 4.60. Even if the former Volunteer back ran a 4.50 40-yard dash, his time would be more equivalent to a 4.55 electronically clocked Combine time. There were several instances of Kelly getting caught from behind in pursuit down the field that would support this lack of speed. He keeps his feet chopping throughout his runs, but it seldom seems to generate much power behind it. Kelly’s pad level doesn’t protect him well, which causes him to take a few too many extra hits. Kelly also suffers from the desire to bounce many of his runs outside, which works well in college, but is harder to do against quicker, more athletic NFL defenders.

Pros: Kelly never receiving a full workload is a blessing in disguise as the young runner is arriving at the NFL with fresh legs and should be able to take the pounding that is expected towards an NFL starting running back. Kelly became a team captain in 2017 and is said to be a good leader who understood the game plan well. The young prospect is a strong inside runner and is quite efficient at breaking tackles, especially in short yardage situations which makes him a constant threat to score near the goal line. Even though his timed speed is in question, Kelly uses spins, stiff arms, and jump cuts to create separation between himself and the defenders in his way. He seems to find his second gear out in space while possessing more than adequate vision to locate nearby rushing lanes and uses his developed sense of balance to maneuver away from danger.

In the passing game, Kelly is a strong pass blocker who uses a solid base to keep his quarterback clean in the pocket. As a receiver, he displays soft hands and does a good job catching the ball in stride. Kelly shows the capability to run a few more developed routes than just the occasional screen which will make him more valuable in PPR leagues as well as keep him on the field more often during this RBBC era. Kelly does a great job of taking care of the football, registering just three career fumbles (one in 2017). Although Kelly didn’t return punts or kickoffs at Tennessee, he was an all-purpose returner in high school, so the former Volunteer could get called to action there if necessary.

Overall impressions: Kelly has quite a few character concerns going on, along with an unknown 40-yard dash time that questions his value. Before these concerns were front and center, many people including myself had Kelly among the top eight fantasy rookie running backs due to his strong inside running and soft hands. I would still be willing to take a chance on him at the end of the second or early third rounds of rookie drafts, depending on the team that takes him.

Thanks for reading. I will continue to generate and discuss 2018 rookie scouting reports with you so be sure to keep an eye on DTC for all of the new content. You can also follow me on Twitter @AndrewMiley.