Brandon Wilds, RB Atlanta Falcons

Height- 6’1″
Weight- 222 Pounds
Hands- 10 1/4″
Bench Press- 21 Reps
Vertical Jump- 36.5″
Broad Jump- 118″
40 Time- 4.54

NFL Comparison: Mikel Leshoure, Brandon Bolden, Toby Gerhart, Arian Foster

Given RosterWatch Nation’s deep affection for Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, Brandon Wilds borderline fascinates us. Easily as talented as several of the backs drafted on Day 3, his NFL Combine physical player comps are insane (some of the top comps are freaky- Gurley, Lattimore, Ezekiel Elliot, Jonathan Williams)

Wilds’ name wasn’t called during the 2016 NFL Draft because of durability issues. Never suffering a catastrophic injury, Wilds seemed to be plagued by nagging soft-tissue ailments and bruised ribs, never becoming much more than a 100-attempt guy over a lengthy college career at South Carolina.

What we can’t wrap our mind around is that when we watch Wilds we can’t get Arian Foster — another UDFA — out of our head. If you check their college stats and measurables it gets even weirder. It’s notable for Atlanta, because they don’t currently have a runner who fills the big back/thumper role, so he’s a nice add to the depth chart. He’ll probably have to make the roster via special teams contributions, but his only competition in the backfield is a player named Gus Johnson who even the Trashman is not aware of.

Wilds runs with build-up speed, his burst and acceleration are modest — however his long-speed is impressive for a big man. He’s a little heavy-legged but has decent feet and can finish off defenders. Wilds is a no-nonsense, north-south runner who gets downhill. He’s capable in the screen game, and was an experienced pass-catcher out of the backfield in college.

Some question his ability to fit the zone scheme. We believe that’s mainly because South Carolina didn’t seem to run much of it — so it’s not that he can’t do it — there just isn’t much evidence he can either, so it’s up in the air. There are some pull plays on tape off-tackle where he patiently strings the play out and hits the one cut up field for nice gainers. We have a feeling this is what the Atlanta offensive staff saw and projected to their outside-zone-heavy run game.

The Falcons backfield is one we will monitor closely throughout training camp. At the moment, we are intrigued with Wilds as the handcuff to the handcuff in Atlanta. If we were told right now that he was slated for 20 carries in any given week, we’d start him in our own leagues and DFS lineups. With that said, he should be drafted in dynasty as nothing more than that: a handcuff to a handcuff. He’s a late-round flier at best.