I’ve been overly positive in the last few 2020 NFL Draft profile posts I’ve written. No cookie cutter shit here, I’m honest. Now let’s talk about a prospect who I’m not fond of, Eno Benjamin. In a loaded running back class, Eno Benjamin finds himself on the outside looking in. Even among the middle tier backs, you can do better than the Arizona State scat back. Let’s take a loot at the Eno Benjamin 2020 NFL Draft Profile.
In terms of production, it sure as hell wasn’t overly impressive. 253 carries, 1,083 yards, 4.3 ypc, and 10 touchdowns in 12 starts. 4.3 yards per carry is not great. Especially in the Pac 12 where defense is not the calling card. Benjamin did add some production on the ground with 42 receptions, 347 yards, 8.3 average, two touchdowns which serves as a sort of saving grace. Still, Benjamin was far from producing at an elite level.
One thing to like is Benjamin’s short are quickness. The 39 inch vertical shows some of that off. He can make someone miss in the hole. Outside of that, there’s not a lot to like.
When I watch Benjamin play, there is a lot of indecision. I don’t like his vision. Often times it felt like he was trying to look for a big run. That ended up backfiring more often than not turning into an array of moves going nowhere. 4.57 speed is fine but far from special. In fact, it’s probably a bad time given his 5-foot-9, 207 frame. 207 is very generous too. Some water chugging going on there. Again, 4.2 yards per carry at the college level is NOT GOOD. What’s that mean when he gets to the NFL level 2.2?
Eno might have some wiggle to him but he looked like someone who was very easy to bring down after first contact. It would be one thing if Benjamin just didn’t have much room to create. 2.9 yards after contact suggests that’s not the case. That just means once he gets hit, most likely Eno is going down. I don’t see any sort of special skillset here.
Eno Benjamin also had a terrible Senior Bowl. 7 carries for 20 yards and again, pullling off crazy moves to ultimately go nowhere. He also fumbled during practices which is a bad sign. You can’t pull the ball on the ground in that kind of setting. Benjamin had 6 fumbles in 2019 in 12 games. That’s an egregious number. I’m not sure it’s something that will ever get better either. Benjamin measured in with just 8 5/8 inch hands which is on the smaller side.
At the end of the day, I would pass on Eno Benjamin. Maybe he can bring some interesting receiver stuff to the table but he’s way too cute in the run game. He fails to ever hit holes. Ball security is also a major issue and I can’t have that. Especially if you’re not bringing a dynamic skill set to the table.
