DeWayne McBride NFL Draft Scouting Report

RB, UAB Blazers

UAB’s DeWayne McBride enters the NFL draft as one of the most productive runners over the last two seasons. McBride offers an intriguing blend of size, power, and instincts as a runner which allowed him to dominate Conference USA. 

McBride has very good size for the position and is an above-average overall athlete. McBride is a patient running back who understands how to press the line of scrimmage while waiting for his blockers to get to their landmarks and wait for an opening. He displays outstanding vision and instincts as a runner as he naturally finds gaps in the line of scrimmage and consistently runs to open space when he reaches the second level. He is able to locate cutback lanes and has the ability to cut back across the line of scrimmage to hit the hole. 

McBride displays a good overall short-area burst which he utilizes both when running through the line of scrimmage to hit the hole and also when he is in the open field and wants to make a defender miss with a jump-cut or hesitation step. McBride is a downhill runner who is best when he puts his foot in the ground and hits the hole with a head of steam. He struggles when he is forced to create on his own at the line of scrimmage as he lacks the lateral agility to make defenders miss when met in the backfield. 

The area in which McBride truly excels is his ability to run with power and contact balance. He rarely goes down by the first tackle and he runs with excellent pad level and leg drive to consistently push the pile. McBride is likely to be viewed as an excellent backup running back or as the power back in a committee. 

He lacks value as a receiver out of the backfield and will likely only be utilized on first and second downs. Additionally, while there are instances of him breaking long runs, he lacks the true home-run speed to be a big-play threat at the next level. Ball security is another area of improvement as McBride has fumbled 11 times over the last two seasons. 

Overall, McBride will be a successful NFL back because of his play strength, run instincts, and contact balance but may never develop into a feature back as he lacks receiving ability and is not a big-play threat. 

Top Reasons to Buy In:

• Power
• Instincts
• Balance

Top Reasons For Concern:

• Lateral agility
• Top-end speed
• Receiving skills

Size (NFL Combine):

Height: 5′ 10”

Weight: 209 lbs

Arm Length: 30 5/8”

Hand Size: 9 1/2”

Athletic Testing (TBD):

40-yard Dash: 0.00s

Vertical Jump: 00”

Broad Jump: 000”

Short-Shuttle: 0.00s

Three-Cone: 0.00s

Bench Reps: 00 reps 

Ideal Role: Power back in a committee

Scheme Fit: Scheme-versatile who can excel in a zone or gap scheme

Prospect Comparison: Tyler Allgeier

TDN Consensus Grade: 70.50/100 (Fifth-Round Value)

• Weissman Grade: 70.50/100

Written By: Brentley Weissman

Exposures: Georgia Southern (2022), Rice (2022), UTSA (2022)

DeWayne McBride NFL Draft Scouting Report. Add him to your big board here.