Isaiah Spiller Scouting Report/ Isaiah Spiller NFL Draft Profile

 

Running Back, Texas A&M Aggies, #28

 

Measurements

6’1” / 215 lbs

40 time: 4.50 unofficially

 

Isaiah Spiller NFL Draft Player Profile

Coming out of high school, Isaiah was a 4-star recruit per 247Sports, ESPN, and Rivals. As a senior, Spiller amassed 1,493 yards and 20 touchdowns. That performance earned him the title of Under Armour All-American as well as a spot on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Top in Texas First-Team. Isaiah would also earn the 2017 and 2018 District 15-6A Offensive MVP. While originally committed to play football at the University of Oklahoma, Spiller would change his decision. He decided to play at Texas A&M where his father, Fred Spiller, played Tight End in the early 2000’s.

Once he got to Texas A&M, thanks to unfortunate injuries to his teammates, he saw immediate playing time his freshman season. That season Spiller saw action in 13 games, making nine starts. He would rush for 946 yards and 10 touchdowns, while adding 203 yards receiving. Isaiah would be named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after the season. In 2020, he would play in 10 games with eight starts. During the season he would rush for 1,036 yards and nine touchdowns, while having another 193 yards receiving. He would earn First-Team All-SEC honors and be a finalist for both the Earl Campbell, Tyler Rose,  and Doak Walker Awards.

Before the 2021 season, Spiller was named to the preseason Maxwell Award watchlist. He would also be selected to the preseason All-American Third-Team by Athlon Sports. So far through seven games, Isaiah has rushed for 659 yards and four touchdowns with another 159 yards and a touchdown through the air.

 

Isaiah Spiller Strengths

 

Patient Runner

Much like when I watched film on Breece Hall, I was impressed to see how patient of a runner Spiller was. He never tried to force the issue with a hole that wasn’t there. Isaiah just waited it out and then hit it once it opened. Not only was he patient, he didn’t do a lot of “East-West” running. As soon as he saw the hole, he would plant his foot in the ground and get straight up field. No wasting time dancing all over the place, no back-tracking and losing 10 yards.

 

Quickness

 

One of the first things that I noticed about Spiller is that he is more quick than fast. I call it twitchy. He’s got a nice initial burst and then he shows off his quickness and balance in the open field. His change of direction is pretty solid and is what allows him to break tackles. He doesn’t let defenders get a solid hit on him. This is good for Isaiah, because he isn’t an overly powerful runner. While he isn’t afraid to try and lower his shoulder for the extra yard, he isn’t going to be running many people over.

 

Servicable in Passing Game

While Spiller isn’t a featured part of the Aggies passing attack, he does contribute. He runs solid routes and has pretty good hands. In fact, I saw some pretty amazing plays where he showed WR-like skills twisting and adjusting his body mid-air in order to catch a pass that was thrown a bit behind him. On top of that, he’s a willing blocker in pass protection. Isaiah isn’t necessarily the best blocker in the world. However, he does at least put in a solid effort and is successful in protecting his quarterback.

 

Isaiah Spiller Weaknesses

 

Limited Power Runner

I touched on this earlier. Spiller has good size on paper, but when you look at him on the field he seems smaller than 6’1” 215 lbs. Surprisingly, he doesn’t show much power. He can hit a guy and fall forward for an extra yard or two, but he’s not a guy that I would be handing the ball to at the goal line and expect him to just barrel through the line and get in. This isn’t a draft killer by any means for Spiller. He makes up for it by making defenders miss in the open field rather than running them over.

 

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Isaiah Spiller NFL Draft Stock

 

Isaiah Spiller entered the season as one of the top two best backs in the country. Through half of the college season, not much has changed in that regard. The even better news, for Spiller at least, is that he’s now seen as the best running back in the draft class by most. Before the season that honor would have went to Iowa St.’s Breece Hall. If Spiller continues to produce for the rest of the season, I see no reason why that would change. With running back being devalued in recent years, I’d give him a ceiling of late first with a floor of the second round in the 2022 NFL Draft.

 

Final Thoughts on Isaiah Spiller NFL Draft Profile

I recently completed a report on Breece Hall. Immediately after, I wanted to complete the Isaiah Spiller scouting report next because I knew they were considered by most to be the best running backs in the class. I was blown away by how different they were. I’m not going to lie, just in terms of a pure runner Breece Hall is the better back. Hall is slightly bigger, slightly faster (although you wouldn’t think it watching the two run), and is stronger.

Even with that said, I would still take Isaiah Spiller before Hall at this moment in time. While both are serviceable in the passing game, Spiller just does things that Hall doesn’t. Isaiah is willing to block, carries out play fakes, and actually puts in effort into route running. Because of that, I feel that Spiller is a more complete running back. There’s still time for things to change, but he’s also the only running back that I’d be willing to take in the first round.

 

Isaiah Spiller Pro Comparison: Kylin Hill

You might not know Kylin Hill, but he was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2021 NFL Draft. As a seventh round pick, you might not consider it a fair comparison for someone that I just said could be a first round pick. But we’re just talking about skill set. Hill and Spiller have similar size and speed. Both are shifty in the open field and are options in the passing game. Hill ran for over 1,300 yards in his junior season before opting out of the 2020 season. While Hill is currently sitting in a deep running back room in Green Bay, I expect Spiller to be a feature back for his future team.

Isaiah Spiller Scouting Report/ Isaiah Spiller NFL Draft Profile by Brandon Claburn