Kendre Miller 2023 NFL Draft profile: Scout report for the TCU RB

Kendre Miller, TCU: 6’0”, 215 pounds

A three-star recruit in 2020, Kendre Miller was a very effective part of a committee through his first two years with the Horned Frogs. He went for just over 1,000 rushing yards and ten touchdowns, whilst averaging 7.4 yards per carry.

This past season as a junior, he was close to that mark again, before having to grind out games against some of the better defenses down the stretch and getting banged up.

He still racked up a career-best 1,515 yards and 17 touchdowns from scrimmage on 240 touches, putting his name next to Texas’ Bijan Robinson as the two RBs making the first-team All-Big 12.

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Kendre Miller scout report: Strengths

+ Showcases a lot of patience and vision for lanes opening up late.

+ Incorporates different tempo and gets defenders to leverage to one side of blockers before slicing underneath them.

+ The way he changes up his footwork on the fly and hesitates behind blocks makes him very effective at setting up wrap-around pullers for success.

+ Displays reactive quickness and creativity to avoid penetrators and general traffic behind the line of scrimmage.

+ Kendre Miller is not afraid to take on linebackers in the hole and grind out those tough yards when the situation demands it (short-yardage, goal-line, etc.) or there just isn’t anything else there.

+ Even when he has to make those quick reactions and doesn’t have his feet perfectly underneath him, Miller typically finds a way to somehow stop his momentum and/or shift his body away from tackling attempts.

+ Plus, he seems comfortable navigating tighter spaces, where he torques his body and swipes guys past with the off-arm, before quickly re-accelerating. He kind of looks like Aaron Jones when his momentum is towards the outside and he slides underneath defenders with both feet off the ground rather than having to stutter them.

+ Offers great agility and feel for making people miss, plus then he can quickly turn those into big plays after beating the deep safety one-on-one. It’s apparent that he peaks at those third-level defenders working upfield and sets them up before actually getting there with his footwork and body-language.

+ Has a way of running slaloms around traffic and doesn’t really have to lose a lot of speed when making some space to build it up.

+ Displays impeccable balance and ability to keep plays alive. It looks at times like he’s shot when taking a hit from the side and somehow stumbles his way back to his feet, using his off-arm to re-gain balance regularly.

+ Uses spin move to avoid getting wrapped up as effectively as anybody in this class. If you try to get low on Miller, you’re likely going to be hugging air, as he goes over the top.

+ Being too aggressive with your angles and not breaking down, typically means this guy will swipe you by and keep on going without much effort.

+ Forced 70 missed tackles last season.

+ Miller may not quite have that homerun speed, but when he kicks it into another gear after navigating around traffic, you see him gain ground on some fast DBs.

+ When you give him chances in the screen game, he does well to navigating around bodies wearing the same or opposite jersey.

+ Has a way of eluding traffic and releasing into the flats pretty cleanly.

+ I would define him as more of a body-catcher, but I feel like whenever they flipped him the ball out in the flats, he at least got a couple of yards out of it.

+ Had huge games against Oklahoma, Kansas State (during the regular season), Texas Tech and Texas in 2022, to bring home those key wins during an undefeated Big-12 regular season.

Kendre Miller scout report: Weaknesses

– Doesn’t quite have that one elite athletic trait that jumps off the screen.

– While I do appreciate the patience, he tends to stop his feet a little bit too much and there are plays that I just want to see his take his head down and at least get positive yards.

– When legitimately one-on-one with a linebacker in the hole or a safety buzzing down to the flats after catching a swing route, Miller doesn’t show that truly special stuff to make them miss.

– His usage in the pass game was pretty simplistic at TCU, running a bunch of swing and flat routes, or going on chip-releases and hooking up over the middle.

– There are barely any one-on-one reps in blitz pick-up on tape to evaluate him off.

Kendre Miller scout report: Grade

Kendre Miller is a very interesting prospect. He has unique footwork and navigates compressed space a little differently than most other guys. That way he can also make people miss on the second level and not allow tacklers to square him up generally, but he sneaks up on you with those 215 pounds and he’ll make you feel those at contact.

With very limited production as a receiver (29 catches for 229 yards) and not the same type of dynamism in the open field as some other guys from this class, Miller may not find himself on as many highlight reels. However, his future coaches will appreciate the consistent yardage he amounts as a runner.

Grade: Late third / early fourth round

You might like other 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Reports - Zach Charbonnet, RB, UCLA, Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas, Eric Gray RB, Oklahoma, Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Alabama, Zach Evans, RB, Ole Miss, Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane, Roschon Johnson, RB, Texas, Tank Bigsby, RB, Auburn.

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