"Unpacking Khalil Herbert: A Closer Look at His Impact on the Field"

Our thoughts on 2021 Khalil Herbert.

Khalil Herbert, running back out of Virginia Tech, five-nine, 210 pounds, and ran a 4.49 forty. At his pro day, Herbert completed twenty-two bench reps, and his hands measured eight and a half inches. An interesting tidbit, Herbert was born with 12 fingers and 11 toes. Khalil Herber rushed for 1,182 yards and eight touchdowns in 2020 while averaging 7.7 yards a carrying and 107.5 yards per game. His 7.7 yards per carry ranks in the 96th percentile.

"Herbert had trouble beating out Pooka Williams while at Kansas."

Herbert certainly has some physicality to his game. He can be seen manhandling an Ohio State linebacker during the Senior Bowl. Herbert runs low and physically through contact dishing out punishment resulting in 56.6 of his yards coming after contact. Khalil touched the ball 500 plus times in college and had only one fumble; maybe that’s the extra fingers. Some analysts have compared Khalil Herber to Maurice Jones-Drew, which is nice.

Herbert tends to outrun his blockers or run into his blockers as he gets a little impatient. He left Kansas early in 2019 after Pooka Williams beat him out during camp, and Pooka Williams is not a highly-touted prospect. Not being able to beat out Pooka Williams at Kansas is worrying. There is speculation that personalities clashed at Kansas, which could be an off-the-field issue related to his departure. Virginia Tech is undoubtedly a bigger football school than Kansas. He went there and got the starting job immediately.

Scouting Report

Khalil Herbert is another guy you can get in the late rounds of your rookie drafts. Running backs with similar builds include Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith shorter, so don’t let that deter you from smaller running backs. Herbert is sure-handed and has some kick returning chops. That's always a way for these guys to get on the field and make an impact. Herbert is a late-round running back that could get some work.