Matt Waldman’s RSP Boiler Room examines a trio of plays from Penn State RB Journey Brown and explains if this back is not the best prospect at his position for the 2021 NFL Draft, he’s one of the most promising. 

What are things that all top talents have? 

This is a common question. We’re naturally curious but most of us only have so much time and bandwidth.

As my friend and colleague Dwain McFarland told me a couple of weeks back, we’re all sucked in by the allure of the magic bullet. No matter how much we know better based on our hard-earned expertise in one subject, there’s another where a well-crafted marketing pitch will get us to buy that magic bullet all over again.

Along the RSP’s neverending journey to define, identify, and project football talent, there are things that separate the best from the rest. Many of you will want these characteristics to be the answers that unlock the elusive mystery that talent evaluation often poses, but you can’t pour them into a chalice and gain decades of knowledge with a few hearty gulps.

The bullet isn’t magic and no bullet is exactly alike. They look like it at first glance, but it’s that time and commitment that you don’t have to examine each of them to make this discovery on your own.

No matter how many common factors we can identify with a specific subset of talents, there’s another subset that has a different subset that’s also effective.  So when I tell you that there are things that separate the best from the rest, understand that each player with these characteristics also has the potential for hundreds, if not thousands of different combinations of qualities that make them unique.

Still, if a player has the right combination of these innumerable details to be good, there are some common characteristics I notice from players that give them the potential for excellence.

For running backs, they are stamina of pace and strength, efficiency and depth of movement, and early identification of problems and processing of solutions. In English, we can roughly label them high-end power, excellent footwork, and advanced vision, and this Boiler Room episode on Journey Brown shows you these characteristics in action.

Although I think he might, Brown may not be the best running back prospect in this 2021 NFL Draft class. However, there’s no denying that he has the potential to develop into the best pro running back of the options who are eligible this spring.

For the most in-depth analysis of offensive skill players available (QB, RB, WR, and TE), download the 2021  Rookie Scouting Portfolio for $21.95.  

Matt’s new RSP Dynasty Rankings and Two-Year Projections Package is available for $24.95

If you’re a fantasy owner and interested in purchasing past publications for $9.95 each, the 2012-2020 RSPs also have a Post-Draft Add-on that’s included at no additional charge.  

Best yet, a percentage of each sale is set aside for a year-end donation to Darkness to Light to combat sexual abuse.