Matt Waldman’s RSP Boiler Room examines the play of 2021 NFL Draft prospect, Khalil Herbert, illustrating how the Virginia Tech/Kansas running back’s style has parallels to Minnesota Vikings runner Dalvin Cook.  

I’ve been keeping an eye on Khalil Herbert for a few years. I mentioned him this summer when I did an RB prospects preview show with Ross Tucker as a player off the radar that listeners needed to know about. Apologies for identifying Herbert with West Virginia as his destination, but you’ll get a sense of what I saw from him heading into his season with the Hokies.

Looking back, the most fascinating thing about my thoughts on Herbert from this summer is that I criticized his use of jump stops and jump cuts. After watching him at Virginia Tech, Herbert cut out a lot of that behavior and instead relied more on curvilinear movement, a far more efficient way of avoiding obstacles while maintaining his speed.

Herbert’s curvilinear movement isn’t the only stylistic similarity to Dalvin Cook. He’s a fast runner with the stamina to maintain his pace after working through contact and changing direction multiple times during a run. He’s a smart runner who spots cutback lanes and works through contact at a frequency you wouldn’t expect from a running back of his size.

Is Herbert as good as Dalvin Cook? No, but he doesn’t have to be in order to become a productive NFL player. Keep an eye on Herbert this week at the Senior Bowl and throughout this pre-draft process.

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