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Draft Profile: RB Brenden Knox

5 February 2021 DRAFT Interviews RUNNING BACK


Height: 6’
Weight: 220 lbs.
College: Marshall
Class: Junior
Hometown: Columbus, Ohio
Accomplishments:
  • 2019 Conference USA MVP/ All-First Team
Career Stats (3 years):
  • 550 rushing attempts
  • 2852 rushing yards
  • 5.2 yards per carry
  • 24 rushing TDs
  • 1 Fumble
  • 27 receptions
  • 239 receiving yards
  • 8.9 yards per reception
  • 1 receiving TD
Best Attributes:
  • Vision
  • Footwork
  • Balance
  • Patience
  • Toughness
  • Ball Control
  • Embraces Contact
  • Explosion
  • Quickness
Analysis:
Knox was an exciting prospect to study. This young man was on the Doak Walker Award watch list for a reason. He is a bruising back with the perfect compliment of speed and quickness, although not extremely fast. He shows phenomenal footwork and balance when cutting, making moves or just hitting the holes. Knox is explosive and he embraces contact, whether he’s fighting for extra yards or hitting someone in pass protection. He has great vision and patience, following blockers and allowing plays to develop. He can get out on the edge and make plays or run hard in-between the tackles. He had 15 games going over 100 yards and 2 of those games were over 200 yards. Knox had 7 games with 2 TDs and one of those games he had 3 TDs. He was the Conference USA MVP in 2019 and was also First-Team All Conference USA. In his three years at Marshall, carrying the ball 550 times and catching it 27 times, he only fumbled the ball ONCE. He has great ball control and although he didn’t catch the ball often, when he did, he made the most of it. I could honestly see Knox being a three-down back in the NFL. He runs the ball extremely well and he may need improvement but I think his pass protection and pass catching abilities, make him a threat on every down. Whoever winds up drafting Brenden Knox is going to be very happy. He’s regarded as a day-three pick in the draft but I think the longer teams wait, the more they may regret it.
Fit:
The Eagles desperately need an RB2 on their depth chart. Scott and Clement fit the mold of an RB3 and either can come in as a third-down back and help on Special Teams but Miles Sanders needs a true backup. Especially, with his injury history. To be honest, the biggest struggle the Eagles had was the lack of the run game last year. So, if Miles stays healthy and all goes as planned; we could see Nick Sirianni actually run the ball on Sundays. I really think a one-two punch would go a long way to helping this offense succeed, regardless of who is under Center. If Knox continues to get bigger, improves his pass- protection and provides that toughness at the goal-line, he could prove to be a very valuable asset, for a very cheap price. God forbid something happens to Miles, I also think in time, Knox could be trusted to carry a full workload. If the Eagles do end up taking Knox on day 3 of the Draft, it would vastly improve their run game. It’s not out of the ordinary to see two backs succeed in one system, as you see now in the NFL. Knox is also familiar with RPOs and a lot of schemes that I believe Nick Sirianni will integrate into his offense. I’d love to see Knox go from Kelly Green to Midnight Green and think he’d be a great fit.

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