Keaton Mitchell – East Carolina / 5’8, 180 LBS
One of the fastest backs in this years’ draft is Keaton Mitchell from East Carolina. Mitchell may look small with his 5’8 frame and low weight, but he plays like he’s Derrick Henry. He’s one of the better pass catching running backs in the entire draft, which is what I believe Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears will target in the later rounds.
Mitchell had a stunning, elite junior season at ECU. He ran for 1,452 yards on 201 attempts, while getting into the endzone 14 times. His burst is quite eye-opening when you watch the film, as he has the potential to have big play ability for any team that takes a chance on him. He led the FBS in runs of 10-plus yards with 54 of them. His blazing speed was on full display at the combine, where he ran a 4.37 which was third out of all the running backs.
Obviously, he’s quite small when compared to other running backs in the NFL, but his blazing speed and open field potential is undeniable. I get Tarik Cohen vibes when I watch his impressive tape. He’s got to be one of the twitchiest backs I’ve watched in this class and if you watch his highlights, you’ll see it too. Speed kills in today’s NFL and as team you need to have a good amount of it to be competitive.
I project a late fourth to early fifth round value for Mitchell, which may align perfectly with whatever plan Ryan Poles has for the Chicago Bears. He’s not the best in pass protection, which is expected. However, I think he’d be a great fit in this offense and provide Fields with a true third-down running back that could open up the pass game even more.
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