By Charlie Campbell
Weaknesses:
Summary: Badie flashed for Missouri as a backup running back during his freshman through junior years, where he showed some serious receiving ability. While didn’t do much on the ground, Badie caught 28 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns in 2020 after snatching 32 passes for 356 yards and five touchdowns in 2019. Badie then broke out as a senior, toting the ball out of the backfield and was one of the best running backs in college football. He averaged 6.0 yards per carry in 2021 on his way to 1,604 yards and 14 touchdowns. Badie continued to do damage as a receiver as well, taking 54 catches for 330 yards and four touchdowns.
There is a lot to like about Badie as a runner. He possesses a nice combination of traits like vision, elusiveness, and superb feet. The elusiveness can be seen with how he cuts around tacklers, spins away, and uses shifty moves to dodge them. His short, compact build adds to the elusiveness, because defenders have a hard time grabbing a hold of him. He has vision that looks natural, letting him see holes about to open and cut-back lanes, and he reads the flow of defenses behind his blockers. His quick feet are great to cut on a dime, provide him with excellent balance. Badie also has strength to his build, which helps him run through tackles and pick up yards after contact.
In the passing game, Badie is a valuable contributor. He is an excellent route-runner out of the backfield, and his shiftiness is very difficult to defend in the open field. His cutting ability and sudden burst let him create separation from linebackers along and pick up yards after the catch. Badie is dangerous in space once he gets the ball in his hands, as he weaves through defenders with his elusiveness. As a pro, he should be a real weapon for the passing game on wheel routes, screens, and check downs.
Being as short as he is, Badie has limitations in providing a target in the passing game in terms of providing a smaller catch radius compared to other backs. He shows some blocking ability, but his size is going to be problematic for picking up blitzes from NFL linebackers.
Badie looks likely to be a second-day pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He could go as high as the second round and should not go lower than Round 4.
Player Comparison: Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Badie is reminiscent of Edwards-Helaire coming out of LSU. They are almost identical in size, and both were excellent receivers in college. They have some of the same limitations in height and length. As a pro, Badie could be a back similar to Edwards-Helaire.
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