Why Undrafted?: Akrum Wadley, RB, Iowa
By Charlie Campbell, @draftcampbell
Four years ago, we started a series of articles on why certain prospects went undrafted. In that series, I reach out to sources with NFL teams to find out why their organizations passed on drafting a given player, and/or, what were the reasons for other teams to pass on that prospect. We got a lot of positive reader feedback about the series, so we decided to expand in the genre to investigate why some prospects slid in the draft. Three years ago, we started the Why the Slide? series, and this year it is back. Feel free to email me requests for Why the Slide? and Why Undrafted? at [email protected]. I can’t promise to get to all of them, but I will do my best and definitely will respond to the email.
Over the past few seasons, Akrum Wadley was one of the most consistent running backs in college football. He was the engine of the Iowa offense, contributing as a runner, receiver, and as a returner on special teams. Late in the 2016 season, team sources told WalterFootball.com that Wadley was really impressing them. The junior averaged 6.4 yards per carry in 2016 for 1,081 yards with 10 touchdowns. He also contributed as a receiver with 36 catches for 315 yards and three touchdowns. In his senior year, Wadley averaged 4.4 yards per carry in 2017 for 1,109 yards with 10 touchdowns. He also had 28 receptions for 353 yards and three touchdowns. Wadley turned in a huge performance to almost lead Iowa to an upset of Penn State. He functioned as a receiver and also flashed as a kick returner. In the leadup to the 2018 NFL Draft, however, Wadley (5-9, 194) did not impress from a size and speed perspective, but most projections had him as a mid-round pick. Thus, it was a surprise when Wadley went undrafted.
Sources from a handful of teams gave a few reasons why Wadley went undrafted. They said that Wadley was a good athlete, but not dynamic one, and didn’t test that well. A few said his lack of size hurt him, leading one executive to say Wadley is just a guy at a dime-a-dozen position. A few team sources also said that the character evaluation had some concerns as well. Having the character concerns and being a running back who is not overly fast or overly powerful seem to have combined for Wadley to go unselected in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Wadley signed with the Tennessee Titans after going undrafted, and that was a quality landing spot for an undrafted player. The Titans are set with Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis as their top two backs, but Wadley should only have to beat out David Fluellen to be the third back. Some teams carry four running backs, and Wadley offers special teams ability, so that will help him to stick with Tennessee. Lewis has had durability issues during his career, and Wadley has a similar style of play. Thus, it would make a lot of sense for the Titans to keep Wadley on as his backup. While Wadley felt the sting of going undrafted, it would not surprise this analyst to see him make the final 53-man roster and end up having a solid career as a rotational backup.
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