A high school quarterback who rushed for 2,508 yards and 34 scores as a senior, Kendre Miller moved to running back with TCU. He flashed as a freshman, going for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the season finale, and Miller would again be used in tandem in 2021 with Zach Evans.
He finished second on the team with 623 rushing yards at a 7.5-yards-per-carry clip and scored a team-high seven times on the ground. Miller would save his best for last on the heels of Evans transferring to Ole Miss. The junior posted the best season by a running back since LaDainian Tomlinson’s stellar 2000 campaign. Miller would earn All-Big 12 first-team honors from both coaches and the Associated Press for his 1,515-yard, 17-score efforts.
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 215 pounds
40 time: N/A
Table: Kendre Miller stats (2020-22)
*includes postseason/bowl games (stats from Sports Reference)
Pros
- Quality size and build for a pro back
- Functionally fast enough — the last known 40 time for him was over three years ago (4.58) since he didn’t run at both the combine and his pro day.
- Runs with a frenetic pace and has plenty of burst to make up for only adequate speed
- Was a productive, efficient member of the TCU offense no matter how much he was utilized
- Pretty good contact balance and enough grit to fight for extra yardage
- Shows the ability to stack multiple contrasting movements to create space from defenders — a lot of arms, hips and legs wriggling about on tape
- Plus-quality vision and patience for cutback lanes and when setting up angular advantage
- Underutilized in the passing game despite having natural hands as a receiver
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Cons
- Barely even a decent effort blocker and lacks technical prowess
- Isn’t quite as tough of a runner as his size suggests — needs to more consistently lean into his pads and rely on a powerful stature
- Could stand to benefit from cleaning up his footwork and removing unnecessary steps — some of that may never go away given his style of movement
- It’s tough to gauge just how dynamic he will be given so many of his big plays came from gaping holes created by the offensive line
Fantasy football outlook
A Day 2 grade has Miller open to any number of teams, but he’d be an interesting fantasy option in a zone-based blocking design that also works in RPO elements.
Miller has some Javonte Williams-like traits to his game, and there’s potential for a three-down role in the right situation. That’s unlikely, but he has the skills for such contributions. In a more realistic scenario, he’ll be a two-down grinder who gets paired with a flashier backfield mate with some long-game speed.
Keep an eye on Jacksonville partnering him with Travis Etienne, Chicago taking a chance on Miller, and Cincinnati adding him now that Joe Mixon is facing criminal charges. Landing with Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami, Philadelphia, Tennessee, Seattle and the Los Angeles Chargers all make sense for various reasons.
In the right situation, Miller offers RB2 fantasy potential but is a more likely a rotational player throughout his career.