We have been diving into this deep and impressive undrafted free agent class that the Cleveland Browns signed and we are going to take a closer look at another extremely talented pick-up today. Out of the 15 prospects snagged after the 2020 NFL Draft’s completion, the talented back out of Georgia may be the most intriguing.
Name: Brian Herrien
Position: Running Back
School: Georgia
Height: 5-11
Weight: 209 pounds
Brian Herrien is one of the most underrated college football players in America
— UGA Spike Squad (@UGASPIKESQUAD) November 16, 2019
Strengths: Herrien not hearing his name called is a major surprise as most pundits had him etched in the middle rounds. Although he was never the main back at RBU, this could also be seen as a positive as Herrien has a ton of tread left on his tires and he was sitting behind absolute studs in early round selections like current Brown, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift. Herrien checks all of the measurement boxes you look for in a prototypical NFL running back and as evidenced by last season’s Florida contest in the clip below, Herrien has the ideal hands to contribute in the passing game.
This catch by Brian Herrien … still ridiculous. @UGAAthletics | #SECNTakeover pic.twitter.com/CFe2tgXdHy
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) March 20, 2020
Weaknesses: As stated above, Herrien was viewed by most as an easy middle-round prospect, but it is easy to see why NFL teams have concerns. Herrien never earned enough trust from the Georgia coaching staff to earn lead back consideration. We talked about all of the early-round talents ahead of Herrien while at Georgia, but he also failed to beat out Elijah Holyfield, whose NFL career is hanging by a thread and that is also concerning. The most carries Herrien ever received in a collegiate game was in 2016 against Tennessee with 15 rushing attempts and that should absolutely raise concerns.
Overall:
Herrien has the potential to contribute on a consistent basis in the NFL and has shown flashes of excellence when given the opportunity, but those opportunities were few and far between. A common comparison is to current Arizona Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake and this makes sense due to their unfortunate college situations and intriguing athleticism. Herrien isn’t quite on that level, but has all of the potential to play in the NFL and have a much better professional career than what he had in college.
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