The Detroit Lions could be in the market for some added speed at running back. The team recently held a pre-draft meeting with East Carolina RB Keaton Mitchell.
In an interview with the Draft Network, Mitchell indicated he’s met with the Lions–among other teams. He did not specify if it was a virtual meeting or an official “top-30” visit.
The 5-foot-8, 178-pound Mitchell is noted for his game-breaking speed. No RB in college football had more runs that gained at least 10 yards than Mitchell did in 2022 for the Pirates.
How fast is Mitchell? His GPS-timed speed is 23.5 MPH, an elite time. He consistently topped 21 MPH during in-game tracking while at East Carolina.
It took Keaton Mitchell 4.1 secs & 35 yds to hit a max speed of 23.5 mph during his 4.3 40-yd dash. Mitchell maintained his max speed for ~5 yds.
🔹Max Speed: 23.5 mph
🔸Time to Max Speed: 4.1 sec
🔹Distance to Max Speed: 35.2 yds
🔸Max Speed Distance: 4.8 ydsVia @RAanalytics pic.twitter.com/9pexR4nrwT
— Cory Yates (@CoryRAanalytics) April 6, 2023
For some comparison, Lions RB D’Andre Swift was clocked at 18.3 MPH in his 40-yard dash at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine. His fastest recorded time in a Lions uniform is 20.7 MPH, via NextGen Stats. Mitchell was almost 3 MPH faster than Swift.