Elijah Mitchell 2021 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Name: Elijah Mitchell

Position: Running Back

College: Louisiana

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 215 lbs

Overall Rank: No. 218 overall

Position Rank: RB19

Strengths: Despite sharing the backfield with others for most of his college career, Elijah Mitchell posted impressive stats for the Ragin’ Cajuns, most notably 46 career touchdowns. Mitchell is a downhill runner that doesn’t shy from contact and keeps his feet moving on contact. He excels by pressing the frontside of runs and relying on excellent cutback vision to find creases inside. Additionally, Mitchell’s footwork is efficient in tight spaces, allowing him to stab, press, and drive off his outside foot before immediately getting vertical again. There is a smoothness and rhythm to his inside zone runs that looks controlled and consistent. 

Weaknesses: Mitchell understands angles, but there are some angles that he simply doesn’t have the long-speed to outrun. There’s a lack of variance in his play speed to the boundary and it often gives second-level defenders a fairly easy target to track. The vertical bounce and vision that Mitchell shows in the box is severely underwhelming when working off-tackle and edge runs. He won’t threaten many defenders to the edge and needs to show the lateral cutback vision that he shows in the box. While not an immediate deal-breaker, the lack of evidence in ability diminishes the style of offense and scheme he can play in. 

What I Love: Spatial awareness is being aware of your surroundings and, more importantly, your position relative to those surroundings. Elijah Mitchell has A+ spatial awareness on the football field. He isn’t a burner and he won’t run away from defenders, but he runs at angles in space that make it just difficult enough to track him down for losses. 

NFL Comparison: Jordan Wilkins

Grade: 58/100

Position Specific Traits:
(key: +, ++, +++ positive scale | -, - -, - - - negative scale)

Agility: +
Ball Security: ++
Blocking: ++
Contact Balance: +
Hands: +
Power: +
Speed: -