Jeremy McNichols

in our view

McNichols is not going to wow anyone with his bulk or speed but his vision, patience and naturally low-center of gravity make him an effective interior runner capable of also helping on third down due to his soft hands and willingness in pass protection.

mcnichols has the combination of running, receiving and return ability to carve out a solid career in the nfl, albeit one as a reserve rather than as the headliner that his admittedly impressive statistics might suggest.

--Rob Rang (1/4/17)

strengths

Short but possesses a powerful, compact frame with well-built arms and a thick lower half that testifies to his work in the weight room. McNichols shows good initial quickness to press the line and can dart through openings when there. He tip-taps his way through traffic nicely, showing very good footwork to dance past would-be tacklers attempting to take out his legs. He possesses good vision and the burst to take advantage of cut-back lanes, as well as an effective stop-start move to elude and stiff-arm to knock away defenders. McNichols runs with good forward lean to take on would-be tacklers, spinning and keeping his legs churning to break tackles to maximize his runs. He is highly experienced as a pass-blocker, showing awareness and courage to take on hard-charging defenders. While lacking elite size for this role, McNichols anchors well to absorb and shows good quickness and accuracy to strike at the legs of oncoming defenders on cut blocks. McNichols is a reliable pass catcher, showing the ability to extend and pluck outside of his frame without slowing down. He has experience splitting out wide as a receiver, showing good body control and quickness to create separation.

compares to

Cedric Peerman, Cincinnati Bengals

weaknesses

McNichols lacks the size and speed to excite scouts. He is more quick than fast, lacking the second gear to pull away from defenders. He can get impatient as an interior runner, opting to bounce it outside but does not possess the instant acceleration to leave defenders in his wake. He does not consistently wrap both arms around the ball while in traffic. While alert in pass protection, McNichols can become too reliant on cut-blocks to slow defenders.

Three-star recruit according to Scout.com, ESPN.com and Rivals.com

earned first-team all-league, all-region and all-state honors following senior season

also received first-team all-league honors as a junior and second team all-league honors as a sophomore

as a senior, rushed 163 times for 798 yards and eight touchdowns, and hauled in 17 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns

as a junior, rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown on three attempts

caught 25 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns

as a sophomore caught 30 passes for 414 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed three times for 42 yards

career totals included 173 carries for 877 yards and nine touchdowns, and 72 receptions for 934 yards and 10 touchdowns

also recorded 34 tackles as a senior.

2016

2015