NFL Draft 2020 Scouting Report: RB Reggie Corbin, Illinois (QH)

*Our RB grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

*We use the term “Power RB” to separate physically bigger, more between-the-tackles–capable RBs from our “speed RBs” group. “Speed RBs” are physically smaller, but much faster/quicker, and less likely to flourish between the tackles.

Our Quick Hit (QH) scouting reports are a modified/shorter version of our full-scale reports. On these Quick Hits, I look at a lesser amount of tape and write a shorter amount of flowy words – these are usually designed more for sleeper prospects that I want to get more acquainted with and if something really jumps out, I’ll go deeper. It’s just me trying to get in and get out and deliver the pertinent notes to you for your consideration and for review later if they start to make waves in a year or two.

I’ll do a chunk of these pre-Draft and then more after the Draft, going through the players that caught my attention in the draft (because of how high they were taken) or that I stumble across in training camp or the preseason that catch my eye.

Most of my notes on these Quick Hits will be short and sweet bullet points versions of our full-scale reports. Enjoy…

============================

Reggie Corbin’s Pro Day numbers were one of the first eye-opening Pro Day efforts of the 2020 pre-Draft season (before they all got cancelled). When I saw his nice Pro Day numbers, I went back and watched his highlight reel and instantly had my attention grabbed…back in mid-March.

Since then, I’ve planned to look deeper at his work and prospect resume…and since then I’ve seen different reports on his Pro Day numbers, the data maybe not being as good as first reported.

Let’s open it all up and take a look…

BACKGROUND: 

 -- Two-star recruit out of high school.

 -- 5’8”/205

 -- 2015 redshirt, 2018/JR. breakout with 128 carries, 1,085 yards rushing, 9 TDs

 -- Academic All-Big Ten 2016-17-18.

GAME TAPE AND RANDOM NOTES…

 -- My first wave of data on Corbin showed a 6.80-6.90 three-cone with 20 bench reps and not-available 40-time. All good numbers for his size for the pros, and then you hoped his 40-time fell in line in the 4.4s or 4.5s, but my sources show he ran a 4.6+ 40-time…throwing some cold water onto the situation.

 -- Watching the tape more…it looks like the slower 40-time speed is real. College fast, but not NFL fast…caught from behind too much for strong NFL translation.

 -- Does have NFL agility. Does a great job planting and cutting, changing directions. The 6.80-6.90+ three-cone reports make sense on tape too. 

 -- Very shifty runner, with a good sense of running the interior despite his smaller size. A fearless inside runner with good intuition on changing course/avoid tacklers in short space. 

 -- He kinda reminds you of a Darren Sproles-type player, except much slower than Sproles or Ekeler, etc. 

 -- Shifty but not stop-start fast. He doesn’t have NFL-level acceleration…not high end enough. He could get by on his so-so speed, but good instincts and agility but he’ll not be a serious weapon with his speed. Which hurts his case as a satellite back, playmaker threat at the next level.

 -- I see a practice squad or 3rd-string back here at best, not a sustainable impact player for the next level.

Reggie Corbin, Through the Lens of Our RB Scouting Algorithm:

 -- Led the Big Ten and was #4 in the nation in yards per carry in 2018 (8.5 ypc). 

 -- Was not involved in kick-punt returns.

 -- 19 catches the last two seasons (24 games) -- I see him with so-so hands, and thus the real issue: 8.0” hands. Not good. 

 -- 4 career fumbles, all 4 lost.

 -- Rushing numbers approx. cut in half in 2019 on roughly the same amount of carries he had in his great 2018 season. 

2020 Pre-Draft Data:

5’8”/205, 8” hands, 29 ¾” arms

4.60-4.65 40-time, 1.58 10-yard, 4.45 shuttle, 6.9+ three-cone

20 bench press, 38” vertical, 9’11” broad jump

The Historical RB Prospects to Whom Reggie Corbin Most Compares Within Our System:

If one were to have a Troymaine Pope NFL career, it would mean several years of bouncing on and off teams as an emergency journeyman option and preseason body. That may be Corbin’s top.  

*A score of 8.50+ is where we see a stronger correlation of RBs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system and indicates a greater probability of becoming an elite NFL RB.

All of the RB ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances.

Overall rating/score = A combination of several on-field performance measures, including refinement for the strength of opponents faced, mixed with all the physical measurement metrics – then compared/rated historically within our database and formulas. More of a traditional three-down search – runner, blocker, and receiver.

*RB-Re score = Our new formula/rating that attempts to identify and quantify a prospect's receiving skills even deeper than in our original formulas. RB prospects can now make it/thrive in the NFL strictly based on their receiving skills – it is an individual attribute sought out for the NFL and no longer dismissed or overlooked. Our rating combines a study of their receiving numbers in college in relation to their offense and opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with hand size measurables, etc.

*RB-Ru score =  Our new formula/rating that attempts to classify and quantify an RB prospect's ability strictly as a runner of the ball. Our rating combines a study of their rushing numbers in college in relation to their offense and strength of opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with various size measurables, etc.

Raw Speed Metric = A combination of several speed and size measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile.

Agility Metric = A combination of several speed and agility measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile.

2020 NFL Draft Outlook:

Corbin will not be drafted.

If I were an NFL GM, I wouldn’t waste energy on Corbin as a UDFA option…too many other more interesting athletes to gamble on. 

NFL Outlook:   

Fringe/journeyman NFL back…and XFL hopeful (if it returns). 

4/1/2020