The Running Back Prospect Lab is one of my favorite tools on the site. It’s not the most powerful or precise predictive engine — it uses a simple linear model to predict an RB’s early NFL career based on a few important college metrics — but the simplicity ends up being a benefit. It knows what to look for and isn’t often fooled by outliers.
Even in a pre-draft model, when we don’t yet know who is going to be drafted early and earn opportunity in Year 1, the Prospect Lab is good at picking out potential difference makers. The top backs of all time (since 2009) in the pre-draft model — a model that does not include draft position — are Saquon Barkley (Prospect Lab Score: 100), Jonathan Taylor (97), Christian McCaffrey (93), Joe Mixon (91), Ezekiel Elliott (90), and Leonard Fournette (86).
This year’s model inputs include a player’s final college age, weight, 40-yard dash, three-cone, competition level, and select career and final-season productivity metrics, such as career scrimmage yards per game and final backfield dominator rating. As draft position remains an important predictor of early opportunity and NFL production, many measurements in the pre-draft model are correlated with draft position and will drop out of the post-draft model.
You can find even more advanced metrics in the 2026 RotoViz Rookie Guide, along with over 90 player profiles and up-to-date rookie rankings. Get your preparation started before the NFL Draft with the RotoViz Rookie Guide. Volume 2 is out now and Volume 3 will be released shortly after the draft!
