Entering the 2011 season fresh off of a breakout, 2010 sophomore campaign, there were many who had high hopes and expectations for Ed Wesley. Stitched up in a 3-way time-share with Waymon James and Matthew Tucker, Wesley’s amount of touches dropped and his overall yardage output decreased as a result. While his yards per carry remained above 6 yards, Wesley showed visible signs of displeasure and felt he was underutilized in the TCU offensive scheme.
Having dropped out of school in late May due to “family reasons”, Wesley declared for the NFL’s supplemental draft, along with Josh Gordon and other eligible prospects, and could be sweating out a late round selection.
Lacking any single, elite attribute, Wesley’s rather unspectacular skill set makes him an iffy supplemental pick. Extremely confident in his abilities and a fiery competitor on the field, Wesley’s attitude can come as both a positive and a negative; Wesley over values his own skill set and has been known to sulk when not given enough touches. He’ll need to mature into a better teammate and be more willing to do the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet (contribute on special teams, improve pass blocking ability, etc.) in order to secure a roster spot, whether he gets selected in the supplemental draft or signs as an undrafted free agent.
More Concerns than Positives
In terms of his physical makeup as a runner, Wesley sports a short and compact frame of 5’9 200 pounds. He flashes surprising power on initial contact at times and will need to add more muscle in order to break tackles at a more consistent rate. Wesley also understands how to take contact and still protect his body, despite being hampered by a shoulder injury throughout the previous season. With his build and running form however, I don’t see injuries being an issue with this player
Addressing his lack of any one special attribute, Wesley’s mid 4.5 speed and lack of a 2nd gear, only average make-you-miss ability, and marginal 3rd down usage won’t be appealing to NFL teams. With his stacked up frame, comes tight hips and not much wiggle from Wesley; his inability to elude defenders in the open field will make it tough to bust open big runs at the next level. Too often, this back will disregard an open running lane to bounce runs outside to the perimeter, and because of his lack of elite speed, he struggles to reach the sideline on bounce cuts. At his best when exploding to and through the hole with decisiveness, Wesley needs to be given easy reads with minimal room for free wheeling.
Additionally, Wesley’s tendency to round off his cuts could scare off potential zone blocking running teams. He must be more decisive and sharp with his cutbacks, and be more judicious with bounce cuts to the outside, as the speed of the game will drastically increase from the Mountain West Conference to the NFL level.
What Wesley does bring to the table, is a plus first step, balance, and great acceleration to and through the hole. He does an excellent job of running behind his pads and maintaining low pad level throughout. And while Wesley will be knocked for his lack of homerun hitting ability, he brings consistent, aggressive acceleration to hit the hole full speed. His lateral quickness and ability to take advantage of small creases make him an intriguing change of pace back, but the biggest question to answer is what role will he play on 3rd downs? Wesley showed solid pass catching skills in limited targets, but will never be an elite target out of the backfield.
Final Verdict
I’d pass on drafting Ed Wesley in this supplemental draft despite his production at TCU. In the end, Wesley simply doesn’t separate himself in any one category and in an NFL where specialization rules the running back position, I’m not sure if he’ll ever be a consistent offensive weapon. Given the right opportunity, Wesley certainly could develop into a solid change of pace, 3rd down and backup tailback at the NFL level;
That being said, I have my doubts as to whether or not he’ll actually get that opportunity, all things considered. Still, he’ll be in the mix for a 6th or 7th round selection in the Supplemental Draft. More than likely, he’ll be a free agent, trying to latch on to a team just before training camp.
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