One of the biggest risers of the draft season, can this former Toledo running back help add to a talented Minnesota Vikings backfield?
Coming into this season as a relatively unknown, the rise of Toledo running back Kareem Hunt has been stellar. Playing at a smaller FBS school, it is rare that you hear about prospects early on in their careers.
Entering the 2016 season, Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey received a lot of the praise, which was expected considering the seasons that they were coming off of. As the year proceeded, many talent evaluators began to notice that this upcoming crop of running backs was extremely deep.
What you noticed is that many other names besides the “big three” began to surface. Watching film on most names that began to pop up, Hunt stuck out the most. His balance, attitude and versatility is what was most noticeable on film from him.
At 5-foot-11, 208 pounds, the talented ball-carrier treats every run like it is his last carry. A trait that you can’t teach is effort.
Hunt gives you 100 percent effort on every down. His ability to elude defenders, making them miss in space is exceptional.
The most eye-popping stat, posted by CBS draft analyst Dane Brugler, Hunt only fumbled once in 856 career carries, easily putting him with atop the fumble rate in this deep running back class.
My favorite #Toledo RB Kareem Hunt stat - only one fumble over 856 career touches (only fumble came as a freshman and he recovered it).
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) January 28, 2017
Versatility is another aspect that Hunt routinely shows, as he recorded a career high 41 catches-for-403 yards last season, showing that he can be a huge factor in the passing game as well
Where Hunt needs to improve on is in pass protection. The effort is there, but his technique needs improvement. He has a bad habit of launching one shoulder into his target instead of using correct technique to square up defenders and use proper technique.