2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: RB Otis Anderson, UCF

RB OTIS ANDERSON 

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 174 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: UCF

A true all-purpose threat who was a three-star recruit out of Jacksonville, Florida, where he attended University Christian High School. Anderson was the 887th nationally ranked and 125th Floridan in the 2017 recruiting cycle.

Anderson was a versatile offensive weapon for his first two years and was a dynamic kick returner in his sophomore and junior campaigns. Helped form a potent rushing committee in his junior and senior season.

He finished his time at UCF with 358 carries, 2182 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, 91 catches, 1025 receiving yards, and nine receiving touchdowns--he also took a kick-off to the house in college.

He never averaged less than 5.4 yards per carry in a given season and was a real threat coming out of the backfield on third down. Anderson’s receiving ability was utilized at all levels of the field.

Commanded just under 10% of the target share in his first three years. Was never utilized in a featured role due to Greg McCrae and other talented running backs for UCF.

Notables

He is NOT a son or a relative of Giants’ Super Bowl MVP Ottis Anderson.

Traits

Has incredible stop/start ability with an insane back-juke. He is stronger than he looks; a bit small with thin, lean legs. Possesses good athletic traits. Dangerous in space with his agility and ability to angle his body and make pursuing defenders miss - slippery. Hits holes with vigor and burst while using lateral movement skills and lower body explosiveness to force missed tackles in confined areas.

Accelerates through interior holes quickly to get to the second level. At times, he can be guilty of bouncing runs outside and attempting to “out-athlete” defenders - this won’t work in the NFL. However, he did show some patience at times within the box. He played in an offense that ran primarily out of the shotgun - a lot of power/gap, pin-pull.

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Did a solid job following blocks; attacks downhill with solid forward lean, and uses good angles at the tackle point. When in the box, he can lower his shoulders and show good contact balance until he slips through a narrow crack in the defense if defenders do not efficiently wrap him up. He has adequate play strength but won’t be a pile mover.

Good straight-line speed and acceleration, along with his shiftiness in space, allow for bigger runs once he gets to the second level. He needs to get better in pass protection; aiming points on his dive attempts aren’t terrible, but they lack pop, and linebackers can avoid the lackluster attempt.

He is an adept receiver with natural receiving skills. He is a threat around the line of scrimmage and offers the quarterback a good option; once in space, he does a good job avoiding tackling attempts and picking up yards after the catch. He was used in the slot and showed a solid ability to win at the line of scrimmage in tighter coverage - ran as the #3 often in 3x1 sets.

Fumbling has been an issue for Anderson. Put the football on the ground way too often--fumbled eight times in college, losing 5 of them. Overall, Anderson is an offensive weapon who isn’t big but has solid vision, good athletic traits, and natural receiving skills with slot experience.

He can be an immediate special teams contributor with the upside of being a change of pace back. Anderson should be available late on day three, and, with the right offensive coordinator, he’s a value there. 

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