Lions UDFA Profile: RB Anthony Tyus III

Weaknesses

The main drawback for Tyus is his overall workload and production. In three seasons at Northwestern, the back never garnered more than 50 attempts on the ground, despite being the second highest-rated recruit at running back the Wildcats landed out of high school. 

After transferring to Ohio, he shined in his final year. The level of competition bleeds into that concern. Tyus had tons of production in 2024, but the MAC is not a conference full of NFL defenders.

While durability is not a marked red flag for the back, he appeared on Ohio's injury report multiple times throughout the 2024 season, although he played through the pain, being part of all 13 Bobcat contests. The first time Tyus was on the injury report, before a game against Akron, the back coughed up two fumbles to the Zips. 

Additionally, in Tyus’s first season where the back recorded more than 60 touches, he showed a concerning trend. In his 253 touches (237 rushes, 16 catches) in 2024, Tyus had five fumbles.

In part, this does come from Ohio’s RPO-heavy schemes. However, the other part of this is from the running back being too upright when running, resulting in a larger target for opponents to strip the ball free.

At 6-foot-1, the back is already a big enough target for opponents, and his upright running style could haunt him in the pros. 

On top of that, Tyus is not a burner. While that is not surprising, with the back being more of a bruiser, his 4.59 40 time puts him in a spot where ball security is vital. During a Pro Day interview, Tyus expressed optimism that he had unlocked a new gear to show off while preparing for the Draft. 

His agility grades in his Pro Day drills were not great, with the back grading “poor” on the relative athletic score grades for his position. If Tyus breaks the first tackle, his stop and start speed gives defenders more time to catch up. 

Overall, Tyus III provides upside at the running back position. In his one year of extended college production, Tyus was electric, from a bruiser to a few highlight hurdles and catches. However, the lower level of competition and fumbles provide a steep learning curve for a few short months.

Tyus also happens to be competing against a Detroit roster that returns all three of their primary running backs from 2024, alongside a player that the staff has invested a lot of capital in to develop, that being Sione Vaki. 

He is currently competing against fellow UDFA Kye Robichaux from Boston College, and the winner of the battle likely sees a reward on the practice squad. Tyus has a chance to follow the footsteps of current Lions’ RB3 Craig Reynolds, who went from being an UDFA from a small college to the Lions’ practice squad to the active roster.

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