Mel Kiper Jr pinpoints Tennessee RB Jaylen Wright as 2024 NFL Draft sleeper

Consider Mel Kiper Jr. a believer in former Tennessee Volunteers running back Jaylen Wright ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The ESPN analyst took some time on Monday to explain his most underrated players in this year’s draft following Super Bowl LVIII, where he pointed out Wright as a fascinating option for any team looking to select a running back.

“I’m going to a kid that played at Tennessee. You talk about guys that played at that particular program, Josh Heupel. You say, ‘They throw it all over the yard.’ How about running the football with Jaylen Wright? Jaylen Wright’s kind of my guy. I liked what I saw from him this past year. I liked what I saw from him two years ago,” Kiper Jr. explained. “This year, he went from six-yards-per-carry up to seven-four-a-carry. He went from two catches to 22 receptions. Runs through traffic. Strong, patient, slippery. He’s got balance. He was a track guy in high school, he was a sprinter, so he can hit that long-gainer. He had a 42-yard run, a 52-yard run, 82 and 75-yard runs this past year. Against Alabama, they contained him, but he had seven catches in that game.

“You talk about production in back-to-back years, he hit some big plays for Tennessee in the run game. He’s caught the ball better. He was more of a factor in the passing game.”

Moreover, Kiper Jr. elaborated on what tools he’s a fan of from Wright, adding that he believes he can make an immense impact in the NFL.

“I like everything about him,” Kiper Jr. added. “In the NFL, you’ve got to be able to run through contact, basically make the first defender miss, and if you get into a situation where you’re off-balance, the ability to keep the chains moving with an extra yard or two, that he showed he could provide.

“I’m a big fan of Jaylen Wright from Tennessee. If you can get him in that fifth-round area, you’ve got yourself one heck of a running back.”

Alas, Wright ends his collegiate career in Knoxville with 368 carries for almost 2,300 rushing yards and 18 scores in 34 games. That includes the past two seasons where, as the team’s leader on the ground, he had 283 of his carries for nearly 1,900 yards and 14 touchdowns.

In this past season, he flashed more ability in the pass game as well with career-highs in receiving stats of 22 catches for 141 yards, as Kiper Jr. pointed out.

Mel Kiper Jr. is a believer in Jaylen Wright, and many NFL teams will be too. We’ll see where the former Volunteers star ends up playing at the professional level, but he has a real shot to make an impact wherever he lands.