Devin Neal 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
Devin Neal 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
- Position: RB
- School: Kansas
- Class: Senior
- Date of Birth: August 12, 2003
- Height: 5-11
- Weight: 215 lbs
Devin Neal Bio
Devin Neal was a four-star recruit out of Lawrence, Kansas. There, he was a star in both football and baseball. As a senior, he rushed for 1,327 yards and 20 touchdowns on his way to first team All-State. Neal received just five college offers: Kansas, Iowa, Kansas State, Nebraska, and Oklahoma State. He signed on with Kansas to play both football and baseball as part of the 2021 class. After just seven games on the diamond, Neal opted to walk away from baseball and focus on football.
In his true freshman season, Neal ran 158 times for 707 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games. He followed that up with 1,090 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 180 carries in 2022. He added another 183 yards and a score on 21 receptions while starting 12 of 13 games. Neal’s game continued to improve in his junior season when he nearly reached 1,500 total yards on 203 carries and 25 receptions in 2023. He finished the year with 17 total touchdowns and second-team All-Big-12 honors.
Neal opted to return to school for his senior season in 2024. He started all 12 games and took his 216 carries for 1,266 yards and 16 touchdowns. He again added a score through the air while amassing 254 receiving yards on 24 receptions.
Neal heads to the NFL as Kansas’ all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns as well as most career 100-yard games (The Draft Network).
College Stats
Devin Neal college stats courtesy of sports-reference
Positives
- Elusiveness
- Vision
- Explosive
- Acceleration
- 1.98 yards per team play (2024)
- 38.6% touchdown share (2024)
- 13.6% reception share
Negatives
- Pass Protection
- Inconsistent converting in short-yardage situations
- Questionable long speed
Highlight Reel
Archetype: One-Cut Slasher
NFL Comp: Miles Sanders
Performance Score: Coming Soon
Draft Projection: Third/Fourth Round
NFL Draft & Dynasty Outlook:
Devin Neal is a versatile running back who wins with short area speed, burst, and acceleration. He’s a slasher with the build of a power back. He might not run you over like most other 215 pounders, but he’s incredibly difficult to bring down in space. Neal uses his quick footwork, agility, and natural instincts to make tacklers miss with ease. He’s a patient runner with good vision and great change of direction ability. Once he identifies a lane, he puts his foot in the ground and goes. That’s when he’s most exciting. His short bursts of speed, acceleration, and explosion are almost unmatched. He will then creatively work his way to the next level and use his contact balance to keep the play alive through multiple tackle attempts.
Once he makes it into the secondary, Neal has enough speed to create chunk plays. However, he does get caught from behind more often than not. The next level breakaway speed just isn’t there. In short yardage, Neal won’t always be the most effective option at the NFL level. We could see him subbed out for bigger backs at the goal line. He has the frame to do it, but he’s lacking in effective play strength and power to routinely convert on those opportunities.
In the passing game, Neal was productive enough at Kansas to think he can add some value there in the NFL as well. However, he did have some drop issues at times and will need to improve in pass protection if he’s going to stay on the field for all three downs. Instead, we’re likely to see a guy who can (and will) catch a number of passes will typically be subbed out in obvious passing situations. Still, Neal will be able to get his share of targets on early down screens, swings, and check-downs. If he were somehow able to develop this area of his game, though, he would bring a lot of upside as a receiver given his athleticism and open field elusiveness.
Projecting to the NFL, Neal will likely begin his career as a high-end change-of-pace back or RB2. He’ll be a versatile player in terms of what he can do on the field, as well as the schemes he can operate in. He will likely come off the board in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft with a chance to squeeze into the back-end of the third. In dynasty, he is one of many talented running backs in this year’s class. Combine performance and draft capital will go a long way to determining his final ranking, but Neal is looking like a solid option in the second or third round of rookie drafts.
NEXT: Quinshon Judkins 2025 NFL Draft & Dynasty Profile
RANKINGS DYNASTY
Fantasy Football Season Is NOW At Underdog. Sign up and draft now! Use Promo-Code: YARDSPER to claim your Special Pick + First Time Deposit offer up to $1,000 in bonus cash!
