The journey to the 2024 NFL Draft for Louisville’s Isaac Guerendo certainly has been an untraditional adventure. He’s never been the leading rusher of any team during his college career and hasn’t been playing the running back position for all that long.
Yet, Guerendo’s athletic profile and scouting report suggest he could be a big difference-maker for an NFL backfield entering the league.
Isaac Guerendo’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’0″
- Weight: 221 pounds
- Position: RB
- School: Louisville
- Current year: Senior
- 40-Yard Dash:Â 4.33 seconds
- 10-Yard Split:Â 1.55 seconds
- Vertical Jump:Â 41.5″
- Broad Jump:Â 10’9″
- 3-Cone Drill:Â 6.94 seconds
- 20-Yard Shuttle:Â 4.15 seconds
Guerendo was a standout performer during his prep days in the state of Indiana and was widely regarded as a three-star prospect entering the collegiate ranks … as a wide receiver. One of the most interesting things about his prospect profile is his transition from receiver to running back during his early days at Wisconsin.
Unfortunately, Guerendo missed some action on the field in 2021 with an injury but had trouble getting on the football field as a Badger due to playing behind Jonathan Taylor and Braelon Allen. Ultimately, his career at Wisconsin was mostly uneventful with just 99 carries for 582 yards over a four-year span.
Yet, Guerendo’s move to Louisville completely changed our outlook on him as a prospect, generating 810 yards on the ground to go with 11 TDs. His receiving skill set also showed up with an additional 234 more yards on 22 receptions during his final year in college.
.@isaacguerendo showing out at the Combine 📈#NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/re1eDf3meU
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365)
Guerendo’s Scouting Report
Strengths:
- Elite home run speed for a running back prospect.
- Has the acceleration to take the edge against linebackers when he plays decisively.
- Flashes quality vision and timing for cutting off the hip of his linemen in zone concepts.
- Creativity as a ball carrier is present with glimpses of an effective stiff arm, spin move, and hurdle when eluding incoming defenders.
- Possesses the ability to barrel through arm tackles when he is moving downhill with a head of steam; contact balance sees him bounce off smaller defenders while keeping momentum pushing forward.
- Flashes ability to string together multiple lateral moves in tight spaces.
- Good feel for adjusting trajectory to veer outside when safeties come flying downhill to fill the alley too recklessly.
- Knee elevates in open space to avoid ankle-biters and submariners who want no part of engaging him up high.
- Days as a receiver show up in his pass-catching fluidity; regularly can snag passes away from his frame with ease.
Weaknesses
- While he possesses exceptional top speed, I wouldn’t classify him as a sudden back with exceptional foot quickness.
- Lateral agility is more functional than elite; struggles to dismiss early-penetrating defenders behind the line of scrimmage.
- Upright runner who shows occasional limitations to instantly drop his hips to make quick cuts in traffic consistently.
- Can be a bit impatient and bounces runs outside prematurely when rushing lanes aren’t clearly forming early in the rep.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Guerendo’s exceptional performance at the 2024 NFL Combine certainly drew some much-needed attention to his prospect profile. His explosive playmaking ability is sprinkled all over the film. If he manages to get to the second level at top speed, he is an absolute load to bring down. His athletic profile and flashes of home run ability at the running back position make him an incredibly intriguing prospect.
Yet, his elite top speed and time at receiver don’t exactly translate to exceptional foot quickness and lateral-agility creativity in tight spaces. His impressive downhill running style paired with his elite top speed could make him an absolute nightmare to deal with in wide-zone schemes early in his career.
Is it a bit concerning that Guerendo was never able to take the leading role in any collegiate backfield? Sure, but the context that he was playing alongside/behind three NFL-caliber talents in college shouldn’t make that too concerning. The argument can be made he has an ideally low ball carrier odometer entering the NFL but at the expense of an advanced age for a running back prospect coming into the league.
KEEP READING: Top RBs in the 2024 NFL Draft
In addition, Guerendo’s pass-catching ability helps him check another box at the next level, with some nice reps in pass protection to go with his natural hands out of the backfield. The upside with Guerendo as a potential full-time starter is certainly there, but he is still a little inconsistent with his reads and could have some limitations in gap schemes with his lack of foot quickness/suddenness and mostly underwhelming lateral agility.
His versatile skill set and home run speed make him nearly a lock for a Day 3 pick who could sneak into the very end of Day 2 if a zone-heavy team sees a potential immediate contributor and future starter at the position.
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