As one NFL season ends, the next is set to begin with the NFL Draft on the horizon. In our latest installment of scouting reports to help guide your fantasy football team, we look at Washington State RB Max Borghi. What are Borghi’s strengths and weaknesses, which teams could be potential landing spots for him in the NFL Draft, and what is his fantasy outlook?
Max Borghi NFL Draft Profile
- Position: Running Back
- School: Washington State
- Current Year: Senior
- Height: 5’9 3/8″
- Weight: 210
- Wingspan: 70 1/2″
- Arm length: 29 5/8″
- Hand size: 9 1/8″
Tony Pauline’s scouting report for Max Borghi
Positives: Athletic, versatile third-down back with next-level size and speed. Instinctive, displays outstanding running vision, and runs with excellent lean. Quick-footed, displays a burst through the hole, and slides off defenders to pick up yardage. Possesses the agility necessary to turn the corner, plays faster than his 40 time, and beats defenders into the open field.
Works runs, breaks tackles to pick up yardage off initial contact, and falls forward when tackled. Will pick and choose his spots, follows blocks everywhere on the field, and finds ways to pick up positive yardage.
Negatives: Not a perimeter runner for a quick cutback ball carrier. Loses momentum altering the angle of runs. Rarely used in the passing game this past season after putting up impressive pass-catching numbers during his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
Analysis: Borghi is a talented ball carrier with the size, speed, and football intellect to be used as a rotational back or third-down specialist. The previous pass-catching skill he displayed is an added benefit.
Borghi’s NFL Combine and pro day results
The results listed were recorded at the Washington State Pro Day unless stated.
- 40-yard dash: 4.52 seconds
- Bench press: 20 (performed at the NFL Combine)
- 3-cone drill: 7.15 seconds
- 20-yard shuttle: 4.27 seconds
- Broad jump: 10’3″
- Vertical jump: 33.5″
Max Borghi’s fantasy football scouting report
Not long ago, Borghi was arguably the hottest name in college football. That’s not even hyperbole. Do a Twitter search for his name, and in 2019, he was considered the next Christian McCaffrey. That did nothing but frustrate me to no end. It was the laziest take imaginable. It still is. What, just because they look the same and can catch the ball, that’s who you compare him to? Get out of here with that.
Now, by no means should this take away from what Borghi did in 2019 to draw these comparisons. For one, he had four games of 100+ rushing yards and was top 10 in the Pac-12 in rushing yards (817), third in touchdowns (11), and first in yards per carry (6.4). But it’s what he did in the receiving game which was noteworthy.
Borghi caught 85 of 96 targets for a whopping 593 yards and 5 touchdowns. For context, that’s a 17% reception share, and Borghi led the team in catches. Unfortunately, he was unable to build on this momentum.
Pandemic limits 2020 campaign
Due to COVID and the Pac-12 being hyper-reluctant to play (unlike the other conferences), Washington State played just four games. For Borghi, it was even fewer. Borghi missed the first three contests due to a back injury suffered in the preseason. He did play in the season finale against Utah and recorded 95 yards and a score on 11 rushes.
It gave a slight glimpse at what Borghi could do in Nick Rolovich’s run-and-shoot offense, which would give him more opportunities on the ground than Mike Leach’s Air Raid system. Borghi opted to forgo the NFL and returned for his senior campaign to improve his draft stock.
Borghi lacked the same upside in the new offense
While Borghi hoped to better his draft stock, the opposite likely happened. Although Borghi did boost his rushing totals in 2021 with 880 yards, it took 160 attempts to do it, dropping his efficiency to 5.5 ypc. Touchdowns were an added bonus, as he crossed the plane on 12 occasions.
Where we saw the massive dip was in the receiving game. Borghi’s most desirable trait went by the wayside as he recorded 16 receptions for 156 yards and no touchdowns. The change in philosophy hampered his upside in this part of his game.
Borghi is an interesting tape evaluation
When you watch his 2019 and 2021 tape, not much has changed. That’s also not necessarily a bad thing. For one, Borghi is a compact rusher with decent power and physicality. There are plenty of highlight plays where he bounces off defenders or uses a stiff arm to extend runs.
This tended to come through on open-field plays towards the boundaries. Borghi is quick, and he knows it. He has a penchant for taking a run and bouncing it to the outside. From there, he manipulates the angles of defenders with changes in speed that allow him to break tackles. After all, you can’t tackle what you can’t wrap up.
Borghi does this because he is not an agile runner, either in the open field or, especially, between the tackles. He is very tight hipped and lacks the intuitive feel and footwork to be an inside rusher. His vision is inconsistent at times, and he doesn’t always pick up the leverage from pulling guards.
Borghi is a daylight runner. If presented with a hole, he hits it and does so quickly, as it does not take long for him to get to top speed. It should come as no surprise Borghi’s highest-graded trait on film is as a receiver, both in terms of hands and versatility. He can work in the screen game out of the backfield and line up in the slot.
While his route running — particularly in the slot — could use refinement, Borghi still checks the boxes. Linebackers who follow him when motioned out will struggle to keep up. Just don’t ask him to help in pass protection. Borghi might not have been well-coached in pass pro (which happens in college), and it’s not a strong suit at all.
As a fantasy asset, Borghi is difficult to nail down
For one, let’s put to bed the McCaffrey comparisons. Just because they’re both white running backs who caught the ball and wore a shade of red in college does not mean they are anywhere equals. Let McCaffrey be McCaffrey and Borghi be Borghi.
Pro Football Network placed Borghi on the second-team All-Pac-12 offense in 2021. While he didn’t post the same production level as he did in 2019, Borghi was still solid. But how does he translate to the NFL? His best season came in an Air Raid offense, and while some aspects of that scheme are being implemented in the NFL, it’s not a pro-style offense.
What we are left with is a rusher who excelled in low-degree of difficulty opportunities in a scheme that pushed the tempo, stretched the field to its maximum width, and took advantage of the narrower hashes on a college field. That’s not the NFL game, and this will be reflected in Borghi’s draft status.
There is undoubtedly a role for Borghi in the NFL, likely as a satellite back. He could play something of a Nyheim Hines-esque role, although that is his ceiling. It’s unlikely Borghi is drafted in standard rookie drafts. If he is, it’s in the fourth round as a dart throw. The NFL will tell fantasy managers what to think when it comes to Borghi. If he’s still on the board in the sixth or seventh rounds come April, odds are he should stay off of yours.
Potential landing spots for Borghi
With the NFL Draft closing in, which teams make the most sense for Borghi as projected landing spots? Based on his scouting report, fantasy managers should keep their eye on these franchises come draft day.
Kansas City Chiefs
Both HC Andy Reid and OC Eric Bieniemy love to get creative. It’s an offense that capitalizes on creating mismatches and getting athletes in space. It’s also one that could use some help in the receiving department out of the backfield.
While Clyde Edwards-Helaire is capable, he averaged just 1.9 receptions per game last season. Darrel Williams and Jerick McKinnon were far more effective in the passing game.
The issue? Both Williams and McKinnon are currently free agents. Kansas City did sign Ronald Jones during free agency, but he has a well-known reputation for drops. It’s one of the reasons Leonard Fournette was able to secure the job in Tampa.
Borghi could be a late-round option to help pick up some of the slack for the offense. Add in his capability when split out, and Borghi becomes another chess piece for Patrick Mahomes to use. Something he will need more of with Tyreek Hill now in Miami.
Buffalo Bills
Towards the end of last season, we saw a trend with the Buffalo Bills. For the first time in a few years, they committed to letting a singular back get most of the work, and Devin Singletary flourished.
From Weeks 15 through 18, Singletary was the RB1 in PPR. He averaged 20.9 PPR points on 21.5 opportunities per game while recording 84% of the RB attempts and 77% of the backfield targets. That continued into the playoffs, and in those six total games, Singletary found paydirt a whopping 9 times.
Over this stretch, Zack Moss saw 17 opportunities with two healthy scratches and didn’t receive a carry in the Divisional Round matchup against Kansas City. This, along with their attempted signing of J.D. McKissic during free agency, tells me they are wanting further depth behind Singletary.
Borghi could slide in and work in that RB3 role alongside Matt Breida and Moss while serving as a passing-down back. Borghi has a difficult path to fantasy relevancy wherever he goes, but in Buffalo, he could find success on one of the NFL’s top offenses.
Chicago Bears
After five seasons (six years) in Chicago, Tarik Cohen’s time with the Bears came to a close this offseason. An ACL tear suffered in Week 3 of 2020 caused him to miss the entire 2021 season. The Bears opted to release Cohen during the 2022 offseason in what was just an unfortunate situation. A dual-threat weapon, Cohen racked up 1,101 rushing yards, 1,575 receiving yards, and 14 total touchdowns in 51 career games. He was named a first-team All-Pro for his punt-return skills in 2018.
Borghi is not the same elusive athlete that Cohen was, but his receiving skills could be put to use in Chicago. Also, the current RB room is a touch thin, with David Montgomery as the No. 1, followed by Khalil Herbert and Darrynton Evans. OC Luke Getsy will want to make the Bears’ offense more dynamic. Borghi could help to do just that as a late-round selection.
