With the 2025 NFL Draft now less than a month away, Chiefs Kingdom is fully focused on what players their favorite team may want to add to their roster. One of the deepest position groups in this draft class is running back. While Kansas City does have veterans Isiah Pacheco, Kareem Hunt, and Elijah Mitchell under contract for 2025, none of them are signed beyond that. So, it only makes sense that the Chiefs may want to take advantage of this strong class and secure their running back of the future.
Thus far I have done profiles for Ashton Jeanty, TreVeyon Henderson, Cam Skattebo, Kaleb Johnson, DJ Giddens, Dylan Sampson, and RJ Harvey. If you are interested in any of those running backs and haven't checked out their scouting reports yet, I encourage you to do so. Today we are going to take a look at Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon II.
Gordon was viewed as one of the top running backs in the country going into the 2024 season after putting up over 1,700 yards rushing and 21 rushing touchdowns in 2023. However, Oklahoma State and Gordon both had much worse seasons in 2024. Gordon's rushing yards were basically cut in half, as he rushed for just 880 yards last season. Let's look at his scouting report and see if he should still be considered an elite prospect heading into the 2025 NFL Draft after his down season.
Ollie Gordon II - 2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report
Age: 21 (when drafted)
Height: 6'1" (official)
Weight: 226 (official)
Ollie Gordon's Strengths
Gordon is a freight train of a running back. He has the size and muscular build to be an imposing presence between the tackles in the NFL. When he has the space to get his momentum going forward, he is a very hard back to deal with. There have been some Derrick Henry comparisons, and while I would stop short of that (Gordon isn't quite that big and strong), there is a stylistic similarity to their games.
Some power backs have slow, heavy feet, but I was impressed with Gordon's footwork. It's better than most backs his size. I'm not saying he's nimble, but he typically keeps his feet moving and is able to sidestep tacklers. I think his feet are a big part of what separates him from most power backs and were a big reason for his huge 2023 season.
While he doesn't look like your typical third-down back, Gordon is actually a very solid pass protector. He seeks out contact in protection the same way he does when pushing the pile in short yardage. While he lacks the typical change-of-direction skills associated with pass-catching backs, he does have natural hands and can be used as a weapon in the screen game.
Ollie Gordon's Glaring Weakness
While Gordon has the strengths associated with a freight train, he also has the biggest limitation of one. His change-of-direction skills are just not very good. He's a stiff, upright runner who doesn't change direction or improvise well when the play breaks down. We've seen the Chiefs exploit this against Derrick Henry in the past. If you can plug the hole and not let them build up momentum, they lose their superpower and can be tackled much more easily.
Simply put, Gordon with a hole to hit and forward momentum is a nightmare to stop (see his 2023 tape). Gordon without a clear hole and no momentum is one of the easier backs to stop out of the top 15 running backs in this class (see his 2024 tape). So, the question teams have to ask themselves when it comes to Gordon is whether their system will set him up to be 2023 Gordon or 2024 Gordon.
Does Ollie Gordon fit the Chiefs offense?
The simple answer to this question is probably "no." Gordon seems built for a physical power gap run scheme that is going to consistently pound him between the tackles to wear down the opposing defense. That just isn't how the Chiefs' offense operates under Andy Reid. I also don't feel like we've seen Kansas City's offensive line consistently open up the kind of run lanes that allowed Gordon to shine in 2023.
That being said, the Chiefs don't have a back like Gordon on their roster, and they could certainly stand to improve their short-yardage run game. Having a back like Gordon would add a new element to their offense; I'm just not sure that I trust Andy Reid to use that element enough to warrant making Gordon the pick when there are so many backs to choose from in this draft class.
I think Gordon will likely go off the board somewhere in the middle rounds of the 2025 draft. If he lands with the right team to give him the power run blocking he needs, he could turn into one of the best bargain picks in this draft. However, if he goes somewhere where the offensive line struggles to open up lanes for him, he could also find himself stuck on the bench for anything that isn't a short-yardage situation. So, the question is, which of those two types of teams do you think the Chiefs are more like?
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