Louisville football: 5 players who could be drafted in 2021 NFL Draft

Javian Hawkins – RB

Redshirt sophomore

At this time last year there’s no way anyone would have been able to predict that Javian Hawkins would emerge into an NFL running back within a matter of 365 days. Most Louisville fans would’ve likely guessed Hassan Hall to be the next star draft pick at RB for Louisville (I wrote about that last year), considering his end to the 2018 season and his hand-in-glove fit for the Scott Satterfield offense.

Things played out differently, and while Hall is still very much an NFL prospect, the 5’9, 195 pound Hawkins is a player that very well could be heading into his last season as a Cardinal thanks to incredible production and his unique fit at the next level.

While there aren’t many running backs that are similar in size to Hawkins playing as every-down backs in the NFL, that doesn’t mean that a player with his ability won’t be highely coveted. Thanks to his running style made up of physicality, allusiveness, elite speed, and power, Hawkins has developed into a draftable prospect who could be a steal for an NFL team.

Hawkins showed everyone what he was capable of last season, and with nearly the entire offense back in 2020 and another year of continuity under their belts, I expect him to top what he did last season. Since he’s three years removed from high school graduation, that will make him draft-eligible after next season as a redshirt sophomore, and my guess is he’ll be a player who catches people’s attention.

There are are a lot of reasons why NFL teams would have interest in a player like Hawkins, even if he is undersized and unlikely to be able to carry a large workload at the next level. First of all Hawkins’ speed is off the charts. Louisville fans got to witness it first hand last season as Hawkins totaled 1,525 rushing yards, finishing seventh in the nation in rushing, beaking numerous records (including the school’s record for rushing yards in a season by a running back), and totaling the third-most yards by a freshman in ACC history.

Secondly, Hawkins is extremely elusive and proved to be one of the hardest players to tackle even being one of the smaller players on the field. The redshirt sophomore showed how he got the nickname “Playstation” with some of his jaw-dropping runs last season, making a few of the top ACC defenders look silly trying to tackle him.

In a scheme tailor-made for a speedy running back, Hawkins took advantage of every single carry he got – finishing the season with eight games over 100 yards including an incredible 233 yards against Syracuse. I can’t count how many times Hawkins looked like he was going to be stuffed in the backfield for a big loss only to get loose on the outside corner and turn upfield on way to a big gain.

The thing that I believe will surprise most NFL scouts and General Managers about Hawkins, and could help his draft positioning in a major way, is the power and physicality he runs with. Most people, even football experts, would look at him and see a player who needs to be in a certain style of offense, playing for a coach who values having multiple types of backs, including smaller backs with speed. However, as Dwayne Ledford noted last season – even at 5’9,185 pounds, Hawkins runs as big and powerful as anyone:

"“He runs as big as anybody I’ve been around. Every time he touches the ball, he touches it like he has something to prove. He is a physical, downhill runner but at the same time he has speed where he can get outside and make things happen in the open field. He’s a special back that has a lot of tools.”"

Against two of the biggest and most physical, NFL-like defenses in Notre Dame and Clemson, Hawkins showed the ability to not only be able to run with the big boys (pun intended) but also the ability to stand out and make elite plays. In Louisville’s season opener against the Irish, Hawkins ran for 122 yards on 19 carries and against Clemson’s elite defense, he totaled 129 yards and a touchdown while breaking Dabo Swinney’s 27-game streak of holding players under 100 yards.

The size of Hawkins will be something to watch as NFL Draft experts begin to look at the 2021 NFL Draft and determine who fits in where. Most teams aren’t going to want a smaller player as a primary back, even with the production Hawkins had, especially one who doesn’t return kicks or provide much of a boost in the passing game (we’ll talk about that more in a second) and because of that, I think it could lead Hawkins to be a mid-round prospect no matter whether he comes out after his redshirt sophomore season or anytime after.

Just because Hawkins may be drafted near the middle of the draft, that doesn’t mean a team won’t be getting a steal or a potential long-term starter. Sure it’s more likely that Hawkins would be brought in as a change of pace back, or a guy who will play as part of a rotation, but at his size the one thing that may hurt him more than anything else is his lack of production catching the football.

We saw just a glimpse of how special Louisville’s offense could be in 2019 in Scott Satterfield’s first season as head coach, and assuming there is football played in 2020, my guess is we’ll see a ton of new wrinkles added. One of those should be getting Hawkins involved in the passing game.  Last year Hawkins totaled just four receptions for 58 yards, and while there are plenty of backs who don’t come into the NFL able to contribute as a receiver, at his size I believe it is essential.

Darren Sproles, Tarik Cohen, and Devonta Freeman (shoutout to DJ Bien-Amie for the help on this one) are three NFL running back’s who come to mind when thinking about comparisons for Hawkins, all of whom are equally as dangerous in the passing game. While Sproles and Cohen both play in specialist types of roles, Hawkins could develop into a player who fits the mold of Freeman considering their height, weight, and playing style similarities. Even Freeman, however, has shown the ability to provide help in the passing game, totaling at least 30 receptions or more in all but one year of his career.

Hawkins will have another major season in 2020, there’s no doubt about that, but when it comes to the 2021 NFL Draft it’ll be all about whether he feels he has proven what he can at Louisville to be drafted high.