Making a pro comparison for Javian Hawkins

When analyzing draft prospects, one of the more exciting pieces of reading come when we can compare a college prospect to a professional or a player in a past draft. Being able to segment players is important practice and envisioning their NFL future can be fun. So we’re going to do just that for former Louisville star running back Javian Hawkins.

For instance, a common comparison for Lamar Jackson was Michael Vick coming out of college. That was a simple relation, but not all of them are so easy to make.

The main point of emphasis when making comparisons consists of what each player has from a traits standpoint. Are they fast? Size profile? What are they good at? What do they struggle with?

These are all very important to analyze when attempting to find two similar players.

How does Javian Hawkins stack up?

At 5’9″ 195-pounds, there are no official measurements on his size profile. With no NFL Combine this year, the public  may not know those official results even at Louisville’s Mar. 30 pro day. I have my doubts about his weight, but let’s pretend like that is accurate for this exercise.

Let’s now stack up what his strengths are as a player.

Strengths

• Burst and acceleration
• Long Speed
• Elusiveness
• Receiving potential

Weaknesses

• Contact balance
• Vision
• Ball security

Hawkins does not project to be an every-down back in the NFL due to size limitations and lack of overall well-roundedness as a prospect. But he certainly will have value due to the elite athleticism he possesses for a running back.

Making the comparison

Using a site like mockdraftable.com is a great tool to set reminders of how size and athletic similarities can compare from years past. Then – based on that fact – we can narrow things down to one player based on playing strengths and weaknesses.

We don’t have to go back very long to make our comparison. In fact, it’s a player from the 2020 NFL Draft with a very similar size portfolio to go along with the same kind of strengths.

The Comp: Raymond Calais, Louisiana, 7th round selection (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Coming out of college, Calais had low receiving production despite looking capable of doing so from an athletic perspective. He’s fast and explosive in similar ways that Hawkins is. While he’s not the most flashy or well-known comparison, it’s a reasonable one to make with all things considered. Despite being drafted by the Bucs, he was waived just prior to the 2020 season. Calais is now a member of the Los Angeles Rams.

Keep in mind…

Just because we made the comparison to Calais, that does not mean both players will have the same fate in the league. It’s just an indicator that we think they are similar as prospects and play the game in similar ways.

Who would you compare Hawkins to?