2022 NFL Draft Rookie Profile: Tyler Badie (Fantasy Football)

One of the many edges in dynasty fantasy football is attempting to identify upside players projected to go later in rookie drafts. One of the more interesting flyers in this upcoming rookie draft could be Missouri running back Tyler Badie. In a running back class that many expect to be relatively weak, Badie may offer some potential for fantasy purposes should he get good draft capital and end up in a good situation. In this article, we will take a look at his college production and measurables, as well as some film clips to get an idea of his prospect profile for the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft.

College Production

Tyler Badie was utilized in all four years at Missouri but was most productive during his senior season, rushing for 1,604 yards (4th in NCAA) on 268 attempts (7th). Badie was a true workhorse this season, averaging 26.8 touches a game. He took over as the bell cow after taking a backseat to Larry Rountree, a sixth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Chargers last year, for his first three years at Missouri. Even though Badie was behind Rountree, he was always involved in the passing game, and that is where he has upside for fantasy purposes. PlayerProfiler.com has Badie at an 18.1% target share rate for his career at Mizzou, in the 97th percentile. Badie had over 300 receiving yards in three consecutive years (sophomore-senior).

Badie was near the top of the list when it comes to production for running backs in 2021. He truly took on a workhorse role, averaging 26.8 touches a game. If you look at this tweet below from Marvin Elequin, one of our writers here at The Fantasy Footballers, you will see that Badie was second in 2021 in Yards Per Team Play among Power Five running backs. There are some elite running backs on this list, so it is impressive to see Badie’s name grouped with many other future NFL running backs.

Highlighted below are the 2021 leaders in Total Yards Per Team Play among Power 5 RBs (min. 8 games)

▫️ Tyler Badie & Rachaad White👀
▫️ Vaughn, Tucker, Bijan lead 2023 class
▫️ TreVeyon Henderson makes the list as a true freshman🔥 pic.twitter.com/nOB7VSwnwR

— Marvin Elequin (@FF_MarvinE) February 26, 2022

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Measurables

One of the biggest knocks on Tyler Badie is his size for a running back, and Badie measured 5’8″ and 197 pounds at the combine. Ideally, a running back should be around 5’11” and 220 pounds, so Badie’s lack of size is a major red flag for consistent production on the ground. There have been successful smaller running backs in the NFL, but most are over 200 pounds.

Badie was a three-star recruit with only a handful of offers to play D1 college football. He initially committed to Memphis but ended up committing to Missouri.

What’s On Tape

Games Watched: Kentucky (2021), Arkansas (2021), Georgia (2021),

I watched film on Tyler Badie thanks to Dynasty Nerd’s film room. There were only three available games to watch, but I was able to pick out some plays that I liked from Badie. Here are some of the things that I noticed while watching the film.

Excellent Pass Catcher

Mizzou regularly called screen plays for Tyler Badie, and he produced well with the opportunities. He is a natural pass-catcher that possesses good vision with the ball in his hands. He uses his blocks well and can make quick cuts to get up the field while doing so. Pass-catching is easily his biggest strength, and he averaged four and a half receptions per game this year.

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Displays Tough Running and Contact Balance

Despite his smaller frame, Badie does show toughness when running between the tackles and taking on hits from bigger defenders, especially when they hit him high. In the clip below, you will see Badie demonstrate his ability to lower his head, take contact, and still maintain balance to move forward for a few extra yards. He broke two tackles here when the defenders tried to hit him high.

I wanted to show one more clip showing Badie’s ability to fight through contact. In this clip, you will see the defender gets the outside edge, so Badie cuts back inside and bursts through the hole, and immediately shakes an arm tackle from another defender. Badie then makes contact with another defender and gives him a stiff arm. The defender stays with him and attempts to bring him down just past the ten-yard line; however, Badie drags him into the endzone and scores the touchdown.

According to @PFF_College on Twitter, Badie led the SEC conference in rushing yards (1,604) and yards after contact (916) in 2021.

Tyler Badie led the SEC with 1,604 rushing yards and 916 yards after contact in 2021 🐯pic.twitter.com/wBoHQgdQI4

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— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) February 18, 2022

Shows Good Acceleration and Burst

Looking at the play below, Badie again displays his pass-catching ability. He plants his foot immediately after making the catch, makes the defender miss with a juke, and then quickly accelerates up the field to pick up some extra yards. He is so dangerous in the passing game.

What’s Not on Tape

1. Pass Protection

I noticed that Badie was occasionally asked to pass protect a few times in the games that I watched. He didn’t seem afraid to make contact with bigger defenders and would do his best to make contact to slow down the pass rush. This may be an issue at the next level due to his smaller frame.

2. Ball Security

According to PFF College, Tyler Badie leads all Power Five running backs in catches without a fumble since 2019 with 115. There were a couple of plays that I did see on film where he took a big hit and lost control of the ball a bit but was able to regain possession, and may not have been an actual fumble with the way he hit the ground. Badie only lost two fumbles in his career while rushing the football on 513 carries. The ball is safe in his hands.

Fantasy Outlook

More than likely, the only way that Tyler Badie becomes fantasy relevant is in full PPR leagues. NFLmockdraftdatabase.com projects Badie as a 5th round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Should he go in the 4th or 5th round, he may have a chance of relevancy, even though it would be a longshot.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, it’s worth chasing upside late in dynasty rookie drafts. Below is a graphic that shows a potential bucket of players where Tyler Badie can fall. This bucket is based on my database with running backs since 2003 as prospects that are 5’9″ or less, weighing less than 200 pounds, averaged two or more catches a game in college, and was drafted in the fourth round or later.

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As you can see, there were some fantasy-relevant players. This list does not hint that Badie will have a good or a bad career but instead shows his potential, considering other players with similar builds and draft capital. The best-case scenario would be an Ahmad Bradshaw-like career, an undersized running back who was very fantasy relevant. Realistically, the ceiling may be something of a Nyheim Hines, where he has a pass-catching role that presents top-24 upside in the right offense. If you can get even one top-24 season out of a running back taken late in dynasty rookie drafts, it’s a win.

The worst-case scenario would be that he is on a team that doesn’t utilize his talents to the fullest and gets buried on the depth chart, never really getting to see the field. The risk of this happening and impacting your dynasty team is low, considering Badie will likely be a flyer in dynasty rookie drafts as a late third or fourth-round rookie pick.