The 2024 NFL Draft is here, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Tyrone Tracy Jr.
Tracy was a full-time running back for only one season after spending his first five college seasons primarily as a wide receiver, the position at which he was initially recruited to play at Iowa.
While still learning the running back position, he'd likely make the transition to the next level in much the same way that Alvin Kamara and Jahmyr Gibbs are deployed by their respective teams. While Tracy isn't at the level of either back (Kamara in his prime, Gibbs right now going into his second season with the Detroit Lions), he would profile in an offense as a complementary primary back and multidimensional receiving weapon who can line up in multiple locations within the formation and could be especially effective as a detached receiver given his background.
Given the kind of running back that Tracy is and how he will best make the transition to the next level — assuming he will be deployed that way, which I believe is the most effective means for him to play in the league — there aren't a lot of weaknesses in his game. I could see him fitting well into an NFL offense that features the back in the passing game, especially with formation versatility.
Tracy will only get better as a runner with more experience, but he showed strong traits with his natural quickness and burst and his elusiveness making defenders miss in multiple ways. Perhaps most impressively, he showed more than functional physicality and competitive toughness to finish runs. Overall, Tracy is one of my favorite backs to watch, and I believe he is an ascending talent. I'm looking forward to seeing who drafts him and how he's deployed.
Tracy was initially recruited by Iowa as a receiver and played his first four years there before transferring to Purdue for his final two seasons. In 2019 with the Hawkeyes, he had a 36-589-16.4-3 TD stat line; He made the full-time position switch to running back in 2023 and carried the ball 113 times after having only 33 rushes in his first five college seasons.
He was featured at times on jet sweeps in the Purdue offense, and there's no question Tracy can be deployed in multiple ways in the context of an NFL offense — both in terms of alignment, location and concepts. His 20-yard touchdown vs. Northwestern was a strong snapshot of him as a runner: gap scheme with lateral quickness and contact balance with a darting, slashing feel at the second and third levels of the defense. His 28-yard run vs. Indiana was another strong snapshot: inside lead play with Tracy again showing lateral agility to slide from gap to gap and the contact balance to work through tacklers at the second level.
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