NFL Analysis
10/29/24
6 min read
DJ Giddens 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Kansas State Wildcats RB
Height: 6010 (unofficial)
Weight: 212 (unofficial)
Year: Redshirt Junior
Pro Comparison: TJ Yeldon
Scouting Overview
Kansas State Wildcats running back DJ Giddens is a big, fluid runner who offers strong natural instincts in space. While Giddens lacks the dynamic athletic profile to be a highly coveted prospect, he has found ample production at the position and has been on a steady progression during his Kansas State career.
Giddens is light on his feet, fluid, and shows wiggle to challenge tacklers, creating a combination of skills that will afford him multiple ways to create added yardage outside of the run structure. His ability to execute and read the point of attack with his vision, plus any potential growth on passing downs, will determine the floor for his career outlook.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Smooth runner with graceful adjustments on his running path to keep his feet clean
- Showcases great wiggle and natural running instinct in the open field to create false steps and break down tacklers
- Late start in football and ascending performance offer optimism for growth for a team willing to invest into his development
Negatives
- Runs with high pads, defenders who catch him flush or off of a hard inside cut will catch a lot of him and minimal added yardage comes on these reps
- Lacks a second gear in the open field to consistently pull away from defenders and break pursuit angles
- Has struggled with decisiveness at the point of attack, although growth is apparent in this phase in 2024
Background
Giddens hails from Junction City, KS, and played his high school football at Junction City HS. There, he earned First-Team All-State honors from the Topeka Capital-Journal with a total of 30 touchdowns during his final season with the program.
These successes came despite a late start in football, as Giddens did not play organized football until his sophomore season of high school. As a result, the recruiting services had him unranked, and he lacked the buzz as a recruit to garner offers at all.
Giddens was a preferred walk-on at Kansas State in 2021 and redshirted his true freshman season that year. He quickly made an impression on the program as a redshirt freshman in 2022, posting 518 rushing yards while playing in every contest.
That season served as a launching point for 2023, in which Giddens posted more than 1,200 rushing yards and double-digit touchdowns on the ground. He reached 1,000 yards faster than all but two players in program history.
Tale of The Tape
Giddens is the kind of player who could outperform his draft valuation in the right situation. He clearly has instincts with the football in space and showcases the kind of movement skills for a player of his stature that could challenge NFL defenders.
However, at his core, Giddens feels like a player caught in between styles. He’s a bigger-bodied back but lacks the short-yardage power and pad level to consistently get under tacklers and push the pile. While he’s an elusive runner, he lacks the high-end explosive qualities to break angles and create favorable space for himself at the NFL level.
For Giddens to go on to achieve optimal potential at the NFL level, he’ll need either physical growth or technical development — perhaps both.
This isn’t a player who showcased great decisiveness on his press of the line of scrimmage in prior years, although he does appear to handle this responsibility better in 2024. Some of that has come courtesy of open voids in the run game, easing his need to read and process defenders at the point of attack.
Offensive lines that consistently create displacement will be preferred for Giddens. Given his running style, Giddens may be best served playing in gap schemes with a designated crease to attack with the football to ensure he’s put in the best position to hit the line of scrimmage with space to run.
Giddens’ instincts kick in once he’s in the alley or in the hole and facing a defender stepping down from depth. His wiggle, head fakes, loose hips, and subtle movements all feed defenders false information, and he’s quick to parlay off that move and continue into space. He’s more loose with his frame than he is explosive, however. He doesn’t make a lot of steep angled cuts, he’s a bit of a strider in the backfield, and he lacks the open-field juice to tear away from pursuit.
In the passing game, Giddens has shown natural hands and has the potential to be a viable option. He’s run wheels up the sideline and shallow routes that convert up the field on scramble drills. He's done well for himself to check for defender leverage and then drift into open space for the quarterback. As a bigger back, he has a larger catch radius to go with his comfort using his hands to receive the ball off his chest.
In protection, Giddens lacks the anchor and strike timing needed to successfully offset rushes. Too often, he will overextend himself and lunge into contact, which defenders will play off of by collecting their balance off a cut or making a late lateral counter.
He fails to stay on his feet and prefers to try to cut defenders down at the thighs. This feels like a big potential blockade to playing time early in his pro career.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Giddens should be considered an intriguing developmental talent. His late start in football explains why he’s generally rough around the edges, but this is not a position that is typically given a ton of grace to grow and develop on a 53-man roster.
Ideally, he’s placed in a gap scheme as a bigger presence in the rotation, but he will need to earn NFL carries by illustrating continued growth and consistency.
Grade: 69.50/100.00, Sixth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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