NFL Analysis
4/27/24
4 min read
Will Shipley 2024 NFL Draft: Combine Results, Scouting Report For Philadelphia Eagles RB
The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, 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 Will Shipley.
Will Shipley'S 2024 NFL COMBINE RESULTS
- Height: 5-foot-11
- Weight: 206
- Arm length: NA
- 40-yard dash: 4.39 (pro day)
- 10-yard split: 1.54
- Vertical jump: 38'5"
- Broad jump: 10'2"
- 20-yard shuttle: 4.11
Will Shipley 2024 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT
STRENGTHS
- Formation versatile back who can line up in multiple locations, including split and be a factor in the passing game.
- 2022 tape consistently showed explosive short-area burst through the hole with quick, sudden acceleration.
- Quick feet with short-area burst and accelerating speed. Zero to 60 acceleration beat angles of third-level defenders.
- Balance and body control to get through small creases at POA without losing burst and speed. Light, quick feet.
- Tough physical and competitive despite size, who consistently fought for hard yards and did not go down easily.
- 2023 – Showed the lateral agility and quickness to make third-level defenders miss in space, then re-accelerate.
- Loose-hipped runner with easy lateral quickness to work effectively in confined space. Smooth yet explosive.
- Again showed quick feet with both short-area burst and accelerating speed. Sharp cuts with no wasted motion.
- Quick accelerator once he takes a handoff. Gets from 0 to 60 in a heartbeat. Almost elite short-area explosive burst.
- Ran with an innate feel for tempo and pace in space with plus elusiveness to make defenders miss. Great balance.
- A smooth and fluid runner with easy yet sharp decisive cuts with explosive short area burst and acceleration.
- An excellent receiver who can be a factor in the passing game at all three levels of the defense, including seam routes.
WEAKNESSES
- His 2022 tape showed a tough and physical runner but not a strong and powerful runner. Size and frame limitation.
- Mindset of a sustaining grinder but not the size and frame to be that kind of back. Can he hold up at the next level?
- Not a home run hitter. Much more of a quick back than a long speed fast back. Did not show that extra juice.
NFL TRANSITION
There will not be much mystery to Shipley’s projection and transition to the next level, given his size, athletic and physical traits and his overall football skill set. Shipley lacks the size and power to be a primary back in an NFL offense despite running with a physical mindset and competitive toughness between the tackles.
His game is built more on short-area burst and acceleration with the hip and core flexibility to make sharp, decisive cuts off defensive reaction and the sudden explosiveness to reach and sustain maximum speed, allowing him to erase angles early in runs. Shipley does not possess the kind of high-level elusiveness you would ideally like to see. Still, he has an excellent feel for running in space and showed more than functional lateral agility and balance to make defenders miss in space.
Shipley fits the profile of the complementary back with his excellent running skills and high-level receiving traits, which allow him to line up in multiple locations within the formation and be a strong factor in the passing game. The larger question with Shipley is what can he become as he develops in the NFL, with much of that dependent on team and scheme and overall deployment.
There is an Aaron Jones comparison to be made (Jones came out of UTEP as a fifth-round pick with no expectation he would develop into what he has become in the NFL; He weighed 209 at the combine and ran a 4.56 40-yard dash with most of his athletic testing measurables below those of Shipley).
OTHER NOTES
Shipley came out of North Carolina as a five-star recruit and a top-50 prospect in the nation, regardless of position. He made an instant impact as a freshman at Clemson. Shipley played three years at Clemson, earning First Team All-ACC honors in 2022.
In 2022, Shipley had extensive experience running zone and gap scheme concepts, with 166 of his 210 carries coming out of the shotgun.
In 2023, Shipley was part of a two-back system at Clemson, carrying the ball 167 times for 827 yards and catching 31 passes for 244 yards. 145 of Shipley’s carries came out of the shotgun.
