As one NFL season ends, the next is set to begin with the NFL Draft on the horizon. In our latest installment of scouting reports to help guide your fantasy football team, we look at Florida State RB Jashaun Corbin. What are Corbin’s strengths and weaknesses, which teams could be potential landing spots for him in the NFL Draft, and what is his fantasy outlook?
Jashaun Corbin NFL Draft Profile
- Position: Running Back
- School: Florida State
- Current Year: Senior
- Height: 5’11″
- Weight: 203 pounds
- Wingspan: 75 3/4″
- Arm: 32″
- Hand: 9 3/8″
Jashaun Corbin’s fantasy football scouting report
Corbin’s numbers probably won’t impress you. He is a fourth-year senior who never rushed for over 900 yards in a single season. Corbin was initially a Florida State recruit, but he followed Jimbo Fisher to Texas A&M. Unfortunately, that placed him directly behind Isaiah Spiller, the best running back of the current class. A torn hamstring in the second game of the 2019 season sidelined Corbin for the rest of the year and appeared to impact his performance into the 2020 campaign as he transferred to Florida State.
That leaves us with 2021 as the only year where Corbin had a chance to stretch his legs. Yet, he was forced to play behind one of the worst offensive lines in college football and with no quarterback. Former FSU running back Cam Akers faced the same issue, though he did find more success as the superior talented back.
Now, don’t let that push you away from Corbin, who has been slowly working his way up my rankings. As a part of a 1-2 punch with QB Jordan Travis in 2021, Corbin recorded 887 rushing yards and 7 TDs on 143 carries while adding an additional 144 yards and 1 score on 25 receptions. He averaged 5.57 yards per rush and totaled 12 rushing touchdowns in 21 career games at FSU. In 2021, he was second in the ACC with 6.2 yards per carry.
Corbin runs like a guy listed at 6’0″ and 215 pounds (as FSU lists him). Therefore, we were all a bit surprised he measured smaller at the Shrine Bowl, but it’s par for the course to re-adjust due to inflated numbers. However, Corbin departed Las Vegas with an elevated draft stock, even though the Shrine Bowl is just a glorified exhibition game. He finished with 50 rushing yards on 8 carries, including a 5-yard touchdown run on which he carried four defenders on his back.
Corbin has the skills to be a No. 2 in the NFL and a fantasy asset if called upon
That’s who Corbin is. He is a physical downhill runner who maintains a low center of gravity, allowing him to win at the point of contact and drive the pile. Corbin demonstrated impressive vision when he got into the second level and can string together a few moves in succession.
He has better speed than some realize. In fact, his first-ever kick return in college was a house call against Arkansas in 2018. Against No. 9 Notre Dame this year, Corbin broke three arm tackles on an inside-zone rush for an 89-yard touchdown.
I don’t project Corbin as a starting RB, but he has the traits to fill in as one if needed. He is a well-rounded back and, despite not having a singular elite trait, has NFL-caliber skills in critical areas. The only area where he lacks consistency is in the receiving game. Given the timing issues involved in the screen game, much of this blame falls on the QB, not Corbin. Place him behind a competent OL and alongside a solid quarterback, and Corbin could very well surprise people, including fantasy managers.
At the moment, Corbin is right around the RB10-RB12 range. But until we have more data and landing spots, I tend to stick with tiers and base my ranks on film grades. In the third round of fantasy drafts, Corbin is a green-light pick, assuming a team uses favorable draft capital to acquire him. He projects as a No. 2 RB in the NFL. If an injury were to happen to the lead back, Corbin has the skills to take on No. 1 duties and could be a lower-end flex play in a given week.
Potential landing spots for Corbin
With the NFL Draft closing in, which teams make the most sense for Corbin as projected landing spots? Based on Corbin’s scouting report, fantasy managers should keep their eye on these franchises come draft day.
Cleveland Browns
Few teams, if any, have based their identity around the rushing game as much as the Cleveland Browns. It helps when you have Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, after all. Chubb signed a three-year, $36.6 million extension to keep him on the team through 2024.
However, Hunt is entering the final year of his deal, so we need to see how the two sides negotiate. The player to note here when it comes to Corbin is D’Ernest Johnson. When Chubb or Hunt was unable to go, Johnson stepped in with tremendous efficiency thanks to Cleveland’s scheme and offensive line.
Johnson will become a restricted free agent in March and could conceivably receive an offer from another team. If Johnson were to leave, Corbin would fit the Browns’ mold as an offense, could serve a similar role, and perhaps even post comparable production. Keep an eye on the Browns as a landing spot for Corbin in the NFL Draft.
Pittsburgh Steelers
By no means is this a priority pick. Running back should be the last thing on the Steelers’ plate. Yet, there is no way they can expect Najee Harris to sustain his 2021 workload. As a rookie, he led the NFL in touches at 381, which he turned into 1,667 yards and 10 touchdowns. Harris could rival Le’Veon Bell as the best RB among modern Steelers, but only if he is on the field.
No one should feel inspired by Pittsburgh’s depth chart behind Harris. Benny Snell Jr. and Anthony McFarland lack any upside and, when given chances, have squandered them. They’ve subsequently forced the Steelers into keeping Harris on the field in order to provide any semblance of a rushing game.
If they bring in Corbin later in the draft, then the Steelers would have a legitimate No. 2 option to keep Harris fresh as the season goes on. We don’t know who will be under center, which means Pittsburgh needs a rushing attack they can lean on in 2022.
The duo of Harris and Corbin could be fantastic for both NFL and fantasy purposes. I’m sure Harris managers wouldn’t love this, but it makes too much sense from an NFL perspective for this not to be a logical landing spot.
Houston Texans
Houston is a team in need of a complete overhaul, and that includes the backfield. At 3.4 yards per carry, they should have just stuck with Davis Mills and threw on 100% of their plays. David Johnson is a shell of himself, yet the Texans put him in a committee with Rex Burkhead, Phillip Lindsay, and Mark Ingram to steady the ship.
Of those RBs, Johnson is a free agent in 2022. Both Ingram and Lindsay are already gone, leaving only Burkhead on the roster. Burkhead is a versatile back, but adding an RB like Corbin into the mix could stabilize the positional group for the time being.
I absolutely see the Texans going after RBs in both free agency and the draft. Rounding out a committee with Corbin makes a ton of sense from an X’s and O’s standpoint. Houston may also be the best place for Corbin to break through, as their depth chart is anything but locked down at the RB position. It’s not a sexy landing spot, but as we look for immediate value and opportunity for Corbin, Houston might just be it.