North Carolina A&T running back Tarik Cohen had an impressive showing at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis on Friday morning.
Cohen, who was the MEAC all-time leading rusher with 5,619 yards, ran a 4.42 40-yard dash, completed 11 reps on the bench press and tallied 31.5 on the vert jump.
Tarik Cohen gets raves reviews from NFL observers pic.twitter.com/QefQjChHVe
— HBCU Sports (@RealHBCUSports) March 3, 2017
The 5-foot-6, 179-pound running back was evaluated as a player who “can turn any play into a random game of “connect the dots, according to an NFL.com analysis.
All told, Cohen doesn’t figure to be an every-down back in the NFL, but his game does translate to the next level, scouts say.
Cohen uses a bounding, bouncing approach to the line of scrimmage reminiscent of Le’Veon Bell, but he’s far less likely to finish downhill and instead looks to break it wide and out-race defenders. He’s an electric playmaker who needs touches, but he’s too small and unpredictable to handle much of an NFL carry count. Cohen gets easy separation as a receiver out of the backfield or from the slot and he will likely be used as an updated version of Darren Sproles 2.0.
