Devin
Neal.
Devin
Neal.
Kansas· 5'11"· 213 lb· 4.58s 40
"Neal is the most productive running back in Kansas history and the kind of complete, unspectacular back who lasts a decade in a rotation without ever leading the league in anything."Pre-draft read
Neal runs with patience and balance. He presses the hole, waits for a crease to open and gets skinny through contact, and he almost never goes down on first contact from a defensive back. Four straight years of heavy Big 12 workloads and he never lost the ball or lost his job.
He is also a genuine receiving option — 77 career catches — and he understands pass protection assignments, which is the fastest route to snaps for a rookie back. What he lacks is the burst to separate. A 4.58 forty and modest change of direction mean the long runs come from good blocking rather than from him beating an angle.
Outside zone offense that rewards patience and one decisive cut rather than a gap scheme demanding immediate downhill violence.
Year 1: RB3 and passing-down contributor. Ceiling: 150-carry committee back with 40 receptions.
Offense that needs its back to create explosive plays independent of the blocking.
No weakness anywhere in the game, and no standout trait either — a coach's back.
Devin Neal Kansas Highlights
Game film cut-up of Devin Neal's Kansas tape.
Devin Neal 2025 Season Highlights
Game film cut-up of Devin Neal's Kansas tape.
Devin Neal 2024 Regular Season Highlights | 2024 Big 12 Football
Game film cut-up of Devin Neal's Kansas tape.
Neal finished his Kansas career with 760 carries for 4,343 yards and 49 touchdowns, plus 77 receptions for 711 yards. He had three straight 1,000-yard seasons and 16 rushing touchdowns in each of his final two years — remarkable consistency for a program that was not always winning.
The evaluation is about completeness rather than upside. He does everything a coordinator asks: reads zone blocking correctly, protects the quarterback, catches the ball cleanly, and does not fumble. There are no holes in the game and no reason he cannot dress on Sundays immediately.
The ceiling is what pushed him to the sixth round. He is not going to break a 60-yard run or make a defender miss in a phone booth, so his role is defined by volume and situation rather than explosiveness. New Orleans is adding a dependable committee back who should stick as a rotational RB2 and third-down option for a long time.
- 01
All-time leading rusher
He is Kansas' all-time leading rusher with 4,343 yards and 49 touchdowns.
- 02
Three 1,000-yard seasons
He recorded three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with elite ball security.
- 03
Three-down profile
He has a legitimate three-down profile with 77 career catches and sound pass protection.
- 04
Excellent contact balance
He demonstrates excellent contact balance and is rarely tackled by the first defender.
- 05
Patient zone vision
He possesses patient, disciplined zone vision that fits an outside zone run scheme.
- 01
Ordinary burst
His burst is ordinary at 4.58 seconds, showing no home-run speed in the open field.
- 02
Limited elusiveness
He has limited elusiveness and does not create yardage that is not blocked.
- 03
Heavy college workload
He had a heavy four-year college workload of 760 carries.
- 04
Rotational back ceiling
His ceiling is a rotational back rather than a featured runner.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.58sp50
- Vertical
- 37.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 124inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- —s
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | RecYds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Kansas | 11 | 158 | 707 | 8 | 7 | 57 |
| 2022 | Kansas | 13 | 180 | 1090 | 9 | 21 | 183 |
| 2023 | Kansas | 13 | 203 | 1280 | 16 | 25 | 217 |
| 2024 | Kansas | 12 | 219 | 1266 | 16 | 24 | 254 |
| Career | — | 49 | 760 | 4343 | 49 | 77 | 711 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
- Jalon DanielsQB24%
- Luke GrimmWR11%
- Quentin SkinnerWR10%
#2 of 15 tracked contributors · Production leaned on volume · Offense explosiveness 1.26 (p46) · CFBD — usage x PPA per tracked player
Neal shares Gainwell's versatility as a runner and receiver, offering a dependable option out of the backfield on all three downs with good pass protection.
Like Conner, Neal demonstrates the patience and vision to excel in a zone scheme, consistently finding lanes and finishing runs with power and determination.
Neal's floor could be a depth back who struggles to consistently find a role on game day, similar to Ingram's journey finding an NFL foothold.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
New Orleans took the most reliable back available in the sixth round, and reliability is the whole point at this stage.
The testing numbers are why he was there. Backs who run 4.58 do not get drafted early no matter what the college production says.
Most likely he becomes the second back on a depth chart for years — 500 to 700 snaps a season across a career, useful on third down, never a fantasy asset. That is a real NFL player.