Keyon Henry-Brooks – The Most Underrated Devy Running Back

Uncategorized Posted on  —by Joseph Haggan
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Running backs are becoming desirable again in fantasy football. Most of the focus is on a select group but there is one SEC sophomore not getting enough love.

When you look at Devy rankings you always here the names Travis Etienne, Najee Harris, Breece Hall, Chubba Hubbard and Max Borghi, plus others. There are some real intriguing young prospects though that offer some great NFL-ready skill sets. One of those guys is Vanderbilt sophomore Keyon Henry-Brooks. He is a complete back with solid size and good receiving chops. When drafting in Devy league start-ups you almost never hear his name come up. Henry-Brooks just may be the most underrated Devy running backs in the NCAA.

Measurables

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 201 lbs.

Projected 40 Time: 4.59 seconds

Class: Sophomore (2023 eligible)

Keyon Henry-Brooks NCAA Career

Freshman Year- 56 carries for 252 yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 16 receptions for 57 yards and a receiving touchdown.

Henry-Brooks graduated high school as a 3 star running back recruit, a 2018 all region 1st team, and 2017 Cobb Country Running Back of the year. During Henry-Brooks freshman year he served as the primary back-up running back to Ke'Shawn Vaughn. He appeared in 11 of 12 possible games and was a good change of pace option for Vaughn. Henry-Brooks showed decent receiving chops his freshman year pulling down 16 receptions for 57 yards including five for 34 yards against in conference foe Tennessee. During that Tennessee game he also carried the ball 13 times for 70 yards. He also showcased his break away speed in a 61 yard touchdown against Northern Illinois.

Sophomore Year (To Date) - 100 carries for 438 yards, 2 rushing touchdowns, 25 receptions for 239 receiving yards (5 games).

Keyon Henry-Brooks missed the first two games of the 2020 season but returned against South Carolina. In his return he carried the ball 13 times for 72 yards. They ramped up his workload the following three games having over 20 carries in each game totaling 302 yards over that span averaging 4.3 yards per carry. He was the team's total offense against Mississippi St. where he ran the ball 20 times for 115 yards at 5.8 yards per carry and a touchdown. In that same game he put his receiving skills on display totaling 11 receptions for 97 yards. Henry-Brooks had back to back 100 yard rushing games against Mississippi St. and Kentucky.

Keyon Henry-Brooks Scouting Report

Pros

Keyon Henry-Brooks has all the tools to be a productive running back. He has good size to match with track and field experience and receiving chops to boot. He comes in at 6'1" and 201 lbs. showing good size for a running back, still with room to add muscle if necessary. Henry-Brooks has good patience behind the line of scrimmage and allows the offensive line to make room for him to run. Watch here as he shows great patience, reads the defense and then hits the hole with great burst:

He does a great job bouncing outside with plenty of speed to get there when the interior run collapses. Henry-Brooks has great burst in the second level. He has very good contact balance and routinely runs through arm tackles. Henry-Brooks has shown nice one cut and go ability and has breakaway speed showcased in his 61 yard touchdown against Northern Illinois. He has a terrific cutback move inside when a hole opens up. He has great wiggle in the open field and does a good job making players miss. Watch the nice juke he gives here to pick up some extra yardage:

His most desirable trait though is probably his hands. Henry-Brooks showed during his freshman season that he had good hands with 16 receptions. Now in a lead role he has 25 receptions and 253 receiving yards in five games. Watch here as he bails out the quarterback with a nice one handed grab, but also shows off his contact balance:

He does a good job catching away from his body and has lined up in the slot. Selling the screen game is something he excels at as well.

Cons

Keyon Henry-Brooks needs to work on his pass protection and that will be the main thing that will keep him off the field as a bell cow. Watch here as he get overaggressive in his protection and actually climbs the pocket and gives up the sack:

Henry-Brooks runs a bit to upright for my liking and needs to learn to run more compact to absorb contact better. He also needs to absorb the contact better in general. Often the hit stops him in his tracks as he is always trying to move side to side as opposed to falling forward. He has the size and strength to be a pile mover with good leg drive if he uses it more. Though he has carried the 100 times this season he only has two rushing touchdowns which makes me question his short yardage ability.

Summary

Keyon Henry-Brooks has all the tool to be a productive NFL back. He has showcased great break away speed and was a former track athlete. He also shows a great understanding of running routes, having lined up in the slot and play well in the screen game. Henry-Brooks has showcased an NFL ready body with good contact balance and has the wiggle to beat defenders in the open field. He needs to work on his pass protection and I would truly love to see him get some goal line work but the guy is only a sophomore.

He has two and a half years more of eligibility and showed vast improvement from his freshman year to his sophomore year. His name does not come up too much now, but within the next year or two, when he continues to produce against SEC level talent, his name will be more well known. Keyon Henry-Brooks just may be the most underrated Devy running in the NCAA.

We at IDPGUYS are pumping out content this season and have great tools to help you win your leagues. Check out all of my written work at dynastyfootballdigest.com and idpguys.org. Be sure to check out my new podcast well, The IDP Update. There will be plenty more draft prospect evaluation coming this season so stay tuned.

 

Joseph Haggan

I am the proud father to an amazing young girl and husband to an unbelievable wife. Senior writer for IDPGuys, as well as projections creator and co-founder of our elite IDP Scoring Tool.
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