What is the journey for former Syracuse running back Sean Tucker? Prior to the beginning of the 2022 NCAA Division I football season, ESPN Analyst Mel Kiper had the speedy tailback going early in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft.

The season hit, and while the flashes of home run speed and catching abilities were shown, there were moments of inconsistencies and nagging knee injuries that saw his stock start to drop, and it consistently sunk by the end of the year.

Things really didn’t improve when the 21-year-old back announced he would skip the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl game at Yankee Stadium to declare for the 2023 NFL draft.

 

Former Syracuse Orange RB Sean Tucker (34) – Adrian Kraus/AP Photo

 

Career Season Ends

Still, the decision capped off a historic three-year run at Syracuse for the 5’10”, 210 lb. speedster that began when he was named the team’s starter. In 2020, as a freshman, the young team struggled as they were stricken by COVID-19 and many injuries.

Tucker’s 2021 season was much better. He was credited with 39.8 percent of the team’s yardage. Every team in the league was on the lookout for the explosive athlete and tried to prepare ahead of time to try to stop him.

The shifty back announced on social media that he would be entering the 2023 NFL draft, then broke the Orange’s single-season rushing number in 2021 and again eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in his final collegiate season in 2022.

Historical Three-Years

While Tucker’s numbers decreased in 2022 from 2021, he still finished with an incredible 1,060 yards rushing with 12 total touchdowns and was mentioned to the All-ACC Second Team.

The team only went 5-7 in 2021, but Tucker ran for 1,496 yards and 14 total touchdowns. He passed the single-season record on the ground originally set by the famous Joe Morris.

As for his rewards in 2021, Tucker was named to the All-ACC First team and was also on multiple All-American squads.

Former Syracuse Orange RB Walter Reyes (39) – Rick Stewart/Getty Images

As per SU Athletics, the Owings Mills, MD running back ended his SU football career with 3,182 total rushing yards in just 33 contests, and he’s the 3rd all-time leader in rushing yards for the Syracuse Orange team, behind Walter Reyes and Morris.

Strengths and Areas of Improvement

Strengths:

  • Has the ability to juke out defenders in open areas
  • Can be an effective weapon in the passing game
  • Has world-class speed and ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.3s
  • Not physical, but is a tough-enough runner to fall forward for those first downs
  • Understands the importance of ball security with only having four fumbles in the past two years
  • With having speedy feet, quick cuts come easy to him in the open fields
  • A multi-purpose runner who keeps that balance through multiple hits
  • Has a competitive swagger while playing fast and injured this past season

Areas of Improvement:

  • May be shaky when hitting the open holes and finding the running lanes
  • Needs to better form his own pass-blocking in the NFL
  • Hasn’t always had to run in between the tackles and leaves big plays out there
  • Has run very few plays under center
  • Had mostly shined in the passing game but has flawed there sometimes
  • Could fluster at shrugging off tackles in the NFL

NFL Teams Who Could Be Interested in Tucker

Cleveland Browns:

One team who could use a backup running back in Tucker to eventually replace pro bowler, Nick Chubb, is the Cleveland Browns. Chubb, at 27 years old, is still playing in his prime years but still needs a nice backup who can help them in the passing game.

Tucker would bring that immediate excitement to the “Dawg Pound.” He is a speedy back who would basically do what he did at Syracuse and electrify the crowd with his catching ability and his zig-zagging in space by hitting the open holes.

He can accelerate with his speed, and you can definitely line him up as a wide receiver too in the spread formation. Heck, you can even line him up as a kick returner in his first couple of years in the NFL until he learns to be a complete back.

Yes, kick returner is harder than it looks, but with his natural speed, he could pick it up very fast.

Denver Broncos:

Suddenly, a running back is a huge need for the Denver Broncos, especially a starting one. Second-year running back Javonte Williams suffered a torn ACL last fall, putting his status for week 1 in 2023 still up in the air.

Tucker would be a good selection in the latter rounds and be a great selection for Russell Wilson and the rest of the Broncos’ passing game.

Despite the ACL tear last season, Williams had a nice rookie year, rushing for 903 yards on 203 carries and four touchdowns while starting all 17 games.

With his status in question for this season, they need another guy in the passing game. Tucker can be used on RPO pass plays by Wilson, then used on screen plays to catch passes as well. He can also hit the open lanes and, hopefully, use his 4.3 natural speed to take those passes to the house.

He can also be used to work on his pass blocking as a second back in split back formation once Williams is healthy to set up WR screen plays and deep passes too.

If he becomes drafted by the Broncos, it won’t be too long before he’ll be saying, “Broncos Country, #Let’s Ride.”

 

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