Commanders welcome another touted running back for pre-draft visit

With the 2022 NFL Draft just two weeks away, teams around the league are busy scheduling pre-draft visits with prospects.

For the Washington Commanders, their positions of interest — based on the prospects they’ve hosted — include wide receiver, safety, running back and offensive linemen. The club has yet to meet with a cornerback, but that doesn’t rule out Derek Stingley at pick No. 11 or another highly-ranked prospect at pick No. 47

The Commanders are expected to host Oklahoma nose tackle Perrion Winfrey, which is an exciting thought given the former Sooners’ upside. We all know Washington is lacking DL depth following the departures of Matt Ioannidis and Tim Settle, so Winfrey is a possible Day 2 pick if he’s still on the board.

The biggest takeaway from Washington’s top-30 visits, though, is their evident interest in the top running backs, as they already met with Iowa State’s Breece Hall and Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker, arguably the top two RBs this year.

On Tuesday, Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller joined that list.

The Washington Commanders hosted Texas A&M running back Isaiah Spiller for a top-30 visit on Tuesday.

At 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, Spiller fits the profile of running back Washington is seeking to complement Antonio Gibson. The team’s interest in adding a RB who can run between the tackles in the event Gibson is injured, needs a breather or struggles with fumbles is well-documented. Could Spiller be that guy?

In 2021, Spiller eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight year, totaling 1,011 yards and six touchdowns on 5.65 yards per carry. He added 25 receptions for 193 yards (9.7 yards per catch) and was named a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, which recognizes the top offensive player in Division I.

Spiller’s stock took a tumble both at the Combine and the Aggies’ pro day, where he posted an underwhelming 4.63 40-yard dash; way off the pace of other top prospects, including Walker (4.38), Breece Hall (4.39), and Tyler Badie (4.43).

Having said that, Spiller has overcome a strained abductor and a hamstring injury since the Combine. More importantly, the Texas A&M product has never been recognized for his straight-line speed. His game speed is what really matters and he’s elusive between the tackles and nimble enough to get around the edge.

For someone who’s taken flack for his lack of foot speed, it speaks volumes that Spiller logged the most carries of 10 or more yards by SEC running backs since 2020 with 63. Like always, teams could prefer RBs who have more outright athleticism, and that could see Spiller fall lower than expected in the draft.

The fact Washington hosted him for a top-30 visit, shows they haven’t been dissuaded by Spiller’s suboptimal pre-draft process, and rightly so.

The last time we checked, you don’t have to be a you don’t have to be an excellent sprinter to find success as an NFL running back.

In ESPN’s Mel Kiper’s latest two-round mock, Spiller makes it through the first 64 selections without getting drafted. In fact, Hall (No. 38) and Walker (No. 57) were the only running backs taken in the first two rounds. If that manifests itself during the draft, Spiller could be in contention for the Commanders later on.