Xazavian Valladay, RB Arizona State: Offseason 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Valladay was a two-star recruit from Brother Rice High School in Chicago, Ill. in the class of 2017

Running back Xazavian Valladay spent his first five college seasons at Wyoming before transferring to Arizona State this offseason. The new Pac-12 addition was a three-time All-Conference performer in the Mountain West and should provide a spark to a Sun Devils program that lost a lot of talent this offseason.

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Xazavian Valladay, RB Arizona State: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Graduate (sixth year) running back from Matteson, Ill.

Background: Valladay was a two-star recruit from Brother Rice High School in Chicago, Ill. in the class of 2017. He was the No. 3,160 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 2,566 (three-star) for On3.com. Valladay was an unranked two-star recruit for Rivals. He did not receive a star ranking or grade out of 100 from ESPN. Valladay earned Special Mention All-State honors from the Chicago Tribune as a high school senior. He transferred from Wyoming to Arizona State in the spring of 2022.

2021 Production: 13 games, 209 carries, 1,063 yards, 6 touchdowns + 23 receptions, 233 yards

2020 Production: 5 games, 99 carries, 550 yards, 4 touchdowns + 13 receptions, 105 yards

2019 Production: 12 games, 247 carries, 1,265 yards, 6 touchdowns + 11 receptions, 211 yards, 2 touchdowns

2018 Production: 12 games, 71 carries, 396 yards, 3 touchdowns

2017 Production: 0 games (Redshirt Year)

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed one game in 2019, missed one game in 2020

Awards: 2019 First-Team All-Mountain West, 2019-20 NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl Offensive MVP, 2020 First-Team All-Mountain West, 2021 Second-Team All-Mountain West

Pros: Experience on three of the four special teams units, only three drops on over 70 targets, averaged over three yards after contact in 2019, 2020, & 2021, frame has room to add weight, adjusts well to the football as a pass catcher, comfortable hands catcher, big YAC threat as a pass catcher, comfortable working routes that take him ten yards downfield, flashes smooth speed, experience in goal line packages, burst to explode into the defense’s third level, appears to have a loose lower half and fluid hips, shows some open field shiftiness, good vision, plays through shoulder tackles and looks to stiff arm defenders, good acceleration from zero to top speed, gets skinny in small gaps

Cons: Age, four fumbles in 2021, lean build, faced limited NFL-caliber competition at Wyoming, lacks home run speed, gets caught from behind on long runs (runs out of gas), does not look 6'0", not truly twitchy, Wyoming’s offensive line gave him some car-sized rushing lanes, his current frame won’t be able to carry a starting workload in the NFL, lacks the power to consistently finish runs forward

Overview: Valladay is unofficially listed at 6'0", 198 lbs. He looked excellent on tape against limited competition, but he’ll face more challenges with Arizona State this season. It’s hard to give Valladay an exact evaluation considering the quality of teams he dominated. However, some of his physical traits should translate across competition levels. Valladay shows good burst and possess a smooth top speed that he reaches quickly. While he doesn’t always initiate contact, the Illinois native throws out a stiff arm frequently. He’s flashed some shiftiness in the open field but isn’t truly twitchy and doesn’t consistently make defenders miss in one-on-one situations. Valladay has good burst, but he runs out of steam on long plays and gets caught from behind. His current frame looks too lean to handle the load of a feature back in the NFL.

Overall, Valladay has an attractive skill set that fits modern NFL offenses. He’s a steady pass catcher with an expanding route tree and shows enough burst to reach the defense’s third level quickly. However, Valladay is untested against elite competition and could struggle to create between the tackles at the next level because of his build.

Role & Scheme Fit: Heavily targeted receiving back in an outside zone or gap scheme

Round Projection: Late Fifth to Mid Sixth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 07-18-22