Tyler Goodson is a high effort player who lacks any specific elite trait. His ceiling in the NFL is likely a practice squad or special teams units. There isn’t a thing wrong with that; it limits what a dynasty manager should expect of him.
College Recruitment
Goodson received an offer from more than two dozen programs before accepting the scholarship offer from Iowa. He was given a 3 – star scout grade and was the 37th ranked player at the RB position in the country per 247 Sports Composite.
Profile
- Name: Tyler Goodson
- School: Iowa
- Height: 5’9″
- Weight: 197
- Age: 21
- Position: Running Back
- Year:
- 40 Time: 4.42
- NFL Draft Projection: Round 6 – 7
- Rookie Draft Grade: $1 Free Agent
- NFL Comparison: Ty Johnson, NY Jets
College Career
Goodson declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season, which was his most successful collegiate campaign. I’m sure that running behind Tyler Linderbaum at the center position, who’s likely to be drafted on Day 1, didn’t hurt either.
The biggest outputs of Goodson’s 2021 season were against the below four teams:
- 09/18 Kent State – Allowed an average of 205 yards rushing per game in 2021.
- 11/06 Northwestern – Allowed an average of 214 yards rushing per game in 2021.
- 11/20 Illinois – Allowed an average of 151 yards rushing per game in 2021.
- 11/26 Nebraska – Allowed an average of 147 yards rushing per game in 201.
It seems that Goodson was feasting on bad defenses. That’s great for fantasy football, but it doesn’t mean that the player has a high ceiling.
Positives
- Receiving Ability: Tyler Goodson caught 70 passes while at Iowa.
- Speed – Sub 4.5 speed
- Ball Security – No fumbles through his career at Iowa
Zone Fit
Goodson could serve as depth on a team that employs a zone-blocking scheme, where he can make a cut and run downhill. He is at his personal best when he can get the ball and go. The Kent State Defense was pretty pathetic through the afternoon in this game. I would have liked to see him switch the ball to his left arm, Goodson wound up taking it the distance on the play here, but he could have left himself open to fumbling on the play. I know I am nitpicking, but you want to see better situational awareness.
Inside Running
Goodson runs right behind Linderbaum on this play and picks up nine yards. Man, I loved watching Linderbaum. He could have taken that defender to the team bus if he wanted to. Goodson followed both him and his fullback on the play. I would have liked to see him bounce it outside a bit earlier. However, nine yards is a very good gain on the ground.
Negatives
- Limited Athlete – Not much of a threat in open space
- Size – On the small side for a starting NFL running back
- Stiffness – Very stiff in his hips, and he can’t get a lot of lateral movement going
- Choppy feet – It seems to take a lot of effort for him to get up to speed
- Committee Type Back- At best, could be the third member of a running back committee
Dynasty League Potential
You would be best served to leave Goodson on your league’s waiver wire. Depending on where he lands in the NFL Draft or as a free agent, he’ll likely be worth the occasional stash if there’s an injury. However, he’s not a worthy long-term hold even on a deep league roster. Unless you have a team starved for RBs, it never hurts to add a player like Goodson to your bench. At least until you get through training camp, see if any potential injuries have hurt your depth.
Conclusion
To stick on a roster, Goodson will need to get in the special team’s coach’s hip pocket. The straight-line speed simply won’t be enough to carve out a role on an offense. He’s also not a very explosive athlete, and he’s not going to get more than what’s blocked upfront by an offensive line. I think that the offensive line of Iowa made Goodson look a bit better than he is as a player. If you look at his stats from his Junior season, over 50% of his stats came against four teams. You can only play who’s in front of you, but his stats predictably nose-dived when he played against stiffer competition. That, to me, screams backup RB at best for him as far as an NFL roster goes.
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