Eno Benjamin scouting report and NFL player comparison

When you sit back and look at the Arizona Cardinals haul from the 2020 NFL Draft you see the potential.

You see why Steve Keim is “at peace” and you see why fans are hopeful for the return of football.

We’ll keep the positivity going while also giving a look at maybe why each of the newest members of the Arizona Cardinals could be contributors for the team and in the NFL. We’ll also look at what could be their fatal flaw and hinder them making it.

As I’ve talked about throughout the draft process when it comes to NFL player comparisons they should be done on a spectrum.

That spectrum gives us a range of outcomes and what we believe could be their ceiling and floor.

We’ll start the week off with a look at Eno Benjamin and what the seventh round running back brings.

Benjamin is a bit smaller, but well put together back, with more than enough speed at the position. He has great hands and was an extremely productive, workhorse type back for Arizona State.

In the NFL he could have that role as well, but looks more suited to be a change of pace and potential third down back.

His short area quickness and understanding of how to get yards that aren’t there is what could make him a full time back.

Yet, it is the yards he leaves on the field at times that makes some believe he won’t be a big touch guy.

When you look at Benjamin, his fall is simply due to his lack of a trump card.

He’s an excellent runner, has good hands and works extremely hard. He’s everything you want in a third running back.

He’s not a burner, he’s not overly big and physical and his testing numbers are good enough, but not “special”.

When you look at that range of outcomes or the player comparison spectrum we talked about, Benjamin has a high end comp of Duke Johnson.

Johnson averages about nine touches a game in the NFL, and on those touches he averages 6.5 yards per touch, whether it is rushing or receiving.

Johnson averages just about 55 yards per game in the NFL.

He has made about $10.6 million in his career and has another $9.2 remaining on his contract.

So what’s the low end? First we need to understand that Benjamin is a seventh round pick, so he won’t get the benefit of being a non-factor as others would.

Someone like Ronnie Hillman is a good low end projection but he was allowed to fail because he was a third round pick. Hillman never transitioned to the NFL like the Broncos hoped. He struggled with the speed and physicality of the NFL, but a third round pick will get to try and fail. A seventh round pick will be like Cierre Wood and bounce around but never stick or see the field much.

What do you expect from Benjamin?