Josh Adams

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Josh Adams is a big, between the tackles runner that should be an immediate short yardage contributor for the team that selects him in the 2018 NFL Draft.

Josh Adams wins with his size and power between the tackles. That is where he best projects at the NFL level as well. He has strong legs, good leg drive, and maintains his balance through solid contact pretty consistently. He keeps a low pad level for someone his size and does a good job of lowering his shoulder into defenders, attacking the defender rather than absorbing contact.

Josh Adams vision is below average. Despite having a very talented offensive line in front of him, Josh Adams missed cutback lanes and failed to recognize or anticipate holes in the defense far too often. The primary concern I have with his game is how well he will be able to adjust to facing defenses in the NFL that are not dominated by his offensive linemen. He needs to be faster at processing what is happening in front of him and finding running lanes.

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Josh Adams lacks lateral agility and explosiveness. This is expected for someone his size, but he doesn’t minimize contact well with subtle cuts around the line of scrimmage or in open field. That is something that you’d hope to see out of him, regardless of size. This results in Joh Adams taking solid contact far more often than you’d like to see. Josh Adams counters his lack of agility with the ability to power through defenders, even in solid contact.

In the passing game, Adams is an above average pass protector. His size and strength indicate that he could develop into more than that with proper coaching. He never received much work in the receiving game but hasn’t shown that he can’t catch. In fact, he showed well in limited opportunities. Quarterback play at Notre Dame hurt receiving production all around, so it’s tough to make too much of his lack of usage in this area.

Overall, Josh Adams is not a flashy player. He is a grinder between the tackles that has the size to carry a workload and the strength to pick up yards after contact. He could find a role immediately in a short-yardage role on an NFL team. He probably doesn’t have the short area quickness to ever be a threat as an outside runner, but he could develop into a larger role in early down rushing in the right situation.

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