The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Will Shipley.
Former Clemson running back Will Shipley runs in a running back drill for scouts during the 2024 Clemson Pro Day in the Poe Indoor Facility at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.
There will not be much mystery to Shipley’s projection and transition to the next level, given his size, athletic and physical traits and his overall football skill set. Shipley lacks the size and power to be a primary back in an NFL offense despite running with a physical mindset and competitive toughness between the tackles.
His game is built more on short-area burst and acceleration with the hip and core flexibility to make sharp, decisive cuts off defensive reaction and the sudden explosiveness to reach and sustain maximum speed, allowing him to erase angles early in runs. Shipley does not possess the kind of high-level elusiveness you would ideally like to see. Still, he has an excellent feel for running in space and showed more than functional lateral agility and balance to make defenders miss in space.
Shipley fits the profile of the complementary back with his excellent running skills and high-level receiving traits, which allow him to line up in multiple locations within the formation and be a strong factor in the passing game. The larger question with Shipley is what can he become as he develops in the NFL, with much of that dependent on team and scheme and overall deployment.
There is an Aaron Jones comparison to be made (Jones came out of UTEP as a fifth-round pick with no expectation he would develop into what he has become in the NFL; He weighed 209 at the combine and ran a 4.56 40-yard dash with most of his athletic testing measurables below those of Shipley).
Shipley came out of North Carolina as a five-star recruit and a top-50 prospect in the nation, regardless of position. He made an instant impact as a freshman at Clemson. Shipley played three years at Clemson, earning First Team All-ACC honors in 2022.
In 2022, Shipley had extensive experience running zone and gap scheme concepts, with 166 of his 210 carries coming out of the shotgun.
In 2023, Shipley was part of a two-back system at Clemson, carrying the ball 167 times for 827 yards and catching 31 passes for 244 yards. 145 of Shipley’s carries came out of the shotgun.
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