Jets pluck Pitt running back Izzy Abanikanda in 5th round
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After Izzy Abanikanda worked out for pro scouts inside Pitt’s indoor practice facility last month, he was asked what he wanted the NFL to know about him.
“I want them to know I’m a dedicated, disciplined, humble man, on and off the field,” he said. But he added, without shame, “I’m a great player.”
The New York Jets hope that’s what they’ll get after drafting Abanikanda in the fifth round (143 overall) on Saturday. He is the first Pitt running back drafted since Qadree Ollison went to the Atlanta Falcons, also in Round 5, in 2019. Abanikanda is coming home — he’s a Brooklyn native — and he will join Pitt teammate Carter Warren, an offensive tackle drafted by the Jets in the fourth round.
ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former Pitt player himself, believes the Jets got a steal in the fifth round.
“This guy is a home-run hitter. In the fifth round? Are you kidding me?” Riddick said during the ESPN telecast Saturday.
“He is the quintessential, one-cut, zone runner. He can pick and slide and weave his way through traffic, but once he gets out in the open, it is lights out.
“Some people criticize him for (at 217 pounds) not breaking more tackles. I don’t see an issue with his toughness. He’ll develop his pass catching and route running out of the backfield. He does need to get better in pass (protection).”
During their phone call giving Abanikanda the good news, Jets officials, from owner Woody Johnson to coach Robert Saleh, were enthused about the opportunity to add him to the roster. “They don’t make a lot (of running backs) like you,” Saleh said when he was handed the phone.
Said Johnson, who had just finished watching video of Abanikanda’s 2022 season at Pitt: “I’m so fired up, I can’t even believe it.”
Pitt running backs coach Andre Powell acknowledges that DNA has a lot to do with what Abanikanda, 20, accomplished at Pitt, including rushing for 1,431 yards on 239 carries (6.0 average) and 20 touchdowns in only 11 games last season.
He was named first-team All-ACC, receiving the highest number of votes of any player at any position.
But Abanikanda’s development goes far beyond fortunate DNA and statistics.
“Izzy is a talented guy. Let’s not lose focus of that,” Powell said. “The kid really matured. What Izzy did was he learned football. Scouts talked about what anticipation he had, what good vision. A byproduct of that is being able to know where the (offensive) line’s going, who they’re working to.”
Abanikanda (5-10 5/8, 217 pounds) brings a desired mix of speed and power to the running back position. His numbers at Pitt’s Pro Day were impressive, including a 41-inch vertical leap and two 40-yard dash times between 4.26 and 4.4 seconds. No running back at the past three NFL Combines recorded a better jump.
His young age (20) will give him time to reach his potential.
“I always played a division up. I was the youngest one (growing up),” he said.
At Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, Abanikanda was a dominant rusher who gained 1,350 yards and recorded 25 touchdowns and eight 2-point conversion runs. But he learned the basics — and the importance — of pass protection after he arrived at Pitt. He also became a minor threat in Pitt’s passing game, making 38 receptions for 354 yards and three touchdowns in 31 games.
“I wanted to prove to everybody (at Pro Day) that I had the ability to catch and also breakaway speed,” he said. “Speed and power is a great combination.”