Chris Wells RB 6'1 235 Ohio St. Jr. 4.59

Wells was the top running back in the country as a high school senior, and he brought big time expectations with him when he enrolled at OSU. He had a solid freshman season, rushing for 516 yards and seven touchdowns in 2006. His sophomore season was phenomenal, as he ran for 1,607 yards and 15 touchdowns on the ground, earning All America and All Big 10 honors in the process. Wells was limited as a junior to just nine games because of a foot injury, but he still managed to rush for 1,091 yards and eight touchdowns on the year.

Strengths

Wells is an absolute load to bring down on the football field. He is built thick, is very strong, and runs with a lot of authority on the field. He simply is too strong of a runner for defenders to arm tackle, and he routinely breaks the tackle of the first defender to get a shot at him. Wells shows good quickness to the hole, along with the ability to make the first cut and turn it up field when he sees an opening. He has good speed once he gets his momentum moving, and is not just a player that runs between the tackles. Wells is the type of guy that you can give the ball to 30 times, and run down the clock in the fourth quarter.

Weaknesses

Wells will not make many plays on his own. He is a bruiser that will churn out consistent yardage, and get into the end zone a lot, but he will not create something out of nothing. His receiving ability will also need some work, as he has only caught 14 passes in three years. Some of that is the fact that the Bucks do not ask him to catch the ball, but that inexperience has limited his ability in this regard. Durability may also be an issue as Wells hasn’t been at full strength much during the past two years. He played through wrist and ankle injuries as a junior and missed three games because of a foot injury as a junior.

Future

Wells is the ideal fit for a power offense built around the running game. He can break off some big runs, and is not a plodder that will only get three yards a carry. Wells did not do much to hurt or improve his stock at the combine. Concerns about his toughness and durability have dropped him a bit on some boards, but if he slides out of the top 15, he will be a major steal for whoever selects him.