David Wilson, Fourth-Ranked Running Back in 2012 Draft Matt Waldman is the author of The Rookie Scouting Portfolio, a testament to his obsession with film analysis, now available for download. David Wilson, running back, Virginia Tech (5-9, 206) Physically, Wilson might have as much upside as any back in this draft, and from this perspective, he might be the best back to come out of Virginia Tech. Ryan Williams was a conceptually smarter runner with great effort and a strong array of skills, but purely from an athletic perspective Wilson is to Williams what Trent Richardson is to Mark Ingram. Wilson's quickness, speed, balance and stop-start agility are among the best in the country, and it makes him a special athlete/runner in the open field. Get him in space and he's a nightmare to bring down. When he's disciplined about what he's doing conceptually, he has the pad level, acceleration and technique to be productive as a between-the-tackles, chain-moving runner. Wilson is a "strong" 205 pounds, and I think he can probably add another 10 pounds to his frame as he matures. He runs through wraps and hits that many backs his size cannot. I've seen him run through wraps of defensive tackles in the backfield or head-on collisions with safeties in the hole. Wilson combines that strength with a quick first step and excellent stop-start movement to change direction and avoid defenders in tight spaces. He has flexible hips to change direction in short spaces and the power to run through wraps, drag larger defenders extra yards, and the burst to get downfield quickly. His speed around corners is excellent in the same way that Darren McFadden can bend runs at angles with high speed. Wilson's great acceleration and willingness to bang into players without a lot of patience is reminiscent of McFadden's college career. Wilson has better cutting ability than McFadden, but like McFadden, C.J. Spiller, LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles, Wilson needs to learn to become a better decision maker at the line of scrimmage. He tries to bounce runs to the corner too often and he'll even attempt to reverse his field once his initial bounce doesn't work. He has to do a better job of protecting the football. He doesn't always have three points of pressure on the ball and he fumbled three times in two games, often due to his intense second effort. Again, this stems from a never-say-die attitude that he has to learn to balance with a more mature style of play. Accepting a shorter gain rather than a big loss or turnover is something Wilson has displayed a hard time learning at this stage of his career. Based on the recent success of the players listed above, Wilson has the same style of athleticism to develop into a star at the position Wilson catches the ball well with his hands and he has potential to develop into a good pass protector because he generally diagnoses the blitzes with good initial footwork before contact. His footwork-punch coordination needs to be refined. He often delivers a punch when his feet aren't in good position against the defender he's trying to block and this can get him into trouble with better edge rushers. However, the potential to develop into a good pass protector is there. Clearly, his upside is greater than the grades I have given him and he's a potential feature back if he shores up his weaknesses. I don't know if there's a better pure athlete as a runner in this draft other than Trent Richardson - and Wilson probably has better speed and lateral agility. What he has to learn makes him more of a boom-bust pick, but I believe based on the past history of the backs I mentioned, Wilson will make the transition to a smarter runner that the N.F.L. requires.