NFL Draft
2/5/25
6 min read
2025 NFL Draft: Kansas State's DJ Giddens Is This Year's Best Sleeper RB
The 2025 NFL Draft is absolutely loaded with running backs, but Kansas State RB DJ Giddens is one of the unheralded prospects flying under the radar.
As it stands, Giddens is the 13th-ranked running back and 154th overall on the consensus big board. That's despite two straight two straight seasons with more than 1,200 rushing yards on a team with a mostly modern rushing offense.
There's still plenty of time for scouts and media members to start paying attention to Giddens. His background and tape suggest he's one of the more under-the-radar prospects in this year's draft.
A Late Start To Football
While other prospects in this draft class were elite 5-star recruits and played for top-tier College Football Playoff programs, Giddens is flying under the radar because of his path to the NFL.
Giddens didn't start playing organized football until his sophomore year of high school in Junction City, Kansas, just 20 miles away from Kansas State's campus. He quickly found his footing playing running back, earning first-team all-state honors as a senior while running for 216 yards in his team's state championship game.
However, because he started playing football late, Giddens flew under the radar as a college recruit. He ended up as a walk-on for the Wildcats, redshirting his freshman year in 2021 before getting onto the field in 2022.
Giddens made the most of his opportunities as a redshirt freshman, scoring six touchdowns on just 89 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per rush. He became the featured back in 2023 and 2024, and by the end of his college career, he had rushed for 3,087 yards and 23 touchdowns while averaging 6.0 yards per carry.
Giddens' advanced metrics are just as impressive, particularly in 2024. He finished sixth in college football among running backs with at least 200 carries, averaging 4.16 yards after contact per carry. He was also seventh in the country with 25 runs of 15-plus yards.
Those metrics put Giddens in good company, placing him right next to some of the consensus top running backs in this year's draft. That's excluding Ashton Jeanty, who is in his own tier.
The metrics are promising, but it's the film that will get scouts talking and excited about Giddens as an NFL prospect.
Giddens Has Elite Traits OTher RBs Don't
There might not be another running back in this class that's more elusive than Giddens.
Giddens' best traits on tape are his lateral agility and elusiveness. Whether he jump-cuts into open rushing lanes before getting north-south or makes defenders miss in 1-on-1 situations, Giddens has a feel for when to work laterally before getting downfield.
Once Giddens hits the second level, he has an uncanny ability to avoid tacklers and stay upright for explosive runs.
Kansas State's DJ Giddens is one of my favorite RB prospects.
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) February 5, 2025
Not the fastest or strongest, but he just has UNREAL elusiveness to his game. pic.twitter.com/v4sNgPCHa1
Defenders can easily get caught flat-footed when facing Giddens in open space. Once he sees a crease and has one man to beat, he does a great job of avoiding slowing down while still managing to keep defenders guessing before beating them.
Giddens is SO GOOD at making defenders whiff in one-on-one situations. pic.twitter.com/Br3EFieiQZ
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) February 5, 2025
So much of the average running back evaluation leans on top-end play speed, but rarely do you hear about a running back's ability to gear down to stop on a dime and change direction.
That's another thing that makes Giddens so dangerous at the second level. It allows him to cut on a dime and force defenders to adjust their pursuit angles, leading to big plays.
Some of the most fun tape I've watched all year. pic.twitter.com/c5LmDvTBzw
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) February 5, 2025
There might not be another running back in the draft class with this kind of second-level elusiveness, and he combines that with good patience and vision to let his blocks develop before finding the hole to take off in. He also has adequate contact balance to stay upright through arm tackles or weaker tackle attempts before figuring out how to break angles for big runs.
That elusiveness has to be Giddens' calling card because he doesn't have the top-end play speed or play strength that other prospects in this draft class have. He's a modest 6-foot-1, 212-pound hitter who won't finish many runs through a defender for extra yards. He isn't a traditional home-run hitter who can hit a hole and leave defenders behind him on his way to the end zone.
However, along with the elusiveness and vision, Giddens' game has legitimate three-down ability. The Kansas State prospect showed real value as a receiver out of the backfield for the Wildcats, catching 58 passes for 679 yards and four touchdowns in college.
That elusiveness and fluidity as a runner make Giddens a natural receiver out of the backfield. He converted on screens, Texas routes, and even wheel routes out of the backfield.
Giddens brings legitimate value as a receiver out of the backfield. pic.twitter.com/3pujMHNPG9
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) February 5, 2025
For Giddens to earn early reps, he'll likely need to be utilized as a third down back. However, that will also require him to be reliable in pass protection. While he made a good effort and played in an offense that gave him opportunities to protect the quarterback, there are some technique questions, along with a lighter frame, that hurt his effectiveness in pass protection.
This rep against Colorado is a good example of Giddens needing to clean up his technique. He got caught lunging and dropping his eyes to pick up the blitz, leading to a sack.
Need better technique in pass pro. pic.twitter.com/ANksqIneJt
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) February 5, 2025
Giddens still needs to work on some things to become a more well-rounded back, and he will likely need to keep bulking up to add some strength to his game.
However, Giddens has some rare traits that aren't being discussed enough in a crowded running back draft class that should have him standing out among other Day 2 and Day 3 prospects.
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