Scouting Report

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Trey Sermon is an absolute baller. He’s a super physical runner that invites contact and he’s the best power back in this draft class. Sermon played three years at Oklahoma, but finished his career at Ohio State. Sermon was never “the guy” for his team but when given the load, he impressed. In his four college seasons, Sermon only had four games of over 20 carries, but in three of those games, he had over 190 rushing yards. There should be a skull on Sermon’s chest because he is a punishing runner. When Sermon is in the open space he looks like a grown man playing with children. He is one of the last guys I’d ever want to do the Oklahoma drill against.

While Sermon is extremely successful at running through contact, he also has track speed. Sermon’s speed doesn’t get talked about enough, but he is quietly one of the fastest backs in this years draft. Sermon also has hops and is capable of hurdling defenders. Despite his athleticism, Sermon wasn’t utilized much as a receiver. That is the most underdeveloped part of his game, but his athleticism should allow him to improve as a receiver in the NFL. Sermon’s stiff arm is so good, it should be patented. He practically summons defenders to come at him just to sit them down. He also is extremely subtle about running defenders over. He sheds them like it’s nothing, then walks over them. Sermon plays with a ton of swagger and energy, and he always brings that heat. My favorite part of Sermon’s skillset is his blocking ability. Sermon is by far the best blocking back entering the draft this year and will get him on the field early and often.

There aren’t many concerns with Trey Sermon. The only two for me was the lack of production as a receiver and his short area agility. I’m not sure if Sermon has the ability to completely juke a defender out of his shoes, but that’s not necessarily his game. Sermon will be able to make defenders miss in different ways if it’s by putting his shoulder down, hitting them with a stiff arm, or by hurdling them. Sermon will do just fine in open space.

Sermon’s physicality and energy reminds me a lot of Leonard Fournette a.k.a “Playoff Lenny”. Sermon split carries throughout college and should be in a similar role as Fournette had this year. He would be a great compliment for a guy like Austin Ekeler with the Chargers, but he’s also capable of being the lead guy for a team like the Seahawks or Cardinals (whose starting running backs are both free agents). Sermon will be a great locker room guy for whatever franchise he ends up with and will be a physically dominant RB.