Bengals: 3 Giovanni Bernard replacements in 2021 NFL Draft

3. Pooka Williams, Kansas

This is now getting into the late rounds of the draft where we find more of the project running backs who would come in and make an impact. With the way the roster is set up, if they do decide to wait on a running back I wouldn’t expect any reaches and for them to be patient. The drop-off from running backs in the first 90 picks to the next tier is quite large.

However, Pooka Williams is no scrub.

His first two years at Kansas he posted back-to-back 1,000+ rushing yard seasons and 210+ receiving yard seasons. Before that, he was Mr. Football in Louisiana the first player since Leonard Fournette to get it at the running back position. There is a decent amount of talent and speed here, to go along with his pass-catching ability.

What he lacks is strength.

This could end up being an issue at the next level, but for what he will be asked to do I wouldn’t harp on it much at this pick. Give him a season or two and he should get up there. He does offer a dynamic upside for a new-look offense. Pooka can also block quite well, which sets up some easy play-action calls on medium-yardage situations.

Pooka should be able to be used all over the field and multiple ways out of the backfield. His downside will be anything in short-yardage currently, but if they can learn from Joe Mixon on how to bulk up and get the tougher yards it’s a solid value here.