2026 NFL Draft Sleeper?
Arkansas RB Mike Washington Jr. is one of the most intriguing running back prospects in the 2026 class. Washington was one of Arkansas’ lone offensive stars this past season putting up his first 1000 yard season on the ground. The New Mexico State transfer provided he could play against tough SEC competition racking up 100 yard performances verus teams like Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Texas A&M.
Mike Washington Jr.’s 6′ 2″, 223 lbs frame gives him the ability to be one of the classes most physical 3rd down backs. He uses this size to his advantage as he is not afraid to face defenders head on or lower his shoulder for extra yards. Along with his big frame he has surprisingly shown plenty of burst and explosive runs through out his collegiate career—having 6 games in 2025 with a 30+ yard run— You typically don’t see that type of quick-off-the-line acceleration and burst from other backs his size. Washington can also get past defenders in more ways then just using his size and speed; he has very solid agility and shiftiness in the open field. Which often leads to him making defenders miss and taking less negative plays from getting tackled behind the line of scrimmage. In the passing Washington wasn’t used a lot but made some above average catches out of the backfield on his limited targets during his college career.
However when you watch more then just Mike’s highlights and explosive plays you find reasons why he is not graded higher by most scouts and draft analysts. The most glaring issue I noticed was his ball security. In his last 2 seasons Mike has had 9 fumbles(3 in 2025 and 6 in 2024). Scouts and NFL teams tend to be more cautious towards prospects with ball control issues as the NFL is a game of fine margins. Fumbles can luckily be something that is very fixable with proper coaching at the next level. We have seen plenty of RB prospects in the past struggle with fumbles in college and be perfectly fine in the NFL. Another thing I noted was his physical running style not leading to a high broken tackle rate—as in 2025 he only broken 20.36% of tackles— This is pretty unusual from a back with his big frame.
Not really a positive or a negative is his pass blocking. He had a 27.9 pass blocking grade in 2025 making him a below average pass blocker. With below average pass blocking his appeal of being a multiply down back in the NFL decreases; especially with him having fumbling issues.
After doing a film deep dive on Washington Jr. I believe his current draft projection should be a late Day 2 pick or early Day 3 in a lack luster running back class. However I do think with a solid Senior Bowl and Combine/Pro Day performance—that would most likely need to include a 40 yard dash in the 4.4s; to solidify that his speed is not just highlight reel illusion. His stock could then rise as far up as RB2 this years class behind Jeremiyah Love.
