Sean Tucker - RB - Syracuse
For anyone that doesn’t consistently play in Devy or Campus to Canton fantasy football leagues, Sean Tucker has most likely flown under the radar until last season. He finally started to get the media buzz he’s deserved for the past couple of years as Syracuse got off to a hot start in 2022 and became worth talking about. But that was unfortunately short-lived as subsequently Syracuse went on a skid towards the end of the year following their hot streak, and Tucker’s media buzz went by the wayside again.
Measurables
Height: 5′ 9″
Weight: 207 lbs
Age: 21
40-yard dash: DNP
3-cone drill: DNP
20-yard shuttle: DNP
Vertical Jump: DNP
Broad Jump: DNP
Bench Press: DNP
*age is at the start of player’s rookie year
College Stats
| Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | G | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2020 | Syracuse | ACC | FR | RB | 9 | 137 | 626 | 4.6 | 4 | 8 | 113 | 14.1 | 0 | 145 | 739 | 5.1 | 4 |
| 2021 | Syracuse | ACC | FR | RB | 12 | 246 | 1496 | 6.1 | 12 | 20 | 255 | 12.8 | 2 | 266 | 1751 | 6.6 | 14 |
| *2022 | Syracuse | ACC | SO | RB | 12 | 206 | 1060 | 5.1 | 11 | 36 | 254 | 7.1 | 2 | 242 | 1314 | 5.4 | 13 |
| Career | Syracuse | 589 | 3182 | 5.4 | 27 | 64 | 622 | 9.7 | 4 | 653 | 3804 | 5.8 | 31 | ||||
Notable Headlines
Sean Tucker was a lower-rated recruit when he committed to Syracuse in 2020, but made some noise right out of the gate. In his first year, he led the backfield in attempts, yards, and touchdowns in just his 9 games that season. Unfortunately, Tucker’s success didn’t translate to the team as a whole as Syracuse went 1-10 on the season. The following year, Tucker had a spectacular season with over 1,750+ scrimmage yards and 14 touchdowns, putting in an impressive 255 of those yards through the air as well. Despite Tucker’s success and All-American and First-team All-ACC honors, the Syracuse team did not enjoy the same success as they went 5-7 for the year.
In 2022, Syracuse got off to a hot start going 6-0 and ranking all the way up to the number 14 team in the AP Polls. In those 6 games, Tucker was a workhorse with 24.5 touches per game, being very active in the receiving game. With Syracuse’s success, media attention finally started to notice Tucker and there was legitimate draft buzz around him. Syracuse proceeded to go on a 5 game-losing streak where Tucker’s touches seemed to take a step back as he averaged only 12.6 total touches per game. During this time, Syracuse and Tucker’s mainstream hype train fell out of media favor. In Tucker’s final game against Boston College, Syracuse got the win with Tucker receiving 22 total touches. He was awarded Second-team All-ACC honors following back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons and decided to declare for the NFL Draft following his junior season.
Scouting Report
Positives
Sean Tucker is a naturally gifted runner at the running back position. He has solid vision with good burst and acceleration to take advantage of the holes that open up in the line of scrimmage or creases in the defense. Once he gets through the line of scrimmage and into the second level, he can quickly eat up the open field in front of him with his above-average open-field speed. Behind the line of scrimmage, Tucker has excellent footwork and a great center of gravity. That solid base allows him to show off impressive change of direction skills that Syracuse put on display with counter plays that were a staple of Tucker’s game.
Additionally, Tucker is a physical specimen on the field as he can pair that vision, speed, and elusiveness with good contact balance, making him a threat in every facet. Not only can he do these things on the ground, but he showed reliable hands and the ability to pick up solid yards after the catch. He isn’t the next Christian McCaffrey, but he’s more than viable in the passing game.
Negatives
While Tucker generally has good vision, there are times that he can be impatient behind his offensive line and get a bit of happy feet. Which, granted, that offensive line was, at best, lacking as run blockers. His vision did also develop over the years and turned into one of his best traits by his junior season. And his play strength was usually on point, but there were some lower body arm tackles that he should have gotten through with his frame, but instead let those arm tackles take him down. Finally, there were limited pass protection snaps on his tape, but the ones that were there were, frankly, not good. He looks lost more often than not trying to protect his quarterback from oncoming defenders.
Pre Draft Analysis
Expected Draft Capital- Round 3
Landing Spots
Tucker feels like he is on the cusp of Day 2 or Day 3 of the NFL Draft. The fantasy community sees him as clearly being involved in that tier right below Bijan in this draft, but the NFL Draft community doesn’t have a lot to say about him. Whether that’s a product of the offense he was in or there really just isn’t that much buzz around him, it’s hard to say. The only way to find out is to wait for the draft and see if this Devy and Campus to Canton darling can get that Day 2 draft capital.
Arizona would be a great fit for Tucker’s talents. He can play a similar role that James Conner has for them in recent years, but probably a lot better, at a younger age, and hopefully consistently healthier. He can attack between the tackles, to the outside, and still provide a receiving outlet option for Kyler Murray in this offense. The Vikings are a prime team to take a later-round running back as they are set to lose Alexander Mattison in free agency and Dalvin Cook hasn’t been the perfect picture of health throughout his career. The Vikings need a reliable backup behind Cook, and a potential heir apparent as well as Cook nears age 28 at the start of the season. Tucker could be just that.
Check out the rest of the draft kit. And, as always, if you want something more specific to your league- reach out! You can find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Image Credit: Rich Barnes – USA TODAY Sports
