By james art The Clemson Tigers star running back has seen a breakout season thanks to his increased role, and people around the NFL are starting to take notice.
Phil Maffa is entering his fourth season with the Tigers. While he was a solid back and fan favorite during his career, people wondered how that success would translate to the next level.
Back in April, former Clemson star Will Shipley was drafted in the fourth round by the Philadelphia Eagles after being the star of the Tigers offense for three seasons. That’s with his ability to catch the ball in the mix.
What does this mean for Maffa, who only broke out last season and was more of a one-dimensional running back?
Before the season, the NFL Mock Draft Database, which compiles all the data surrounding mocks, saw the Georgia native project as an undrafted free agent on their consensus big board.
Fast forward a few months, and the 6-foot-1, 215-pound back is better than ever in his new and more focused role on offense.
Maffa has thrown the ball 105 times this season for 682 yards with six touchdowns. He still isn’t much of a threat in the passing game, hauling in just eight catches for 42 yards so far.
He has had at least 18 carries in each of his last three games and has reached the century mark twice and scored four touchdowns during that time.
The Draft Network recently updated their big board to reflect the changes they’ve seen in players this season, and Mafah is all the way up to No. 51 in the rankings. He is the sixth highest ranked running back.
“Mafah is a tough, punishing running back with good speed in the open to split defenses after wearing them down on plays. He has the frame and skill set to become an RB1 in an NFL offense,” according to his scouting report by Damian Parson.
Like Clemson’s offense the past few years, many of the NFL’s best fronts have guys with opposite playing styles that complement each other.
The most obvious example comes from the Detroit Lions’ electrifying offense featuring David Montgomery and Jameer Gibbs. The duo recently adopted the nickname “Sonic and Knuckles” to emphasize their differences.
Given the style of play that Maffa brings, he figures to be much stronger than Montgomery for the Lions.
In a league of copycats, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see a team take the Tigers product early in an attempt to replicate Detroit’s success.