Dolphins could find physical scheme fit at RB late in draft in App State’s Camerun Peoples

All the Miami Dolphins running backs that were on the active roster last season are heading into free agency next month.

Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr., Myles Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed, who is a restricted free agent while the other three are unrestricted.

Change, to some extent, is presumably coming to the Dolphins backfield.

And whether they make a move for a top free agent in March or use an early draft pick on one of college football’s top incoming talents at the position, they still are likely to find a scheme fit at the position either late in the draft or in the undrafted free agent market.

How about Appalachian State running back Camerun Peoples?

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound tailback presents a physical running presence and familiarity with coach Mike McDaniel’s wide-zone scheme. He has been training for the NFL scouting combine, which runs in Indianapolis from Feb. 28 to March 6, in South Florida at Bommarito Performance Systems.

“Our base system was inside zone, outside zone — mostly outside zone,” Peoples said of what he ran with the Mountaineers. “Really, really run-heavy when I first got there. Around sophomore, junior year, we kind of switched it up, started adding a lot more pass game.”

Peoples went for 1,124 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns in the 2020 season, followed by 926 yards and 14 scores in 2021. He only went for 593 yards and five touchdowns last season but was still averaging 5.9 yards per carry, which was better than his 2021 clip.

Peoples participated in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama earlier in the offseason. He got a chance to meet with the Dolphins there.

“It’s a really good place,” he said. “I like the vibe they give off. They seem to really care about their players, smart organization. They know how to surround their players with talent. … Miami’s definitely a team that can be Super Bowl contenders.”

If he does end up with the Dolphins, it wouldn’t be his first time playing at Hard Rock Stadium. Peoples had 95 yards and a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes on Sept. 11, 2021.

Training with Pete Bommarito, Peoples has gotten a taste of South Florida life, which is a far cry from Boone, North Carolina, where App State is located — and even more so Lineville, Alabama, where he hails from.

“It’s about two red lights. Everybody knows everybody,” Peoples said of his hometown. “You’re never going to see somebody new, and if you do, you got to get to know them as quick as you can.”

Peoples’ strength is his ability to break tackles, but he also feels he’s sneakily shifty.

“Most guys probably don’t look at me as a shifty guy because of my size, but I do enough to make a guy miss, make a guy guess. That’s good enough for me,” he said. “I’m really good at getting to that end zone. I got a nose for that end zone.”

He feels comfortable as a pass blocker. Peoples didn’t get much of a chance to catch the ball out of the backfield with the Mountaineers, with just 11 receptions in his college career.

“It’s definitely something that I have in my repertoire but I haven’t gotten to showcase much,” he said. “It’s something that I can definitely do.”

Heading into the combine, Peoples’ focus is getting the technical aspects of his 40-yard dash polished: Staying low, getting a good jump, keeping his arms moving fast and fluent and not running tight through the sprint.

He said the constant emphasis from working with Bommarito has turned those pointers into muscle memory.

“It’s just instilled at this point, and it’s just little things I can clean up,” Peoples said. “By the time the combine comes, most of the stuff, I don’t even have to think about.

“When I go to Indy, it’s going to look real good.”

What does he want teams to come away knowing about him?

“Hard worker,” Peoples said. “I’m the type of person that I never give up. I never quit. I try to stay mellow, stay calm in the moment. Never try to get too down on myself. But I’m a worker.”

Peoples, who is ranked as the draft’s No. 24 running back by NFL Draft Buzz, is hoping to go anywhere from the mid to late rounds of the draft.

“I’m going to be grateful regardless,” he said. “Whoever gives me that chance, they’re going to get a winner out of me.”

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from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/lLnHm0j