Syracuse Football Mock Draft 2020: Predicting perfect NFL landing spots

It’s been nine years since we’ve witnessed a Syracuse football running back selected in an NFL Draft. That was Delone Carter back in the 2011 NFL Draft when he went 119th overall in the fourth round.

In other words, it has been a very long time. Speaking of a very long time, Syracuse hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since a year after that (2012) when Jerome Smith accomplished that feat.

We recently had an exclusive interview with Moe Neal and that’s his biggest regret not getting over the thousand-yard plateau. While he didn’t check that off his bucket list, Moe Neal did have a remarkable career in Orange.

After four years at Syracuse, he finished in the top-10 of the career rushing list. When you consider some of the premier running backs that have graced this campus like Jim Brown, Floyd Little, and Ernie Davis, that’s quite the accomplishment.

It’s also worth considering that Neal was only a true starting running back for two of his four seasons. He also started to expand his game as a receiver over the last few seasons, but still has much work to do.

The 5-foot-11 running back has put on 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason process and has been able to maintain his speed. Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances with the novel coronavirus, the Syracuse Pro Day was canceled this year.

The Carolina Panthers already have a lead back in Christian McCaffrey, but they need someone behind him that can complement his strengths and weaknesses. Moe Neal never got to reach his ceiling in college because of limited touches, the Panthers offense led by Joe Brady and Matt Rhule will be able to unlock his full potential.