Devin Neal: Dynasty Sleeper Or Just Another Guy?
Early on, Devin Neal wasn’t “the guy” in this class. But he wasn’t far off.
After three straight 1,000-yard seasons at Kansas, he entered the 2025 draft cycle with serious steam. Analysts once viewed him as a potential first-round rookie draft prospect. His film showed vision, burst, soft hands, and enough power to work between the tackles. He produced. Plain and simple.
Then draft weekend arrived. And Neal waited. And waited. Until the Saints finally pulled the trigger in Round Six, pick 184 overall.
So What Happened?
One word. Testing.
Neal ran a 4.58 forty at the combine. His explosiveness metrics were average. There was no elite trait to hang a hat on. In a class full of athletic mutants, he looked, well, fine. The NFL tends to get scared when a back looks like a workhorse on Saturdays but tests like a timeshare guy on Sundays.
So the league passed. Over and over. But here’s the thing. For dynasty, the drop doesn’t matter nearly as much as the destination.
New Orleans Smells Like Opportunity ⚜️
- Alvin Kamara turns 30 this month. And do you know what happens to 30-year-old running backs? Their legs start writing checks their hammies cannot cash
- Kendre Miller? He is still more theory than substance. The Saints keep saying they like him, but you know who else teams say they like? Their kicker. Until they cut him for missing a 38-yarder
- The rest of the depth chart is a game of “are they even still in the league?” Cam Akers. CEH. Marcus Yarns. It is a rotation built on injury histories and faint hope
Neal does not just have a shot. He has a path. There is no entrenched starter. There is no guaranteed committee leader. He walks into a depth chart that screams “prove it.”
Why Devin Neal Might Be More Than Just A Guy
- College production was elite. He finished with 4,343 rushing yards and 49 rushing touchdowns
- He can catch. 77 career receptions on a 74 percent catch rate. Kansas did not just throw him screen scraps. He ran real routes
- He is built for the NFL. 5-foot-11, 213 pounds. That gives him a BMI of 29.7, which puts him firmly in the ideal range for NFL backs
- Ball security? Elite. Over four years and ONE lost fumble on 755 career rushing attempts. That is rare. Like left-handed QBs rare
So you have a guy who produced at a high level for four years, tested just okay, fell in the draft, and landed in a situation where volume is available if he earns it.
That is not a rebuild. That is a breakout waiting to happen.
Do not believe he was productive in college? Just look at the chart below.
Will Devin Neal Ever Be A Dynasty RB1?
Let’s not go full delusional here. The odds of a sixth-round pick turning into a long-term RB1 are lower than your Tinder matches responding after midnight. But that is not the point.
The point is that you can get Devin Neal in the fourth round of rookie drafts. Sometimes even the fifth. He is free. He is practically sitting on the waiver wire in shallow leagues. You are betting nothing. And you might end up with a functional RB2 if things break his way.
He checks the production box. The size box. The receiving box. The opportunity box. The only box left unchecked is top-tier athleticism.
And vision and decisiveness matter more than 40 times when you’re fighting for five yards in the NFL.
Sources used to support this article include:
Sports Reference, ESPN, Rotowire, Sleeper, NewOrleansSaints.com, NFL.com, and Bleacher Report.