Video: ESPN's Sport Science Compares Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott and Alabama's Derrick Henry

By D.J. Byrnes on April 20, 2016 at 1:00 pm
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Ohio State's Ezekiel Elliott and Alabama's Heisman-winning Derrick Henry are two of the top available running backs in the 2016 NFL Draft. Elliott is currently projected as high as the No. 4 pick to the Dallas Cowboys. Henry is currently rated as a second-round talent.

The difference in rating is largely due to Elliott's superior blocking and pass-catching ability, but guys built like Henry don't roll off the assembly line often.

Ahead of next week's draft, the duo stopped by ESPN's Sport Science studio to undergo various physical rigors. The numbers returned were eye-popping.

Elliott's lower center-of-mass allows him to change direction as many as three times in under two seconds. His the speed of his spin move is equivalent of LeSean McCoy's.

Perhaps most impressively, Elliott can spot a running lane in the time it takes the average person to snap their fingers, which gives his cutbacks the viciousness that still rattles souls in Tuscaloosa to this day and puts him in a realm with Adrian Peterson.

Henry is a different kind of back, who combines elite explosiveness within 20-yards with a frame bigger than an average NFL linebacker's. He also sliced through 1500 pounds of heavy bags in under two seconds. 

The NFL Draft starts next Thursday, April 28th in Chicago.

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