Browns draft prospect: Troy running back Kimani Vidal

The 5-foot-8 running back from Troy could be a great fit for the Cleveland Browns in the 2024 draft.

Back at it with our Cleveland Browns draft series to look at Kimani Vidal, a 5’8, 215-pound running back who helped lead the Troy Trojans to two consecutive bowl appearances during his time with the program. Vidal was a three-star recruit out of Marietta, Georgia, and was ranked the 100th-best player in Georgia and the 68th overall running back in the Nation, and committed to Troy in 2019.

Once at Troy, Vidal appeared in nine games as a true freshman, rushing for 516 yards and four touchdowns on 101 attempts and catching 26 passes for 225 yards. The Trojans finished the 2020 regular season 5-6 and were eliminated from bowl eligibility. Vidal’s 2020 performance earned him an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention.

In 2021, Vidal appeared in 11 games, rushing for 701 yards and five touchdowns on 152 attempts and catching 22 passes for 134 yards. The Trojans finished their 2021 regular season 5-7 and were again eliminated from bowl eligibility. Vidal was named an All-Sun Belt Honorable Mention for a second consecutive season.

He played in all 14 games in 2022, rushing for 1,132 yards and ten touchdowns on 231 carries and catching 26 passes for 140 yards. The Trojans finished the 2022 regular season 11-2 after defeating the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 45-36 in the Sun Belt Championship game and were elected to face the UTSA Roadrunners in the Cure Bowl. Vidal rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries and caught two passes for seven yards in the Trojans 18-12 victory over UTSA. Vidal was named second-team All-Sun Belt for his performance throughout the season.

In 2023, Vidal was active in all 14 games, rushing for 1,661 yards and 14 touchdowns on 297 attempts and catching 18 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown. The Trojans finished the 2023 regular season 10-3 following a 49-23 victory over Appalachian State in the Sun Balt Championship game.

Troy was elected to face off against the Duke Blue Devils in the Birmingham Bowl. Vidal rushed for 79 yards on 17 carries and one pass for three yards in the Trojans’ 17-10 loss to the Blue Devils. Vidal was named 2023 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year, first-team All-Sun Belt, and third-team AP All-American. Vidal became the Troy Trojans all-time rushing leader in 2023 with 4,010 career rushing yards. In December, Vidal took to social media to announce he would forego his final year of eligibility and Trojans.

Vidal’s noted strengths according to FantasyPros.com:

• Highly productive runner with escalating output. 
• Has a very compact frame and has shown that he can carry the load offensively. 
• Runs with good knee bend and a low center of gravity. 
• Quick feet with some burst in the hole. 
• No-nonsense between-the-tackles runner who executes the play as called, minimizing negative-yardage plays; many attempts where he’s burrowing up the middle out of pistol looks for three or four yards at a time. 
• Physical runner who gets behind his pads, delivering some punishment at the end of his runs to finish with authority and wear down defenses. 
• He shows some ability to weave through congestion and is able to make it through arm tackles once he gets a head of steam going. 
• Good leg drive after contact to fight for additional yardage. 
• Ball security has been solid, with eight fumbles (including one on a reception) against well over 800 career touches. 
• Willing pass protector who shows above-average contact balance and engages with form.

       Vidal’s noted weaknesses: 

• Production came against a relatively low level of competition. 
• Could use just a touch more vision and patience, as there are some snaps where he’ll run into a wall of defenders for little to no gain. 
• Not the most elusive back; gets what’s blocked but isn’t going to make a ton of defenders miss and salvage something out of nothing. 
• Wasn’t very highly integrated into the passing game and doesn’t present the biggest target; pretty much a pure safety valve who releases into the flats off of play-action.  

Kimani Vidal compared to other 2024 prospects: 

Kimani Vidal – Troy Trojans – 5’8 – 215 lbs 

• 48 Games
• 781 Rushing Attempts
• 4,010 Rushing Yards (83.5 Yards PEr Game)
• 33 Rushing Touchdowns

• 92 Receptions
• 700 Receiving Yards (7.6 Yards Per Reception)
• 1 Receiving touchdown

Trey Benson – Florida State Seminoles/Oregon Ducks – 6’1 – 227 lbs 

Oregon Ducks – 2020-2021

• 10 Games
• 6 Rushing Attempts
• 22 Rushing Yards (3.7 Yards Per Rush)
• 1 Rushing Touchdown

Florida State Seminoles – 2022-2023

• 26 Games
• 310 Rushing Attempts
• 1,895 Rushing Yards (72.9 Yards Per Game)
• 23 Rushing Touchdowns

• 33 Receptions
• 371 Receiving Yards (11.2 Yards Per Reception)
• 1 Receiving Touchdown

Jonathan Brooks – Texas Longhorns – 6’0 – 207 lbs

• 22 Games
• 238 Rushing Attempts
• 1,479 Rushing Yards (67.2 Yards Per Game)
• 16 Rushing Touchdowns

• 28 Receptions
• 335 Receiving Yards (12 Yards Per Reception)
• 2 Receiving Touchdowns

Jaylen Wright – Tennessee Volunteers – 5’11 – 210 lbs

• 34 Games
• 368 Rushing Attempts
• 2,297 Rushing Yards (67.6 Yards Per Game)
• 18 Rushing Touchdowns

• 30 Receptions
• 171 Receiving Yards (5.7 Yards Per Reception)

Blake Corum – Michigan Wolverines – 5’8 – 213 lbs 

• 45 Games
• 674 Rushing Attempts
• 3,737 Rushing Yards (83 Yards Per Game)
• 58 Rushing Touchdowns

• 56 Receptions
• 411 Receiving Yards (9.1 Per Reception)
• 3 Receiving Touchdowns

Bucky Irving – Oregon Ducks/Minnesota Golden Gophers – 5’10 – 195 lbs

Minnesota Golden Gophers – 2021

• 12 Games
• 133 Rushing Attempts
• 699 Rushing Yards (58.3 Yards Per Game)
• 4 Rushing Touchdowns

• 8 Receptions
• 73 Receiving Yards (9.1 Yards Per Reception)
• 4 Receiving Touchdowns

Oregon Ducks – 2022-2023

• 27 Games
• 342 Rushing Attempts
• 2,238 Rushing Yards (82.9 Yards Per Game)
• 16 Rushing Touchdowns

• 87 Receptions
• 712 Receiving Yards (8.2 Yards Per Reception)
• 5 Receiving Touchdowns

While Vidal’s elusiveness and vision are areas of concern, his strength, run style, blocking, and pass-catching make him a perfect fit for the Cleveland Browns offense.