At 5’10” 195, Gray is a decent sized, physically well put together back, with noticeable foot quickness, elite lateral agility, and good body control.  He displays natural bend in the knees in traffic, or when changing direction in the open field, allowing him to make sudden cuts at full speed.  Gray is not blessed with first rate speed (probably a high 4.5 guy), or plus burst, though he will effectively bounce runs to the outside and get to the second level.  He’s quick rather than fast, starting and stopping without losing momentum, sinking his hip level to accelerate out of breaks.  Typically, he keeps a good pad level, though, at times, he can get too upright at the line of scrimmage.  At the line, he can be tentative, too often looking for the big play, not content to just hit the hole aggressively and take the two yard gain that’s there.  When he does break through to the secondary, he’s elusive in space, though his lack of a homerun gear allows him to be caught from behind downfield. 

          Though not a pile driver, Gray exhibits solid leg drive and generally runs with a good forward lean, displaying a nice combination of power and balance to step through arm tackles.  He won’t rack up a ton of yards after contact, move the pile, or be a standout goal line back at the next level;  however, he does tend to get stronger throughout the game, often gaining most of his yards in the second half.

          The strongest part of Gray’s game is missability, or the ability to elude defenders.  Here, he fluidly breaks laterally, without losing speed, able to stick his foot in the ground and redirect his motion across the face of the defender, or across the entire formation.  Gray is creative in the open field, and is highly elusive in traffic, able to make defenders consistently miss in tight areas.  He occasionally uses the jump stop, and shows solid ability to set up opponents, getting them leaning, then breaking the arm tackle.

          As for vision, Gray displays average skill pre-snap or when approaching the line of scrimmage, and often hesitates, looking for the big hole or cutback lane.  He seems to see the field better as the play progresses.  When able to break through the line, Gray quickly visually dissects the defense, identifying cutback lanes and defender locations.  Here, he seems to see the whole field, and is able to pick his way through traffic by anticipating defender moves and using lateral agility and good short area acceleration to counter them.  His style truly embodies the old Tom Landry axiom “run to daylight.”

          As a receiver, Gray is solid, but not stand-out, typically making the easy catches, usually on screens, outs, and swing routes.  He gets his head around quickly to locate the ball and displays coordination and body control, but isn’t a downfield threat or a weapon to be used split out as a wide receiver.  In blitz pickup, he exhibits a solid frame and toughness.  When he uses good leverage and positioning, he’s effective and sticks with the defender through impact though this part of his game could use refinement and added consistency.

          Overall, Jimmy really likes Cyrus Gray, and thinks that he’s one of the most underrated players in the 2012 draft.  He’s not flashy or explosive, and he missed the end of the season, bowl game, and Senior Bowl due to injury.  As such, he’s fallen out of discussion when comparing the top running backs of the class, but this is a mistake.  Gray does everything well, and his ability to make people miss is top notch, and will allow him to be highly productive at the next level.  He’s more than just a running back by committee chess piece;  he can handle twenty carries per game and, though not a punishing runner, he gets better as the game goes on.  Gray has legitimate second round talent, but will probably still be available in round four.  The team that selects him will get more than they expect, as he will be among the top running back performers from the 2012 class throughout his entire career.

PJ Grade:  6.7