Brugler's Scouting Report. Listed him as a WR. #26 WR
26. DEMETRIC FELTON | UCLA 5085 | 189 lbs. | rSR. Temecula, Calif. (Great Oak) 7/16/1998 (age 22.79) #10
BACKGROUND: Demetric Felton Jr. was born in Memphis and grew up in Southern California, playing football at the youth level. He attended Great Oak High School where he was a wide receiver before transitioning to running back as a junior, rushing for 1,277 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2014. As a senior, Felton earned All-State and All-Division honors with 1,347 rushing yards on 166 carries (8.1 average) and 14 touchdowns, adding 23 receptions for 391 yards and two scores. He returned three kickoffs for touchdowns in high school. Felton also ran track at Great Oak with a personal-best 11.61 in the 100-meters.
A three-star recruit out of high school, Felton was the No. 10 all-purpose back in the class (one spot ahead of RB Josh Jacobs) and the No. 50 recruit in the state of California. He considered offers from California, Michigan, Utah, Washington and Washington State before choosing to stay close to home, committing to UCLA. Felton signed as a wide receiver but moved to running back midway through his Bruins career. He accepted his invitation to the 2021 Senior Bowl.
YEAR (GP/GS) CAR YDS AVG TD REC YDS AVG TD NOTES
2016: Redshirted
2017: (12/2) 10 75 7.5 1 2 -2 -1.0 0 WR
2018: (12/8) 5 27 5.4 0 20 207 10.4 1 WR
2019: (12/5) 86 331 3.8 1 55 594 10.8 4 RB; KR TD; School-record for catches by a RB in a single-season
2020: (6/5) 132 668 5.1 5 22 159 7.2 3 RB; Second Team All-Pac 12; Led team in rushing; Led Pac-12 in all-purpose yards (165.8)
Total: (42/20) 233 1,101 4.7 7 99 958 9.7 8
HT WT ARM HAND WING 40-YD 20-YD 10-YD VJ BJ SS 3C BP
5085 189 31 1/2 9 3/8 76 5/8 4.59 2.67 1.62 31 1/2 9’6” 4.50 7.31 10
STRENGTHS: Versatile play profile with his experience as a rusher, receiver and returner…owns the pull-away acceleration to run away from pursuit…sharp footwork at the top of his routes, hitting a second gear out of his breaks…able to gear down and then mash the gas to win on double moves…elusive feet to avoid press or be slippery in space…steady pass-catching hands…at his best on quick-hitting angle routes that create YAC opportunities…showed much better route savvy at the Senior Bowl than on his UCLA tape…experienced on kick returns, averaging 15.7 yards per return with one touchdown (39/611/1)…the UCLA coaches go out of their way to talk about his value to their program…combined for 2,258 all-purpose yards his junior and senior seasons in college.
WEAKNESSES: Undersized, lacking ideal height, weight and build…work in progress as a downfield route runner…needs to shorten his step count and use his eyes to better sell corners…will freelance at times and ends up in a different spot than where the quarterback expects…will struggle to win crowded catch points and establish body position vs. NFL defenders…unproven catch radius…needs to break some bad habits like using his body to finish catches or unnecessarily jumping at the catch point…limited jam experience on tape.
SUMMARY: A three-year starter at UCLA, Felton was initially a wide receiver before moving to running back in head coach Chip Kelly’s pro-style spread scheme. He was productive whenever he touched the football for the Bruins, both in volume (led the Pac-12 with 165.8 all-purpose yards per game in 2020) and big plays (had four touchdowns of 75-plus yards in 2019, a UCLA single-season record). Primarily a running back in college, Felton will require time to sharpen his awareness and skills, but his route construction, break quickness and ball skills were impressive during Senior Bowl practices at receiver. Regardless of how he gets the ball, the explosive movements and speed are there for him to threaten opponents in different ways. Overall, Felton comes with fit and refinement questions, but he can be a matchup weapon with his flexibility out of the backfield or at receiver. He projects best in the slot and as a return man.
GRADE: 5th Round
