Jason
Huntley.
Jason
Huntley.
New Mexico St.
"Five kickoff return touchdowns in two years and 4,851 all-purpose yards at 175 pounds, drafted to be a specialist in a league where specialists get replaced every August."Pre-draft read
Huntley is a 5-9, 175-pound space back whose value is speed and versatility rather than volume carries. He was New Mexico State's entire offense as a senior, running for 1,090 yards at 7.1 a carry, and he spent his first three years as a receiving weapon, catching 38, 47 and 40 passes in consecutive seasons.
The return game was the separator. He scored two kickoff return touchdowns in 2018 and three more in 2019, and he finished with 4,851 all-purpose yards. Everything comes from the same trait: instant acceleration to the crease and real long speed once he gets there. He is not a between-the-tackles back, he does not break tackles at his weight, and his ball security was a live concern with nine career fumbles.
Outside zone and spread offense that manufactures touches in space, paired with a return job he can hold
Year 1 kickoff returner and five-to-eight-touch change-of-pace back; ceiling is a passing-down back and starting returner
A gap-scheme, downhill running game that asks the back to run between the tackles and hold up in pass protection
The return job is the whole projection, and it is the single most replaceable role on a roster.
FASTEST Player You've NEVER Heard Of: New Mexico State RB Jason Huntley Highlights
Pre-draft cut-up of the speed, receiving work and kickoff return touchdowns.
Jason Huntley, New Mexico State Aggies Running Back, 2019 Highlights
His 1,090-yard senior season at 7.1 yards a carry.
Jason Huntley NM State RB Pro Day
Pro day workout footage from the 2020 pre-draft process.
Huntley signed with New Mexico State out of Arlington, Texas, and contributed as a true freshman in 2016. His role grew every year: 449 rushing yards and 38 catches in 2017, 505 rushing yards, 47 catches and seven scores in 2018, then a senior season where he carried 154 times for 1,090 yards and nine touchdowns at 7.1 yards a carry while adding 40 receptions.
The full resume reads better than the tailback line alone. Across 46 games he produced 2,211 rushing yards, 133 receptions for 1,119 yards, 25 total scrimmage touchdowns and 4,851 all-purpose yards, and he returned five kickoffs for touchdowns over his last two seasons. That combination, third-down back plus legitimate return threat, is the Day 3 archetype teams draft on purpose.
The concerns were size and ball security. At 175 pounds he projected strictly as a change-of-pace and specialist, and nine fumbles across his college career is a number that gets a small back benched fast in the NFL. Detroit, with Kerryon Johnson coming off an injury and no established return man, used a pick acquired from the Raiders on him at 172.
- 01
Home run speed
Five kickoff return touchdowns across his final two seasons and a 7.1-yard rushing average as a senior, all from instant acceleration.
- 02
Receiving back skills
133 career catches for 1,119 yards, including three straight seasons of 38 or more receptions as a legitimate passing-down target.
- 03
All-purpose production
4,851 all-purpose yards across 46 games, contributing on offense and in the return game from his true freshman year forward.
- 04
Vision to the crease
Finds and hits the seam immediately on outside zone and on returns, with no wasted steps or false movement before the burst.
- 05
Senior-year volume
Handled 154 carries for 1,090 yards and nine touchdowns as the focal point of a bad offense, proving he could carry a full workload.
- 01
Size
Listed at 5-9 and 175 pounds, a frame that rules out short-yardage work and raises real durability questions on an NFL workload.
- 02
Ball security
Nine fumbles with four lost across his college career, the fastest way for a small back to lose the trust of a coaching staff.
- 03
Contact balance
Goes down on first contact and generates almost nothing after it, so his yardage depends on a clean lane being there.
- 04
Pass protection
Cannot anchor against NFL blitzers at his weight, which limits the passing-down role his receiving ability would otherwise earn.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— No athletic data recorded
| Yr | Team | G | Att | Yds | TD | Rec | RecYds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | New Mexico State | 10 | 40 | 167 | 1 | 8 | 35 |
| 2017 | New Mexico State | 12 | 71 | 449 | 1 | 38 | 363 |
| 2018 | New Mexico State | 12 | 109 | 505 | 7 | 47 | 529 |
| 2019 | New Mexico State | 12 | 154 | 1090 | 9 | 40 | 192 |
| Career | — | 46 | 374 | 2211 | 18 | 133 | 1119 |
Season and career scrimmage lines come from StatMuse, which credits him with 4,851 all-purpose yards and 30 total touchdowns including returns. The Detroit Lions bio lists 47 games and 28 starts with 2,182 rushing yards; games started per season are not published and are left unset.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Roster-fringe versatility piece who survives on return value and passing-down snaps.
Tiny all-purpose back who turned receiving work and returns into a Pro Bowl season.
Late-round back who spent his career on practice squads and the back of rosters without a defined role.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
He never made it to a Detroit regular-season game. The Lions released him on the roster cutdown in September 2020 and Philadelphia claimed him the next day. He played five games as a rookie with five carries for 19 yards and two kickoff returns, then spent 2021 mostly on the practice squad, getting elevated for one game in which he ran 13 times for 51 yards and returned three kickoffs. Philadelphia cut him in August 2022, and he spent the next season and a half on Pittsburgh's practice squad before falling out of the league. His career line is six games, 18 carries, 70 yards and one reception.
The evaluation was honest about what he was and the league agreed. A 175-pound back who cannot carry a load has to be the best returner on the roster to hold a spot, and the return job is the most replaceable one in football; every team has three candidates in camp. He was fast enough, he just was never clearly better than the wide receiver or corner competing for the same reps, and a fifth-round pick buys very little patience at that weight.