Ahead of NFL Draft, Missouri’s Tyler Badie is confident about playing at next level
Tyler Badie knows a thing or two about patience.
Throughout his career, no matter the level, Badie has had to wait his turn. At Briarcrest Chrisitan School, just outside of Memphis, he split time between running back and cornerback as a junior before getting a chance as a full-time running back as a senior. Then at Mizzou, he played behind future NFL running backs Damarea Crockett and Larry Rountree III for his first three seasons.
But Badie kept working, and each time, without fail, he made the most of his opportunities and shined when given the chance. Like this past season, when he finally got a shot at lead back for the Missouri Tigers and went on to record the most single-season yards for a running back in school history (1,604) and was one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award.
As the NFL Draft draws closer, it’s once again a waiting game for Badie to see where he’ll get picked. But he’s trying to keep that same patient mindset, with a focus on the bigger picture in mind.
“I feel like I have the talent to be on a team for a very long time,” Badie told The Star at his pro day on Friday. “So at the end of the day, I don’t care what round it is, that’s all for the glitz and glamour. But I’m just more so focused on being in the right fit for me and being able to produce for a long time in the league.”
Badie was one of 14 players to take part in Missouri’s annual pro day in front of NFL scouts. He completed the short shuttle drill in 4.14 seconds and the three cone/L drill in 7.07 seconds, and he also did 14 reps on the bench press, according to his agent Jordan Thompson of Element Sports.
The event capped off a busy several months for the running back. Following the end of his college career, Badie went down to Davie, Florida, where he spent time training with Bommarito Performance.
Alongside other draft prospects, including running backs Kennedy Brooks (Oklahoma) and Jaylen Warren (Oklahoma State), Badie said he worked to prepare for the draft from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. most days. The training consisted of field work focused on speed and agility, getting in the weight room, doing film study and medical treatment.
Badie earned invites to the Reese’s Senior Bowl in February and the NFL Combine earlier this month, when he recorded a 40-yard dash time of 4.45 seconds and interviewed with teams across the league. Between those events and his pro day, Badie said he’s spoken with all 32 franchises.
“What I told all the scouts is that I’m going to be a mismatch nightmare wherever I go,” Badie said, “whoever I’m matched up against.”
Badie knows some may still have doubts about his size at 5 feet, 8 inches and just shy of 200 pounds, but that’s nothing new for him.
“You can look at the stats, you can look at the film, you can look at my production, you can look at anything you want to look at,” Badie said. “I dominated everywhere I went. So really, size don’t really matter. If you can play football, you can play football, and that’s obviously what I showed.”
Badie believes his versatility sets him apart from other running backs in this year’s draft class and will bode well at the next level.
He recorded five 200-yard rushing games this past season, becoming the only SEC running back to do so in a single season this century, and was third in the country in rushing yards per game (133.7).
But beyond that, Badie made his mark as a receiver. He led Mizzou in receptions (54), notched 330 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. And he was second in the nation with 1,939 all-purpose yards in the regular season.
“People are just not doing what I’m doing,” Badie said. “I just put them on notice every time I step into the room that I’m gonna be the best in the room. … Now it’s just time to take on the interviews, talk to more coaches and just finish this process, and ultimately we gonna figure out where I land at.”
Badie doesn’t have any big plans for the draft though, explaining that he’d rather keep things quiet with his family.
“I’m not gonna treat it as a different day,” Badie said. “... I’m grateful for being drafted, at the same time that’s not my end goal. My end goal is to dominate the NFL.”
