Draft-Week Buzz
No verified pre-draft news items in the past 30 days for this prospect. See Day 2/3 Team Fits below for projected landing spots and /news.html for the cross-prospect timeline.
Scouting Nugget: Maryland transfer; receiving upside
Expanded bio coming soon. This prospect is Running Back #16 in the 2026 class.
Background
Indiana RB from Baltimore (MD); Maryland transfer to Bloomington.
College Production
2022-25 Maryland/Indiana: 2,400+ career rush yds, 85+ rec — pass-game involved.
Scouting Take
Receiving-back profile with sub-4.5 speed. Short-yardage ceiling limited.
Draft Projection
Round 5-6. Third-down + return back.
Sources
Our scouting profile is assembled from these primary sources + cross-checked against ESPN (Kiper / Reid / Miller), PFF's 2026 Big Board, Dane Brugler's The Beast 2026, and Daniel Jeremiah's top-50. See our full methodology and citations.
NFL Scheme Fit
NFL Scheme Fit
- Wide-zone outside-rush attack
San Francisco 49ers · Detroit Lions · Miami Dolphins · Atlanta Falcons - 12/13-personnel passing / 3rd-down RB role
Detroit Lions · Kansas City Chiefs · Cincinnati Bengals · Los Angeles Chargers
Scheme matches are bucketed from the prospect's height, weight, and (for WRs) archetype tag against a static lookup of which NFL teams currently run each scheme family.
Rookie Contract & Landing-Spot Outlook
Projected Rookie Contract Value
~$4.5M – $4.9M (4-year deal) · Pick range: #129-160 · ~15% guaranteed
Modest signing bonus + minimum salaries
Best-Case / Worst-Case Landing Spot
Why: RB listed in their top-5 positional needs.
Year-1 arc: Day-1 starter window with cap-controlled rookie-contract production.
Why: RB not in their stated top-5 needs; runs a scheme that doesn't naturally amplify his profile.
Year-1 arc: Depth-chart competition + special-teams reps as Year-1 baseline.
Contract band uses the 2026 NFL CBA rookie wage scale projected from the prospect's expected pick range; guarantee % is the slot-default at that pick. Landing-spot best/worst case is derived from TEAMS data (positional needs + scheme overlap minus same-position R1 conflicts) — not a claim that either team has expressed interest.
Versatility, Limits & Roster Pathway
Biggest Limiting Trait LOW
93rd-percentile height for the position — Frame is among the tallest at the position — long-strider transitions on sharp routes / change-of-direction reps are the typical scout flag for this profile.
Day-3 NFL Roster Pathway
Day 3 projection means a 53-man roster spot is not guaranteed — special-teams contribution (kick/punt coverage, gunner, return-game blocking) is the typical first-year survival path.
Derived from height/weight against the 2026 position cohort and the prospect's projected round. Versatility callouts identify alternate alignments NFL teams have historically used for similar size profiles. Limiting-trait notes flag the single most-cited measurable concern; severity reflects how often that flag ends a Day 1 starter projection. Roster-pathway notes describe the realistic Year 1 NFL role for Day 3 picks.
By the Numbers — 2026 Class Context
- Frame: Among 2026 RB prospects, his 6-0 / 210 lbs frame sits at the 93rd percentile in height and 54th percentile in weight.
- Position class: Roman Hemby is RB #16 of 28 ranked RBs in the 2026 class. Of those, 4 are projected in the R5 range.
- School pipeline: One of 7 Indiana prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft — but the only RB.
Computed factually from the 2026 prospect class roster — height/weight percentiles benchmark this player against every other ranked prospect at the same position. Recruiting arc compares his high-school 247Sports/Rivals composite to his current projected round.
Roman Hemby’s NFL Archetype: James Cook
James Cook (Buffalo Bills)
Closest RB physical profile in the modern NFL: 6-0/210 lbs. Same frame, same role bucket — NOT a talent or career-arc projection.
Note: this is a physical-profile match — frame, position, role bucket. Not a talent or career-arc projection.
Similar Running Back Prospects
Closest matches to Roman Hemby (6-0 / 210 lbs, #16 RB) by ranking proximity and physical profile. SIZE MATCH = within 1″ height and 10 lbs; TIER MATCH = within 2 ranking spots.
- Le'Veon MossSIZE MATCH Texas A&M · 6-0/215 lbs · #12 RB · R5-R6
- J'Mari TaylorTIER MATCH Virginia · 5-10/205 lbs · #15 RB · R6
- Chip TrayanumTIER MATCH Toledo · 5-11/230 lbs · #17 RB · R6-R7
- Makhi HughesTIER MATCH Oregon · 5-10/215 lbs · #14 RB · R6
- Jam MillerSIZE MATCH Alabama · 5-11/215 lbs · #20 RB · R7
Indiana & The 2026 Class
More from Indiana
- D'Angelo Ponds · CB #6 · R2
- Fernando Mendoza · QB #1 · R1 top 5
- Louis Moore · S #19 · UDFA
- Riley Nowakowski · TE #11 · R5
- Omar Cooper Jr. · WR #5 · R1 25-32
Other R5-R6 prospects in the 2026 class
Different positions, same projected draft tier as Roman Hemby.
- Sam Leavitt · QB · Arizona State
- Eric Rivers · WR · Georgia Tech
- Brett Thorson · P · Georgia
- Anez Cooper · IOL · Miami (FL)
- Parker Brailsford · IOL · Alabama
- Aaron Graves · EDGE · Iowa