After two behemoth seasons at Tulane, Makhi Hughes rammed his way to more than 2,700 rushing yards and 22 scores. After that, Hughes transferred to Oregon. He instantly became one of the most anticipated players to watch for the 2025 season. Analysts such as ESPN’s Greg McElroy dubbed him the nation’s second-best running back. The Pro Football Focus has graded him as a top-five back. What’s wild is how Hughes has managed to combine old-school toughness with his explosiveness. He never fumbled during his college career, and his yards after contact are off the charts. With more than enough speed to tear off large runs, he accumulated several 30-plus-yard dashes last season.
Oregon fans have every reason to be excited. Particularly because he’s entering a Ducks offense that recently lost its leading rusher to the NFL. And now the Ducks need something new in the Big Ten. The Ducks’ coaching staff is counting on Hughes to be the rock-solid, workhorse engine of their running game, with his established production and physicality. But all the fuss aside, there remains a divided opinion about Hughes’ NFL Draft destiny. On a recent NFL on CBS feature, Ryan Wilson and ex-NFL GM Ran Carthon presented two starkly contrasting perspectives.
Wilson, being as practical as ever, had Hughes as ninth among draft-eligible running backs. Carthon, however, was fully invested. He had Hughes third. Why this huge discrepancy? “He was the only show in town or the big show in town at Tulane last season,” Wilson said. “I thought he was a solid back. He didn’t strike me as being as twitchy as I would have liked compared to some of these other running backs. He felt like more of a zone scheme between-the-tackles guy.” Two experienced evaluators sit across from one another, both of whom have their own philosophies, having studied hours of film, yet emerge with very different opinions on Hughes’ NFL prospects.
For Wilson, Hughes is a good, dependable back. He referred to him as “the big show in town” at Tulane. With more than 1,300 yards rushing, averaging 5.3 yards per attempt, and scoring 22 rushing touchdowns over two years. He’s a workhorse, sure, but when you look at him play, you see that he’s not the flashiest dude on the field.
Wilson continues to add, “He was used primarily as a dump-off receiver, and in terms of running back routes. And then you give him the ball, and as your dump-off guy and then let him do the rest. Struggled a little bit in pass pro, but technically all these running backs seem to.” His receiving statistics back him out. Just 11 receptions for 67 yards in his freshman year, and 19 for 176 in his sophomore year. And most of those on easy routes out of the backfield and not downfield ideas. He’s sure catching the ball, but he wasn’t asked to run an advanced route tree or be a mismatch threat in the slot. And then there’s pass protection, something that’s usually a criticism for most college backs. This is something NFL scouts will want to see him develop.
Then you’ve got Ran Carthon, putting him all the way up at number 3. “I think he is a really good outside zone runner,” Carthon says. “I think he has just a knack for that. And if you look at what our league is right now is a high percentage of everyone is running outside zone concepts. And so this guy has a workhorse mentality. He’s a no-nonsense runner. He does a really good job of hugging blocks and staying tight to blocks. He just has a good feel, good instincts, good vision. And the most impressive thing about this guy is 523 carries at two lanes with zero fumbles.” Hughes is the blueprint for what the contemporary NFL looks for in a running back.
Carthon also noted, “But the one thing that I went back and I just didn’t have the time to study it and go back and dig a little bit deeper. But you rarely see him get tackled behind the line of scrimmage.” It reflects on his instincts and how he gets every run out of it. Although he conceded Hughes might be able to do a better job of making defenders miss at the second level. But he saw a guy who always falls forward, always collects what’s blocked, and never gets his teammates into a bad situation. Carthon even compared Hughes to Elijah Mitchell. A stout, rugged runner who thrived in the same kind of system and emerged as an important contributor when he was healthy.
Why Makhi Hughes fits the modern NFL mold
When Ran Carthon began speaking about Makhi Hughes, you could tell he had something special in mind. It’s something that brought to mind a player he had once drafted in San Francisco: Elijah Mitchell. Both Hughes and Mitchell are built in that small, solid manner, around 5’10”, 210 pounds. And with a low center of gravity, that just makes them a pain to take down. What ultimately sold Carthon on the comp, however, was Hughes’ ability to run the outside zone scheme. He cited how, when Mitchell was emerging out of college, analytics graded him as the top outside zone runner in his draft class.
And not just Mitchell, Hughes was likened to Raheem Mostert, too. The comparison to Mostert arises when you consider the role and system fit. Mostert was the spark plug in that 49ers’ running backfield. He possessed the track speed, the outside zone expert, and a candidate who could take it to the length of the field if he could find an opening. Carthon’s not saying Hughes is as home-run-hitting as Mostert.
Injuries are another shared thread. Just as Mostert’s brilliance was interrupted by health setbacks, Carthon acknowledged that staying on the field will be key for Hughes to maximize his impact. But when Mostert was at full strength, he was electric, and Carthon sees a similar ceiling, albeit with a slightly different skill.
But he did state that Hughes is from a track background and projected that he would run a 4.47 or 4.48 in the forty. Thus, he has a lot of speed to make defenses honest. The actual link is the way that both Mitchell and Mostert flourished in the same system. Which is very trendy throughout the NFL right now. To Carthon, Hughes may not be flashy. But he’s exactly what many NFL teams want today: a durable, ball-secure, visionary back who can thrive in zone-heavy schemes. He’s plug and play. He’s built for the pro game.
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