2018 Raiders Draft Prospect: FB Dimitri Flowers

2018 Raiders Draft Prospect Profile

Name: Dimitri Flowers

Position: Fullback

School: Oklahoma

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 239 pounds

Projected: 5-7

What if the Sooners fed Dimitri Flowers the ball more? That question merits some serious thought. Nevertheless, when you truly boil it down, Oklahoma’s abundance of weapons left Flowers a mere afterthought.

Simply too many mouths to feed. In addition, who could blame the Sooners?

Flowers is a fullback by trade. He is a punishing and well-built lead blocker. However, when given the rock, the senior produced 464 yards and five touchdowns on 26 grabs and an additional four scores on the ground. This may sound like malarkey, however, on a lesser collegiate team devoid of Oklahoma’s firepower, Flowers has the athleticism and football acumen to be a top three weapon on offense.

Many teams do not deploy a traditional fullback and that likely means Flowers can be had very late in the draft. On the other hand, does it?

“If I remember correctly, I talked to every team except the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Cincinnati Bengals don’t use a fullback,” Flowers told Tulsa World. A lot of teams that I talked to, that was the main conversation — my versatility. They love that stuff, especially my willingness to play special teams. I did it all four years in Oklahoma. Just having the versatility and the experience of playing special teams is big to those teams.”

Raiders fit:

Oakland Raiders head coach loves versatility and Flowers has it in spades. Current fullback Jamize Olawale is of similar size, athleticism and skill set, but he will be 29 come the kickoff of the 2018 campaign. Flowers is a younger, more powerful blocker (albeit not blistering fast like Olawale) that can shift from fullback, tailback and even tight end. Just how eerily similar is Flowers to the Raiders’ incumbent? Like Olawale, Flowers is a deceptive receiver having long gains of 75, 67, and 52 yards in his career at Oklahoma.

Strengths:

Willing blocker who likes to take on contact. Moreover, Flowers owns a mean streak and can be a finishing drive blocker. A natural pass catcher who is deceptively fast receiver coming out of the backfield. Can find holes in the defense and next. Has soft hands and good body control when making the catch. In essence, he could serve as a swing tight end.

Weaknesses:

Pure speed. Flowers is relatively quick for a fullback, but he is run-of-the-mill when it comes to being a primary receiving option. He is adamant he will improve the 40 time (early projections are he will run in the 4.7-4.8 range. (For perspective, Olawale ran an official 4.53 when he was going through the draft process). Must improve overall strength to deal with rigors of run and pass.