John Kelly in the NFL
In the NFL. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Running back, Tennessee, 2015–⁠17

John Kelly

Number
No. 4
Height
5′9″
Weight
205 lb
Hometown
Detroit, MI
Born
Oct 4, 1996, in Detroit, Michigan

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John Kelly played running back at Tennessee (2015–⁠17). The Los Angeles Rams took Kelly in round 6, No. 176 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft.

At a glance

Best season
778
Rushing yards, 2017 (Tennessee, 4–⁠8)
Drafted
No. 176
Round 6, 2018 NFL Draft (Los Angeles Rams)

Career highs

141rushing yards, career highat Florida, 20174rushing touchdowns, career highvs. Georgia Tech, 20176catches, career hightwice; last at Missouri, 201796receiving yards, career highat Florida, 2017

Rushing

Rushing yards, season by season, with his team’s record
SeasonTeamCarYdsAvgTDLong
2015Tennessee401654.1122
2016Tennessee986306.4573
2017Tennessee1897784.1938
Career3271,5734.81573

Receiving

SeasonTeamRecYdsAvgTDLong
2016Tennessee6518.5017
2017Tennessee372998.1052
Career433508.1052

Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.

On the roster

SeasonTeamNo.PosHtWt
2015Tennessee4RB
2016Tennessee4RB
2017Tennessee4RB5′9″205

As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.

Per play

SeasonTeamPlaysEPA/playPctileMedianTotalUsageAdj. rush
2015Tennessee410.03––1.210%–
2016Tennessee1070.1349th (n=259)0.1313.814%0.09
2017Tennessee2340.0632nd (n=287)0.1214.836%0.10

Expected points added: how much the player’s plays moved the team’s expected score, per play and in total. Plays: total EPA divided by EPA per play, the plays the source credits to him (for a receiver roughly his catches and runs, not every target; for a passer, not every attempt), so it can differ from attempts plus carries. Percentile: against the position’s regulars that season across all divisions on file (quarterbacks with 150+ plays, backs 60+, receivers and tight ends 30+), with how many there were (n) and their median; a dash means too few plays to rank. A season in progress uses the full-season bar scaled by games played, never below 75 plays for quarterbacks, 30 for backs and 20 for receivers. The cohort grows or shrinks with the source’s coverage each season (2025 lists far more players), so compare percentiles rather than raw EPA across years. FCS seasons are marked. Usage: the share of the team’s plays the player was part of (shown from 20 plays). Adjusted pass and rush: EPA per play adjusted for the defenses faced (CollegeFootballData’s WEPA). From CollegeFootballData, 2013 on.

Game by game

2017 Tennessee 11 games, 778 rushing yards, 9 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 4vs.Georgia TechW 42–⁠411912845350
Sep 9vs.Indiana StateW 42–⁠7188005600
Sep 16atFloridaL 20–⁠261914116960
Sep 23vs.MassachusettsW 17–⁠132510112−90
Sep 30vs.GeorgiaL 0–⁠41164404470
Oct 14vs.South CarolinaL 9–⁠15165802210
Oct 21atAlabamaL 7–⁠4512630250
Nov 4vs.Southern MissW 24–⁠10207921−50
Nov 11atMissouriL 17–⁠5091706130
Nov 18vs.LSUL 10–⁠30254703310
Nov 25vs.VanderbiltL 24–⁠4210201150
2016 Tennessee 11 games, 630 rushing yards, 5 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 10vs.Virginia TechW 45–⁠24141–––
Sep 17vs.OhioW 28–⁠192140–––
Oct 1atGeorgiaW 34–⁠31–––170
Oct 8atTexas A&ML 38–⁠45138911120
Oct 15vs.AlabamaL 10–⁠49380130
Oct 29atSouth CarolinaL 21–⁠24149401170
Nov 5vs.Tennessee TechW 55–⁠0710411110
Nov 12vs.KentuckyW 49–⁠3616940–––
Nov 19vs.MissouriW 63–⁠37181011–––
Nov 26atVanderbiltL 34–⁠459520110
Dec 30 ✦vs.NebraskaW 38–⁠2415701–––
2015 Tennessee 5 games, 165 rushing yards, 1 TD
DateOpponentResultCarRush ydsRush TDRecRec ydsRec TD
Sep 5vs.Bowling GreenW 59–⁠308290–––
Sep 19vs.Western CarolinaW 55–⁠1013590–––
Oct 31atKentuckyW 52–⁠2110580–––
Nov 14vs.North TexasW 24–⁠05150–––
Jan 1 ✦vs.NorthwesternW 45–⁠6441–––

Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.

Before the draft

DrillCombine 2018Combine or pro day 2018
Height5′9⅞″
Weight216 lb
Arm length31⅜″
Hand size9⅜″
40-yard dash4.64 s
10-yard split1.58 sW
Vertical jump35″
Broad jump10′0″
Bench press15 reps
3-cone drill7.13 s
20-yard shuttle4.51 s

Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).

In the NFL

4 seasons, 7 games with a stat; latest team: Cleveland Browns.

SeasonTeamGCarYdsTDRecRec yds
2018Los Angeles Rams427740227
2019Los Angeles Rams139000
2021Cleveland Browns1213000
2024Baltimore Ravens100000
NFL career732960227

Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.

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