With the 2023 NFL Combine now in the books, here is a position-by-position look at the top performers, which very much pertains to the Green Bay Packers.
Relative Athletic Score is something that fans of the Packers should be familiar with. While I don’t imagine that Brian Gutekunst is scrolling Kent Lew Platte’s website, there is a connection between his selections and how well they score on the RAS scale.
In short, RAS takes all of the measurements and drills from the NFL combine or a Pro Day and computes an easily comparable score that ranges from 0 to 10, with 10 being the elite of the elite. Because it is relative to each specific position group, a running back and a defensive tackle can have the same RAS, even though they will test and measure quite differently. These figures can also be compared historically and not only within the current year’s draft class.
The reason that this is noteworthy for the Packers is that during Gutey’s tenure as GM, he has made 42 RAS-eligible draft picks, with 30 of them posting better than 8.0 and 18 above 9.0. Although there are exceptions to the rule, typically, if a player scores below 8.0, they aren’t going to end up as Packers.
Below I’ve compiled a list of which players from each position group posted a RAS of at least 8.0, along with some observations from the combine. To take this one step further, using two articles from Daire Carragher of Packer Report as references, I’ll further cross players off the list if they don’t meet other thresholds that Green Bay often adheres to.
Trying to figure out who Green Bay is going to select, especially under Gutekunst, can be a nearly impossible task, but hopefully, by going through this exercise, we narrow the list of prospects down and highlight a few potential future members of the Packers.