Tag: athleticism

Chargers’ Ryan Ficken points to athleticism as Daiyan Henley’s biggest strength

Ryan Ficken made it clear that Daiyan Henley’s athleticism could factor into a role on his special teams unit.

Chargers special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken will rely on rookies to fill several holes on his unit in 2023. First-year linebacker Daiyan Henley, a former collegiate receiver, looks particularly poised to play a key role for the team in punt coverage as a gunner next season.

Asked about Henley’s most dominant qualities this week, Ficken pointed to the linebacker’s raw vigor as a trait that could benefit his special teams unit next season.

“I would say his athleticism and then his strength,” he said. “He’s a very good football player. If you’re talking about the specific punt and all of that stuff — punt he’s going to have to learn a little bit more in terms of punt because it’s a little bit of a different system than what he’s coming from in college. This guy is a football player.

“That’s what I try and instill in these guys coming from college. They’re running backs, receivers or whatever position they are — they’re not a running back when they get into the NFL. You’re a football player. That’s what we have to make sure that they understand. How can I increase my value to be able to get onto the field and help this football team win a lot of football games?”

Clearly, Ficken won’t be satisfied if Henley’s only core competency lies in his physical traits. Instead, he needs the rookie to soak up knowledge like a sponge and develop into an all-around special teamer to win a role as one of their go-to players in punt coverage.

Watch for Henley to continue improving his game to that end through rookie minicamp, OTAs, and training camp this summer to hone his skillset ahead of the regular season kickoff in September.

How athletic is the Chiefs’ 2023 NFL draft class?

Check out the RAS cards for the #Chiefs’ 2023 NFL draft class, plus a few key undrafted free agents:

Kansas City Chiefs GM Brett Veach is learning from his mistakes in his first draft class back in 2018 and continues to invest in athleticism in the NFL draft.

Veach’s latest draft class in 2023 is one of his most athletic yet. How do we know that it’s one of the most athletic classes? We have Kent Lee Platte to thank, also known as MathBomb on Twitter, the creator of Relative Athletic Score (RAS). This 10-point scale measures a prospect’s athletic ability based on their testing results during the pre-draft process (combine or pro day) in relation to the prospect’s size along with historical results from prospects who play the same position.

Here’s a quick look through at the RAS cards for all seven of the Chiefs’ draft picks in 2023, along with a few of their top undrafted free agents as a bonus:

Kyle Pitts the top tight end in 2021 class, per The Athletic

Florida Gators tight end Pitts is expected by many to be one of the top tight ends in the country in 2020 and The Athletic agrees.

UF tight end Kyle Pitts is garnering himself quite a bit of offseason attention. Coming off a stellar sophomore season in which he made 54 catches for 649 yards and five touchdowns, Pitts is expected by many to be one of the top tight ends in the country in 2020.

In an article from The Athletic comparing the nation’s top draft-eligible tight ends, Pitts was ranked in the No. 1 spot. He was praised for his “freak athleticism,” as his agility is comparable to that of a smaller receiver. He was also praised for his route-running, which was on full display in his matchup with LSU corner Derek Stingley Jr., in which he won most of his battles.

However, The Athletic also said he needs to improve on his finishing skills to solidify himself as the top tight end prospect. Pitts drops one of every eight catchable passes, a rate that needs to improve for quarterback Kyle Trask‘s top target. The No. 2 tight end in the class, Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth, drops one of every 16 catchable passes.

Still, Pitts was deemed to have first-round potential and was compared to longtime NFL tight end Jared Cook. If he can work on his consistency and blocking, he has all the physical tools to have a dominant season in 2020.

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How athletic is the Chiefs’ draft class?

Looking at the Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of Kansas City Chiefs’ 2020 draft picks.

The Kansas City Chiefs have always valued athleticism in the NFL Draft. There’s been an even larger emphasis there lately, with the speed the Chiefs have acquired on the offensive side of the ball. The 2020 draft class is no exception, bringing a new wave of elite athleticism to Kansas City.

Kent Lee Platte, the creator of Relative Athletic Score (RAS), has the Chiefs landing one of the most athletic classes in the 2020 NFL Draft. RAS is basically a composite grade given to players based on their official athletic testing scores ahead of the draft. The RAS average for the Chiefs’ 2020 draft class sits at 8.2, which is considered above the “elite” range.

Check it out:

Of course, three players the Chiefs drafted didn’t test at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine or Pro Days ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft. Those players don’t qualify for the average. It’s still impressive that the Chiefs managed to grab two players with “elite” RAS outside of the top-50 picks in the draft.

The three players that do qualify are RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, LB Willie Gay Jr., and CB L’Jarius Sneed.

Edwards-Helaire’s size and 40-yard dash time are what really bring down his scores. He did, however, record an elite explosion grade.

Gay Jr. posted the fourth-best RAS by a linebacker in the 2020 NFL Draft, narrowly behind only Isaiah Simmons, Kenneth Murray and Carter Coughlin.

Sneed is an interesting one. He’s in the system as a free safety because that is where he played at Louisiana Tech in 2019. We’ve learned that he’s making the switch back to corner in Kansas City. Plug Sneed’s numbers in as a cornerback and I suspect you have a player with a perfect 10 RAS or slightly under it. His scores are remarkably similar to that of Marshon Lattimore, who landed a perfect 10 RAS in 2017.

This draft class is certainly as athletic as advertised, and I suspect that players like Lucas Niang, Mike Danna and BoPete Keyes wouldn’t have brought the average RAS down that much had they tested. Danna, in particular, is a player with a reputation as being a very good athlete but was snubbed from the combine.

For the players that we have RAS scores for, it’s hard not to be excited about their potential in Kansas City. Top-notch athleticism combined with some of the best coaches that the NFL has to offer is a recipe for success.

Seahawks’ 2020 draft class has most athleticism so far

The Seattle Seahawks’ 2020 NFL Draft class has the most combined athleticism of any team after two days. The draft will conclude today.

The Seattle Seahawks’ 2020 NFL Draft selections through the first three rounds have generally polarized fans and analysts, but there is one particular trait they have in common.

NFL Next Gen Stats gave the Seahawks the highest “Average Athleticism Score” of any team so far.

This tweet was followed with another that stated the definition of their athleticism score and explained it does not include certain positions such as quarterback, offensive tackle, and guard.

This means that only linebacker Jordyn Brooks and defensive end Darrell Taylor qualify in this category.

Brooks and Taylor are recognized for their athleticism and certainly have the potential to be valuable contributors moving forward. Fans will soon see what the Seahawks do in the final four rounds as the draft concludes.

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