Tag: RAS

How athletic is the Commanders’ roster in 2024?

Where does Washington’s roster rank in overall athleticism?

The Washington Commanders will have one of the NFL’s most athletic quarterbacks in 2024. Jayden Daniels has drawn comparisons to Lamar Jackson primarily because of his running ability, although he is a more advanced passer than Jackson when he entered the NFL in 2018.

But how athletic is the rest of Washington’s roster?

Kent Lee Platte, the creator of the Relative Athletic Score metric that tests player athleticism, ranked the Commanders as having the 20th-most athletic roster in 2024.

Interestingly, Washington had the highest RAS from the 2024 NFL draft, with an average of 9.427. This was the first draft class for new general manager Adam Peters and head coach Dan Quinn.

Regarding the 20th-ranked team RAS in 2024, the Commanders have an average RAS of 7.29.

This tells us that Peters and Quinn are targeting elite athletes. Washington obviously wants good football players, but the Commanders have often been the slower team on the field each week in recent years. Yes, you prefer good football players, but ideally, you want good football players who are high-level athletes.

In recent years, Washington hasn’t had enough of either.

Steelers land third-most athletic class in 2024 NFL draft

The Steelers last two drafts have been among the best in the NFL thanks to keying on the most athletic prospects.

Last year, with General Manager Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl in charge of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL draft, we saw a huge shift in the Steelers draft philosophy. We saw a huge emphasis on overall athleticism and it really paid off.

2024 was a repeat performance as the Steelers front office landed the third-most athletic draft class in the NFL based On RAS. RAS stands for Relative Athletic Score and is an objective system set up by Kent Lee Platte to compare prospects based on hard data.

We project that offensive tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier will both be in the Steelers starting lineup on opening weekend. We also expect wide receiver Roman Wilson and linebacker Payton Wilson will both be in heavy rotation from the beginning as well as they find their fit in the system.

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Falcons rookie DL Ruke Orhorhoro has elite Relative Athletic Score

Falcons second-round pick Ruke Orhorhoro had an elite Relative Athletic Score (#RAS) of 9.92

Falcons fans may not know much about second-round pick Ruke Orhorhoro, but the Clemson defensive lineman is an extremely versatile and athletic prospect.

Orhorhoro may not be the edge rusher that fans are desperate to see added but head coach Raheem Morris believes a strong interior line can be just as effective in creating pressure on opposing quarterbacks. The Tigers lineman registered an elite Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 9.92.

According to the metric’s creator, Kent Lee Platte, Orhorhoro’s score ranks 15th out of 1,808 defensive tackle prospects tested since 1987.

Atlanta gave up a third-round pick while acquiring a sixth-rounder from Arizona to move up for Orhorhoro.The Falcons made a similar move in last year’s draft, trading up to pick No. 38 to select athletic Syracuse offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron.

While that move received mixed reviews at the time, Bergeron has proved to be a solid starter at left guard. Hopefully, this trade will produce similar results as the Falcons desperately need help along their defensive front.

Orhorhoro recorded 17 hurries and five sacks for Clemson last season. He will join a defensive line featuring Grady Jarrett, David Onyemata and Eddie Goldman in Atlanta.

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Steelers GM Omar Khan focused on athletes in first NFL draft

Based on their RAS scores, you can see the emphasis the Steelers put on athleticism last year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers front office was somewhat old-fashioned with Kevin Colbert as general manager. But in just one full offseason we’ve already seen just how much more aggressive with a better focus on athletics and analytics.

Case in point is the Steelers 2023 NFL draft. We turn to Kent Lee Platte, the creator of RAS (Relative Athletic Score). Platte’s ability to condense the athleticism of NFL prospects into an easily comparative score makes it much simpler to understand the mindset of your team’s front office.

Platte shared the graphic below on Twitter highlighting how much the Steelers emphasized athleticism in the 2023 NFL draft.

The higher the number the better obviously and seeing six of seven players the Steelers drafted in the top tier of athleticism is meaningful. Honestly, we are more shocked to see edge rusher Nick Herbig so low in comparison to the rest of the draft class.

But regardless, we love this trend and can’t wait until Platte starts putting out the RAS scores for some of our favorite Steelers prospects.

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Packers connection with Relative Athletic Scores and the NFL Scouting Combine

It’s almost Relative Athletic Score time! A look at how RAS, the Packers and the NFL Scouting Combine are all connected in the draft.

The 2024 NFL Scouting Combine begins on February 26th, so it’s time to once again familiarize ourselves with Relative Athletic Scores and their significance for the Green Bay Packers as part of the pre-draft process.

Relative Athletic Score, or RAS, was created by Kent Lee Platte as a way to compare players based on their athletic testing numbers from either the Combine or their Pro Days.

If two receivers are different heights and different weights, with one running a faster 40-yard dash time but the other performing better in the vertical jump and 3-cone drills–who is the better overall athlete?

That’s where RAS comes in. The RAS formula takes all of the height, weight, and athletic testing measurements and converts it into a digestible and comparable figure that falls somewhere on the RAS scale, which ranges from 0 to 10.

On this scale, five is considered average, while scoring eight or higher registers as elite and within the top 20 percentile of the position group. In short, the higher the RAS, the better the athlete.

The RAS scale factors in historical results as well and is not only based on the current year’s draft class. It’s also position-specific, so even though a receiver and a center will test quite differently, both could post an RAS of 9.0 because it’s relative to their specific position groups.

To learn more about RAS and how it works, click here.

When it comes to the Packers under GM Brian Gutekunst, there has been a strong correlation between draft prospects with elite RAS scores and who Green Bay ends up selecting in the draft.

Since 2018, when Gutekunst took over, he has made 61 draft picks with 54 of them registering on the RAS scale. Of those 54 picks, 40 have had a RAS of at least 8.0, including 25 scoring above 9.0.

Just 10 Gutekunst selections have scored below 7.0, with only two of them – Amari Rodgers and Jayden Reed – being top 100 selections. The other eight were Day 3 picks.

Below you can find the individual results for each of the 54 draft picks that registered a RAS score.

Quarterback

Sean Clifford: 9.04
Jordan Love: 8.43

Running back

AJ Dillon: 9.15
Dexter Williams: 8.13
Lew Nichols III: 7.83
Kylin Hill: 7.28

Wide Receiver

Christian Watson: 9.96
Equanimeous St. Brown: 9.85
Marquez Valdes-Scantling: 9.26
Dontayvion Wicks: 9.17
Grant DuBose: 8.79
J’Mon Moore: 8.43
Jayden Reed: 6.74
Samori Toure: 6.14
Amari Rodgers: 5.35

Offensive Line

Zach Tom: 9.59
Elgton Jenkins: 9.33
Royce Newman: 8.72
Cole Van Lanen: 8.46
Jon Runyan: 8.47
Sean Rhyan: 8.16
Cole Madison: 4.57
Jake Hanson: 3.72

Tight End

Luke Musgrave: 9.78
Tucker Kraft: 9.68
Josiah Deguara: 8.49
Jace Sternberger: 5.17

Interior Defensive Line

James Looney: 9.75
Devonte Wyatt: 9.59
Colby Wooden: 9.24
Kingsley Keke: 7.98
TJ Slaton: 7.96
Karl Brooks: 5.87
Jonathan Ford: 3.54

Edge Rusher

Rashan Gary: 9.95
Kendell Donnerson: 9.89
Lukas Van Ness: 9.39
Jonathan Garvin: 8.97
JJ Enagbare: 6.25

Linebacker

Oren Burks: 9.72
Ty Summers: 9.71
Quay Walker: 9.63
Isaiah McDuffie: 7.32

Cornerback

Jaire Alexander: 9.53
Eric Stokes: 9.37
Carrington Valentine: 9.30
Josh Jackson: 9.26
Ka’Dar Hollman: 9.22
Shemar Jean-Charles: 4.24

Safety

Tariq Carpenter: 8.93
Darnell Savage: 8.37
Anthony Johnson Jr.: 8.13

Special Teams

Hunter Bradley: 9.03
JK Scott: 8.37

Looking at some of the Packers’ biggest positional needs that they will likely address at some point in the draft, 5-of-6 cornerback selections scored a RAS of 9.0 or higher, along with all three safeties registering above 8.0.

Linebacker has all four picks with a RAS above 7.0, including three selections above the 9.0 mark, while six of  Gutekunst’s eight offensive line picks have scored at least 8.0.

Running back has just two of the four picks scoring an elite RAS, but all are above 7.0, and it’s worth noting that AJ Dillon was the only premium pick spent on the position, and he registered a score of 9.15.

With all of that said, it’s time for some disclaimers. Do I believe that Gutekunst and Co. are poring over RAS cards following the combine? Not at all. But for us on the outside looking in trying to get any sort of insight into who the Packers might be interested in, it’s clear that they want to draft elite athletes, and the RAS scale helps us determine who those players are.

It’s also important to note that a prospect’s RAS is not indicative of future NFL success. Just last year, Jayden Reed and Karl Brooks both scored below 7.0 but were excellent selections by the Packers. Again, RAS is a tool and one piece of a giant puzzle when it comes to deciphering who the Packers might be interested in.

So, as the NFL Combine unfolds next week and Kent computes hundreds of RAS scores, be mindful of where each player falls on that scale. It’s, of course, not the be-all-end-all by any means, but 74 percent of Gutekunst’s picks have scored 8.0 or higher, including nearly 50 percent of all selections being above 9.0, while just 18 percent scored below 7.0.

RAS scores for every Dolphins draft pick, some UDFAs

Miami got some impressive athletes.

While the Miami Dolphins only had four draft picks in the 2023 selection meeting, general manager Chris Grier and his staff were still busy over the last week.

Between the final touches on their scouting process, making the picks and signing over 20 undrafted free agents, they’ve had their hands full.

After the completion of the three-day event, now is a great time to look at how Miami’s new batch of rookies graded on Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS) tool.

Here’s a look at all of the Dolphins draft picks and a few of their undrafted free agents:

2023 NFL draft: RAS scores for every Patriots rookie

How do the RAS scores look for the Patriots’ 2023 NFL draft class?

The New England Patriots entered the 2023 NFL draft with 11 picks and came out with 12 players. It could be seen as a situation of coach Bill Belichick throwing as many darts at the board as possible just to see what sticks.

But make no mistake, these weren’t aimless throws.

In a draft that was heavy on the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots opened up by taking three defenders that could be foundational playmakers of the future for the team. They also addressed the offensive line by adding three interior enforcers, along with taking a flier on two promising receivers for the skilled positions.

They even came away with a kicker and punter in this year’s draft. Belichick checked every box and didn’t let a single pick go to waste. We’ll see if it pays off in the 2023 season.

Today, we’re looking at every Patriots rookie’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS), which is a tool created by Kent Lee Platte that measures a player’s athletic testing to their size, while also taking history into account. The Patriots came away with at least four players with a 9.00 score or higher.

Here’s how the entire 2023 rookie class scored:

2023 NFL draft: RAS scores for the newest Seattle Seahawks

Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon did not test, but we have RAS scores for the rest.

Succeeding in the NFL draft is a complicated thing, but picking quality athletes at premium positions is a good place to start. After 10 years of reaches and head-scratching picks, the Seahawks front office finally remembered that in last year’s draft and continued getting it right in 2023, albeit with the obligatory detour for an early running back pick. Seattle’s draft class is still strong and athletic, though.

Let’s take a look at Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Scores for each of the Seahawks’ draft picks and how they compare to the average for their respective positions. First-rounder Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon did not test, but we have RAS scores for the rest.

Green Bay Packers 2023 sixth-round pick: K Anders Carlson

The Green Bay Packers selected Auburn kicker Anders Carlson in the sixth round (No. 207 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft.

The Green Bay Packers selected Auburn kicker Anders Carlson in the sixth round (No. 207 overall) of the 2023 NFL draft.

Height: 6-5
Weight: 218
Age: 24
From: Colorado Springs, CO

Breakdown: Brother of All-Pro kicker Daniel Carlson, who kicked for Rich Bisaccia in Las Vegas. Five years of kicking experience at Auburn. Consistent inside 35 yards but had issues in deeper range, especially over 50. Had injuries in 2021 (ACL) and 2022 (shoulder). Packers think he’s ascending and will improve drastically once injuries are in the rear-view mirror. Handled kickoffs at Auburn. Stands 6-5. Bisaccia’s belief in the player fascilitated pick. Can he beat out Parker White?

Zierlein’s scouting report: “Carlson has made kicks in big moments and appeared to be tracking in a good direction back in 2020. However, he has struggled to establish consistency on mid-range kicks and has been poor on kicks from 50 yards and beyond. He’s had too many kicks blocked during his career and doesn’t sport a booming leg on kickoffs.”

Auburn profile

They said it: “He was a kicker that Rich has an extensive experience with…Struggled with some injuries over the last few years after a very promising start, but we felt really good about where he’s headed and I think the relationship there with Rich was a positive factor in picking him there.” — GM Brian Gutekunst

New uniform

Packers.com

RAS card

Highlights

2023 NFL draft: RAS scores for Colts’ 12-man class

Check out the RAS for the Colts’ 2023 draft class.

The Indianapolis Colts put together one of the most athletic hauls in the 2023 NFL draft, proving their focus was to bring in an influx of elite athletes with their 12 selections.

One of the best ways to gauge a players’ athleticism is through a Relative Athletic Score (RAS). This is noted often, especially throughout draft season because it is a composite score that measures everything from size, explosiveness, speed and agility. It account for positional variance as some aspects are more important than others.

Created by Kent Lee Platte, RAS is a measurement of a player’s athletic testing in relation to both size and historic results. Each individual measurement is graded on a scale of 0-10 (10 being the highest).

Here’s how the Colts fared: