As the NFL Scouting Combine draws to a close, with the final on-field workouts taking place on Sunday, full athletic profiles for hundreds of prospects are coming together.
This is therefore an appropriate time to analyse the current Packers roster to identify Green Bay’s best athletes, based on their measurements when entering the league.
A few notes and disclaimers before we begin:
The scores come from Kent Lee Platte’s Relative Athletic Score (RAS) model. The ratings compare players to others at their position on a scale of 0 to 10.
These ratings are based on a player’s performance in the following metrics: Size (height, weight and bench press), speed (40-yard dash, 20-yard split and 10-yard split), explosion (vertical jump and broad jump) and agility (shuttle and 3-cone drills).
A 5.00 grade represents a perfectly average athlete at their position, or to put it another way, a player in the 50th percentile. A player with a 10.00 rating is a truly elite athlete at their position.
The list below only includes players who are currently set to be on the roster in 2022, according to Spotrac.
Players with incomplete scores have been left out of the list.
Here is the list in full, followed by some observations:
- Rashan Gary – 9.95
- Steven Wirtel – 9.88
- Preston Smith – 9.8
- Ty Summers – 9.71
- Jaire Alexander – 9.54
- Eric Stokes – 9.37
- Elgton Jenkins – 9.34
- Aaron Jones – 9.21
- A.J. Dillon – 9.16
- Jonathan Garvin – 8.98
- Royce Newman – 8.72
- Adrian Amos – 8.63
- Dean Lowry – 8.62
- Alize Mack – 8.54
- Josiah Deguara – 8.52
- Jon Runyan – 8.49
- Cole Van Lanen – 8.49
- Jordan Love – 8.44
- Marcedes Lewis – 8.35
- Darnell Savage – 8.34
- Danny Etling – 8.31
- T.J. Slaton – 7.96
- Tyler Davis – 7.91
- Kenny Clark – 7.54
- Isaiah McDuffie – 7.33
- Kylin Hill – 7.31
- Kabion Ento – 7.3
- Kiondre Thomas – 7.29
- Billy Turner – 7.18
- Juwann Winfree – 7.16
- Aaron Rodgers – 7.16
- Patrick Taylor – 7.14
- David Bakhtiari – 6.72
- Rico Gafford – 6.15
- Kurt Benkert – 5.84
- Amari Rodgers – 5.37
- Jack Heflin – 4.94
- Shemar Jean-Charles – 4.27
- Za’Darius Smith – 3.73
- Randall Cobb – 3.65
- Ladarius Hamilton – 3.45
Observations:
Rashan Gary is Green Bay’s best athlete relative to his positional peers. Brian Gutekunst decided to bet on Gary’s explosive potential which juxtaposed only modest production at Michigan. The gamble paid off.
Gutekunst has a thing for athletes. The average RAS score for players he has drafted in the first two rounds is 9.18. Josh Myers did not have a complete score, while Josh Jackson scored 9.27. This should be kept in mind when considering who the Packers may target, particularly early in the draft.
The Packers GM’s fondness for elite athletes even extends to the long snapper position, with Steven Wirtel boasting Green Bay’s second-best RAS.
Ty Summers may be somewhat of a surprise in fourth place. Summers posted ‘great’ scores for speed and explosion, and ‘good’ scores for size and agility.
Za’Darius Smith and Randall Cobb are the standout players who have enjoyed a high level of success in the NFL despite a poor RAS.
Shemar Jean-Charles is the only Gutekunst draft pick on the roster who posted a RAS below 5.
The Relative Athletic Scores for Green Bay’s key free agents are as follows:
- Yosh Nijman (RFA) – 9.81
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling – 9.27
- Allen Lazard (RFA) – 8.58
- Rasul Douglas – 6.93
- Davante Adams – 6.54
- De’Vondre Campbell – 6.22
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @Marko7LW.