Do the Green Bay Packers truly value a potential draft pick’s relative athletic score? With the NFL combine coming up, I wanted to dig deeper into the relative athletic score and what it means, and whether or not Brian Gutekunst and company trust it as much as people say. I also want to apply these trends to the potential draft needs the Packers have that I discussed last week.

So, what is the relative athletic score? Kent Lee Platte created the RAS as a metric to help gauge a player’s athletic prowess. The RAS is related to the position the player plays and has been done to help compare the abilities of athletes using the measurable data provided throughout the NFL Combine and NFL Pro Days.

The score ranges from zero to ten where five is considered average. Here is an example of a score:

rashan gary RAS NFL Combine

NFL Combine: Do the Packers Use RAS?

Probably not. The Green Bay Packers organization, as well as all other NFL teams, likely use their own metrics to determine a player’s athleticism. But Platte’s relative athletic score can be a way to help determine how a team like the Packers value relative athleticism.

So how has Brian Gutekunst valued a prospect’s athletic score? Since 2018 the Packers’ draft classes have averaged a relative athletic score of 8.20, the highest score being that 2018 draft with a draft class average of 8.89. The lowest score, no surprise here, was 2021 with a score of 7.34.

In the top rounds (rounds one through three), the Packers’ total average RAS was 8.74, which is pretty high. However, if you remove those who are no longer on the team, that score goes up to a staggering 9.10. Those players who are no longer on the team are Josh Jackson 9.26, Oren Burks, 9.72, Jace Sternberger 5.17, Josiah Deguara 8.49, and Amari Rodgers 5.35. These guys had an average of 7.60 RAS. It is interesting that they are no longer on the team, considering that their score average was so much lower than the rest of the first three rounds.

What About the Lower Rounds?

One can expect the overall athletic score to drop in the later rounds of the draft. So, what was the average RAS for rounds four through seven for those players still on the team? The average RAS is 7.84, which is pretty good considering the later rounds. Jonathan Ford, a 7th rounder from the 2022 draft, is an outlier with a low RAS of 3.55.

Another thing to consider with all of this is that some players didn’t have a RAS because there wasn’t any data to enter. Rasheed Walker and Romeo Doubs do not have a RAS.

So to answer the above question, yes, the Packers very much value athleticism – especially in the top of the draft.

Okay, How Does This Relate To The NFL Combine?

It matters greatly if you are interested in the NFL Draft and draft prospects who could be coming to Green Bay. The NFL Combine can provide data to help determine the relative athletic scores for draft candidates. We now know for a fact that the Packers value athleticism and RAS helps us fans understand a player’s athletic ability using numbers.

This information is important. It can allow us fans to know what players will probably be off of the Packers’ board. Let’s quickly apply this information to my top five draft positions from last week. I’m going to throw in corner, as I’ve been convinced of the Packers’ need to draft a cornerback this past week.

RAS Scores for positions of need

How To Use This Information

Using this information, we can now set low end RAS score limits for possible draft prospects who test at the NFL combine. If the Packers are looking for a safety, then don’t look at prospects who test under 8.13. Could the Packers still draft them? Of course. But if they are ranked highly, then you might want to look at other prospects.

There were a couple of things that surprised me from this data. The off-ball linebacker position having such a high RAS score was surprising. Another surprising factor was the lack of attention in the draft to the running back and safety positions, which has unsurprisingly made those positions a draft need.

  1. 1. Safety: Needs to be above 8.13.
  2. 2. Off-ball Linebacker: Needs to be above 9.
  3. 3. Offensive Line: Needs to be above 7.5 but really probably 8.
  4. 4. Running Back: Needs to be above 7.5 too.
  5. 5. Defensive Line: Needs to be above 8.13.
  6. 6. Cornerback: Needs to be above 8.7.

So when the NFL Combine is going on, pay attention to those RAS scores because they do paint a picture.

Go Pack Go!

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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.

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