Today I wanted to analyze some great data from Kent Lee Platt’s Relative Athletic Scores (RAS) for the cornerbacks. Here is a link to Platt’s website in case you haven’t seen his work https://ras.football/. To qualify for a RAS score, a player must have a total of six recorded metrics from any of the following: Height, Weight, Forty-yard dash, Twenty-yard split, Ten-yard split, Bench Press, Vertical Jump, Broad Jump, Short Shuttle, and 3-Cone. The player is then graded on each in comparison to the positional database since 1987 to get more of a feel of their size, speed, explosion, agility, and total value, giving context to the raw numbers.
The goal of the series is to provide the RAS from Platt, with a bit of my own twist with a size score and visualize it to get a simultaneous view of all the players at their position that participated at the combine. Here are the players that qualified for a RAS (NOTE: Positions are grouped from the combine results tracker compiled by Dave Bryan and Alex Kozora):
13 of the 29 qualifying prospects have a RAS of nine of above, starting with Maryland’s Deonte Banks with a near perfect 9.99 RAS, who has elite speed and explosion and good size but no agility testing, with a historically strong broad jump (1104) his best number, with height (6001) his lowest but still a good mark. Oregon’s Christian Gonzales (9.96 RAS) has elite explosion and great size and speed, but no agility testing, with an impressive 41.5” vertical his best mark and 14 reps on the bench his lowest but good number. Purdue’s Cody Trice (9.89 RAS) has elite size and agility, and good speed and explosion, with historically great height (6033) his best mark and his 35.5” vertical his lowest but good mark.
Iowa’s Riley Moss (9.88 RAS) has great speed and explosion, good speed, but no agility testing, and best mark a 1.48 10-yard split and good weight (193) his lowest. Kansas State’s Julius Brents (9.82 RAS) has elite size, explosion, and agility, good speed, with a historically elite 1106 broad jump and his 4.53 40-yard dash his lowest mark. South Carolina’s Darius Rush (9.73 RAS) has elite size and speed, okay explosion, but no agility testing, with his height (6020) his best and 35” vertical his lowest but acceptable mark.
After a bit off a drop off, we have Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr. (9.63 RAS) has great size and speed, good explosion, but no agility testing, with his best score in height (6024) and lowest a 35” vertical as well. LSU’s Mehki Garner (9.62 RAS) has elite size, great explosion, good speed, but no agility testing, with weight (212) his best number and 4.55 40-yard dash his lowest. Georgia’s Kelee Ringo (9.61 RAS) has elite size and speed, okay explosion, but no agility testing, faring best in the 40-yard dash (4.36) and lowest in the vertical (33.5), still within Pittsburgh’s past thresholds. Maryland’s Jakorian Bennett (9.59 RAS) has elite speed and explosion, okay size, but no agility testing, with a historically elite 4.3 40-yard dash and lowest mark in weight (188).
Michigan’s DJ Turner (9.56 RAS) has elite speed and explosion, but poor size and no agility testing, with a historically impressive 4.26 40-yard dash and lowest mark weight (178). South Carolina’s Cam Smith (9.57 RAS) has elite explosion, great speed, okay size, and no agility testing, faring best in the broad (1102) but weight (180) lighter than the Steelers draft history. Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes (9.32 RAS) has elite speed, good explosion, but poor size and no agility testing, and a 1.48 10-yard split his best workout but historically low weight at 166 pounds.
Six players had RAS scores in the eight range, starting with Stanford’s Kyu Blu Kelly (8.86 RAS) with great explosion, good size and speed, but no agility testing, with his best number a 1.49 10-yard split and weighing 191 pounds his lowest. Miami (FL)’s Tyrique Stevenson (8.63 RAS) has great speed and explosion, good size, but poor agility, and his 1.51 10-yard split his best mark and 4.41 shuttle his lowest, which is a number outside of Pittsburgh’s draft history. Texas A&M’s Jaylon Jones (8.51 RAS) has elite size, good speed and explosion, and okay agility with a 1.48 10-yard split his best workout, but lowest a 4.3 short shuttle.
Minnesota’s Terell Smith (8.49 RAS) has elite speed, great size, okay explosion and agility, with his best mark a 1.5 10-yard split and lowest a 34” vertical. LSU’s Jay Ward (8.34 RAS) has good size, speed, and explosion, but no agility testing, posting a strong vertical (1100) and weight (188) his lowest mark. Northwestern’s Cameron Mitchell (8.23 RAS) has great speed, okay size, didn’t qualify in explosion and no agility testing, with his 1.48 10-yard split his best mark and height the lowest (5106).
Three prospects had an RAS above seven, starting with South Alabama’s Darrell Luter Jr. (7.84 RAS) who has good size and speed, poor agility, and didn’t qualify in explosion, though his best mark was a 40.5” vertical and lowest a 4.43 shuttle outside of Pittsburgh’s draft history. TCU’s Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson (7.51 RAS) has elite explosion, great speed, but very poor size and no agility testing, with his 1100 broad jump his best number and height (5’8”) a historically low result and outside of the Steelers past draft tendencies. Louisville’s Kei’Trel Clark (7.15 RAS) has elite speed, okay explosion, but poor size and didn’t qualify in agility, with a 1.49 10-yard split his best workout and weighing 181 pounds his lowest.
After a dropoff, we see four players with a RAS in the six range, starting with USC’s Mekhi Blackmon (6.57 RAS) who has good speed and explosion, but poor size and no agility testing, faring best with a 1.54 10-yard split and low weight of 178 lighter than Pittsburgh’s draft history. Oregon State’s Alex Austin (6.55 RAS) has great size, good speed, okay explosion, and didn’t qualify in agility, with height (6’1”) his best result and 33” vertical the lowest. Alabama’s Brian Branch (6.5 RAS) has good size and explosion, okay speed, an no agility testing, fared best with a 1005 broad jump and lowest mark a 4.58 40-yard dash. Ball State’s Nic Jones (6.16 RAS) has good size and speed, okay explosion, and didn’t qualify in agility, with height (6’0”) his best result and 4.34 short shuttle the lowest.
Two players land with low five RASs, starting with Virginia’s Anthony Johnson (5.12 RAS) who has elite size, but poor speed and very poor explosion with no agility testing, has nice height (6’2”) and a historically low 30.5” vertical his lowest mark and outside Pittsburgh’s past draft thresholds. Utah’s Clark Phillips (5.02 RAS) has good speed, but very poor size and didn’t qualify in explosion or agility, faring best in the 10-yard split (1.51) but standing 5’9” is smaller that the Steelers typically look for.
The final player is Cincinnati’s Arquon Bush, the only prospect with a RAS below five (4.46), with okay size and speed, but poor explosion and no agility testing, faring best in the 10-yard split (1.55) and worst in the broad jump (907) that is lower that what the Steelers typically look for.
Next, I wanted to provide more context with a size score using the RAS for the players height and weight, which includes all the NFL Combine invitees since all the players are measured:
There is more size in this year’s class overall compared to the 2022 draft, highlighted with eight players having an above nine score compared to just three last year. Garner tops the list (6020, 212), and important to recall his strong overall 9.62 RAS, great explosion, and good speed. Trice ranks second (6033, 206), pairing this with his third ranked RAS, highlighted by elite agility. Johnson comes in third (6020, 205) but important to recall his third lowest RAS with poor speed and very poor explosion. Ringo (6016, 207) pairs this with his 9.61 RAS, highlighted by elite speed. Coastal Carolina’s Lance Boykin (6020, 200) didn’t qualify for an RAS, pairing this with 13 reps on the bench for an elite size grade, and had a 1004 broad jump. Jaylon Jones (6020, 200) paired this with a RAS in the eight range, highlighted by good speed and explosion. Brents (6026, 198) pairs this with his fifth ranked RAS, and important to recall his elite explosion and agility. Rush (6020, 198) also had a very strong overall RAS, pairing his size most notably with elite speed.
Seven prospects land in the eights in size score, starting with Terell Smith (6004, 204) pairing this with elite speed. Gonzalez (6013, 197), pairing this with the second ranked RAS with elite explosion and great speed. Porter (6024, 193) also had a strong overall RAS, pairing his size with great speed. Austin (6010, 195) had a lower 6.55 RAS, pairing lower results of good speed and okay explosion than many of the previously mentioned prospects. His Oregon State teammate Rejzohn Wright (6020, 193) didn’t test otherwise. The same is also true for the final player in this group, Ohio State’s Cameron Brown.
Five players have size scores in the seven range (which is a good RAS rank), including Stevenson (6000, 198), Banks (top rank in overall RAS), Moss (fourth ranked RAS), Alabama’s Eli Ricks who didn’t test otherwise, and Kentucky’s Carrington Valentine who didn’t qualify for an RAS but did some testing, namely posting elite explosion with a 1008 broad jump the highlight and nine reps on the bench his lowest result.
In the six range, there are also five prospects: Kelly (6000, 191), Ward, Branch, Nic Jones, and Luter.
Four prospects land in the fives, including Bush (5117, 187) with the lowest 4.46 overall RAS, Cam Smith (9.57 RAS), Mitchell, and Bennett (9.59 RAS).
Three players have size scores in the four range: Syracuse’s Garrett Williams (5100, 192), who didn’t test otherwise, Forbes (9.32 RAS) but important to recall his extremely low weight, and Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon (5114, 181) who didn’t test otherwise.
Two players have scores in the three’s: Turner (5112, 178) though he did have a 9.56 overall RAS, and Blackmon who had a much lower 6.57 RAS.
Three prospects have scores below three: Clark (5102, 181), Phillips (second lowest overall RAS), and after a huge drop off we see Hodges-Tomlinson’s extremely low 0.86 size score (5080, 178), with each landing lower in the RAS results as well.
To wrap up, here is a visual layering the RAS and size score to take it all in:
There is a strong group of names that top the chart, highlighted by Trice, Brents, Rush, Garner, and Ringo with all having above nine scores in both. Gonzalez and Porter are the next tier with nine plus RAS and above eight size scores, with Banks and Moss close behind in the upper seven size score range. The other players that are above the mean in both include Kelly, Stevenson, Jaylon Jones, and Terell Smith. Bennett, Cam Smith, Turner, and Forbes have great athleticism and land on the bottom right due to below average size. Here’s to hoping the Steelers are able to fill the void at the position early in this strong draft class.
For those that like the numbers, it’s unfortunate a few players didn’t test fully, and it will be interesting to monitor the pro days and continue to see how the men stack up in the coming weeks when Platt updates the site with the unofficial numbers.
What are your thoughts on the data? Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
