Today I wanted to visualize some great data from Kent Lee Platt’s Relative Athletic Scores (RAS) for the interior DL. 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, 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:
Eight players have a RAS above nine, compared to six players in my 2024 IDL RAS article. That article was done later in the process last season, including pro day numbers. This re-emphasizes the depth and quality of this year’s class considering several combine invites haven’t tested fully (yet).
The top IDL from combine testing was Nebraska’s Ty Robinson (9.84 RAS). He has elite speed and explosion, with good size and agility. 32 1/4” arms and 10” hands.
SMU’s Elijah Roberts (9.78) has elite speed and explosion, with okay size, but no agility testing. 33 5/8” arms and 10 1/4” hands.
West Virginia’s Sean Martin (9.67) has elite speed, with good size and explosion. Didn’t qualify in agility (no shuttle). Great 35” arms and 10 5/8” hands.
SMU’s Jared Harrison-Hunte (9.67) has elite speed, great explosion, okay size, but no agility testing. 33” arms and 9 1/8” hands.
Georgia Tech’s Zeek Biggers (9.54) has elite size (6054, 321) and explosion, good speed, but no agility testing. 34 7/8” arms and 10 1/4” hands.
Georgia’s Warren Brinson (9.33) has elite size (6052, 315), great explosion, and good speed. No agility testing. 33 1/2” arms and 10 3/8” hands.
Toledo’s Darius Alexander (9.2) has great speed and explosion, good size, and okay agility. 34” arms and 10” hands.
The final IDL in this tier is Indiana’s CJ West (9.14). He has great speed and okay size. Didn’t qualify in explosion (no broad), and no agility tests. 31 1/2” arms and 9 3/4” hands.
Two players with a RAS in the eight range, both from South Carolina. Tonka Hemingway (8.84) has elite agility, great explosion, but poor size and no speed tests. 33” arms and 9” hands. T.J. Sanders (8.52) has great explosion, good size, and okay agility. No speed testing. 33 1/8” arms and 10 1/4” hands.
After a notable drop off, three players in the seven tier. Utah’s Junior Tafuna (7.45) has good size and speed. Didn’t qualify in explosion (no broad) and no agility testing. 32 1/2” arms and 10 1/2” hands.
Virginia Tech’s Aeneas Peebles (7.16) has great speed and explosion, very poor size, and didn’t qualify in agility (no three cone). 31 3/8” arms and 9 5/8” hands.
Florida State’s Joshua Farmer (7.14) has good size and explosion, okay speed, but no agility tests. Great 35” arms. 10 1/4” hands.
Four IDL in the six range. Maryland’s Jordan Phillips (6.68) has good explosion, okay size, but poor agility and no speed tests. 31 1/2” arms and 9 3/4” hands.
Georgia’s Nazir Stackhouse (6.43) has great size (6036, 327). Okay speed and explosion, but no agility testing. 32 1/2” arms and 10 1/4” hands.
Arkansas Eric Gregory (6.34) has good size, okay speed and explosion, but poor agility. 33” arms and 9 5/8” hands.
Maryland’s Tommy Akingbesote (6.18) has good size, with okay speed and explosion. No agility tests. 33 1/2” arms and 10” hands.
A substantial drop to three players in the four range. Florida’s Cam Jackson (4.58) has elite size (6062, 328) with okay speed. Very poor explosion and no agility testing though. 34 1/8” arms and 9 1/2” hands.
JJ Pegues of Ole Miss (4.42) has good size, but poor speed. Didn’t qualify in explosion (no broad), and no agility tests. 32 1/2” arms and 9 3/8” hands.
Oregon’s Jamaree Caldwell (4.27) has good size, but poor speed. Also didn’t qualify in explosion (no broad) with no agility drills. 32” arms and 9 3/8” hands.
Two players left, both in the three range. Tennessee’s Elijah Simmons (3.49) has good explosion with okay size. Very poor speed and no agility testing. 32 3/4” arms and 10 1/4” hands.
The lowest RAS at IDL at the combine was Iowa’s Yahya Black (3.46). He has elite size (6056, 336) with okay agility. Poor explosion and very poor speed though. Great 35” arms. 10 1/4” hands.
Plenty of shapes and sizes at a position the Steelers will likely address. Several names continued to stack their resumes positively. The article reveals many of the top scorers have the athleticism, along with matching the size Pittsburgh has looked for in their draft history, which is very exciting.
For those that like the numbers, it’s unfortunate when players don’t test fully at the combine. 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.
