I am going to try something a little bit different this morning with how I operate the COLTS Mock. It has been clearly noted that COLTS GM CHRIS BALLARD leans quite heavily for drafting “athletic” players for his roster. Right now I am fascinated by the work of Kent Lee Platte, the Math Bomb, who uses basic info from height & weight, to test results at the Combine & Pro Days, with maybe even a little pixie dust sprinkled on top, to create RAS score cards to rank the athleticism of draftable players each year. What is R.A.S. some of you will ask? It simply stands for Relative Athletic Score, and is calculated on a 10 point scale. So I have assembled a list of Draft Prospects who have been rated by Mr. Platt as having a RAS over 9.00. That will be my Big Board for the COLTS & GM BALLARD.
I will coordinate it with my Prospect Rankings purely to determine which players have already been drafted and are to available any longer from my list. Then I will relate who’s available at positions of need for the COLTS, per RAS from Math Bomb.
COLTS Draft 2023
Round 1, Pick 4 ANTHONY RICHARDSON QB Florida 6’4/244 RAS=10.00 With GARDNER MINSHEW in town, and the team clearly needing a talent retool in parts of their roster, 2023 can be a growth year for RICHARDSON, while the team still battles for a Wild Card berth under MINSHEW. RICHARDSON has it all, but is just not polished enough yet to start in the pro game. And yes that 10.00 is the perfect RAS athleticism score.
Round 2, Pick 35 CHANDLER ZUVALA OG N.C. State 6’4/315 RAS=9.95 ZUVALA had some seriously impressive numbers from his workouts, as well as leading the IOL for a winning Wolfpack squad. He is decent in pass pro and a mauler in the run game. Should have a serious chance to push WILL FRIES into a back-up role.
Round 3, Pick 79 ART GREEN CB Houston 6’1/200 RAS=9.47 Green has nice size at 6’1/200, and posted a 4.36/40 at his Pro Day. DC GUS BRADLEY and his staff will work to round off the rough edges with a starting spot in Green’s near future.
Round 4, Pick 106 OWEN PAPPOE LB Auburn 6’/225 RAS= 9.31 Some teams might write off PAPPOE due to lack of ideal size, but you can’t argue with a guy who makes tackles all over the field and ran a 4.39/40 at the Combine. He has cover skills, is not afraid to lower his pads and tackle in Run-D, and will play Special Teams to round off his game. With Shaq Leonard a bit questionable with health concerns going forward, this Pick helps an already athletic LB group.
Round 5, Pick 138 DONTAYVION WICKS WR Virginia 6’1/210 RAS=9.16 The prime factor pushing WICKS down this far is his lack of NFL speed for a WR, 4.62/40. But he has good size and his 10″ hands cause optimism that he will be a dependable catcher at the next level. His solid build also spears to be well suited for Special Teams duty.
Round 5, Pick 162 ANDERSON HARDY OT Appalachian St 6’6/300 RAS=9.26 To most this guy would be called a sleeper pick, but the RAS indicates that his size and sub-5.00/40 give him a chance develop into a roster spot at the next level. Worth a shot as a developmental prospect.
Round 5, Pick 176 JOHN STEPHENS TE/OL LAFAYETTE 6’5/265 RAS=9.13 One of the biggest TE in captivity, and pretty athletic for his size. Not at the Combine but looked the part at Pro Days. Could be considered an extra OL as well as a TE.
I have run out of RAS-rated players still available heading into Round 6. Kent has plenty more, but I have not charted them yet on my lists. So we’ll just draft the remaining COLTS Picks from my rankings list.
Round 7, Pick 221 LONNIE PHELPS ER/ST Kansas 6’2/245 The JayHawks football program has become a source of NFL talent in recent seasons. PHELPS reminds me a bit of KYRON JOHNSON from last year’s Draft who made the Eagles roster. His 4.55/40 at the Combine gained some attention n from NFL scouts.
Round 7, Pick 236 M.J. ANDERSON DE/ER Iowa State 6’3/270 A late bloomer who shows some bend and pocket pressure skills. 33 3/4″ long arms appeal for an Edge player.
I think this exercise is most interesting in the sense that it uses athletic related measurables to bolster the scouting/evaluation process. Blend it in somehow with game tape, interviews, etc. and it should have solid value. RAS is not “The Answer”, but it can be a valuable part of the answer. Math Bomb is an evolving tool and should have value to NFL Personnel Departments. This is not meant to be a commercial endorsement for Math Bomb and RAS, but I will simply add that I am finding it quite useful, and insightful tool in trying to unlock some of the mysteries of football scouting relative to “college to pro” potential.
Cheers
Pigskin
