Vikings' 2023 Draft Class Has Lowest Average RAS in NFL

The Vikings' 2023 draft class has the lowest average Relative Athletic Score (RAS) among the league's 32 teams at 6.35. They were the only team that didn't draft a single player with an elite RAS (8.0 or higher) this year.

Does that matter? Is there more context needed? Let's dive deeper and try to answer those two questions.

First, if you aren't familiar with RAS, it's a metric put together by Kent Lee Platte that combines a prospect's measurements and athletic testing numbers into one overall score. Data from the scouting combine and pro days goes in and a number — based on historical percentile ranks at that player's position — comes out. Each player has an individual chart that shows their numbers and the corresponding percentile score in each category, then breaks things down into four sections: Size, speed, explosion, and agility.

Here's an example of an extremely high score:

Put simply, RAS is a tool that can be used to show a prospect's size and athleticism based on how well they tested. That doesn't mean it's the be-all, end-all. Far from it, in fact. It is just one of several pieces in the puzzle of evaluating players, along with film, stats, interviews, cognition tests, and more.

RAS is valuable because there is a correlation between size/athleticism and NFL success. It is extremely difficult to thrive in the NFL with a very poor RAS. Conversely, an elite RAS doesn't guarantee anything; former Vikings draft pick Moritz Böhringer had a 9.98 and quickly washed out of the league. The middle is a gray area. The higher the RAS, the easier it theoretically is for a player to have NFL success, but there are so many other factors at play as well.

At the very least, it's interesting that the Vikings seemed not to care too much about RAS with their 2023 draft class.

The #Vikings are the only team I've posted so far who didn't take a single elite tier #RAS player in the 2023 draft. Their NFC counterparts all very heavy in that department. pic.twitter.com/YiRCAEUMy5
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 29, 2023

That holds true with top undrafted signees Ivan Pace Jr. (5.71) and Andre Carter II (6.29).

There's a notable difference between the '23 group and the Vikings' 2022 draft class, their first under GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. That collection of players had a much higher average RAS: 8.22.

Vikings 2022 draft picks by Relative Athletic Score (RAS)

9.92 Cine
N/A Booth (likely high RAS if tested)
7.29 Ingram
8.89 Asamoah
9.57 Evans
9.31 Otomewo (as DL)
6.38 Chandler (ran 4.38)
5.71 Lowe
8.09 Nailor
8.80 Muse

...probably their most athletic class since 2015
— Krauser (@Krauserrific) April 30, 2022

However, there's some context needed with the Vikings' 2023 class. First of all, it's only five players — seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride didn't test because of a hamstring injury — so the sample size is small.

Secondly, the Vikings' top pick, Jordan Addison, almost certainly has a higher true RAS than his 5.95. He cut his combine workout short due to back tightness after doing a handful of drills, including running a 4.49 40. Then he didn't run the 40 nor do much else at USC's pro day because of poor field conditions from a rainstorm, so he didn't have a chance to improve upon his scores. Addison appears faster than 4.49 on film and that's backed up by GPS tracking data; his game speed is in the 90th percentile, according to PFF. Addison was never going to have a truly elite RAS because of his lack of size, but he's not a sub-6 RAS athlete.

Really interesting nugget from @PFF_Steve last night on Jordan Addison's game speed testing out at the 90th percentile, as fast or even faster than Zay Flowers, who clocked a 4.42 40: pic.twitter.com/JPAA2Y0TAc
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) April 28, 2023

Mekhi Blackmon, Jay Ward, and Jaren Hall, like Addison, were all dinged for being undersized. What each of those three players does have is something Adofo-Mensah clearly prioritizes: An elite ten-yard split in the 40. I wrote about that specific trait after last year's draft. With Jaquelin Roy, Platte himself admits that RAS isn't that useful for evaluating nose tackles. Their job is to be large and strong, not quick and explosive, and Roy fits that criteria.

The Vikings did add a few UDFAs with high scores, including TE Ben Sims (8.40, elite 10-yard split) and Cincinnati LB Wilson Huber (8.34).

When it comes to this draft class, I don't think the Vikings' low average RAS is anything to be too concerned about, based on the context I've explained. It's certainly interesting, and it'll be something worth looking back at if this group doesn't pan out. But again, size and athleticism are just one piece of the puzzle. Talent, work ethic, and mental aptitude are all similarly important factors — if not more important.

You can look up any player in the RAS database, dating back to 1987, here.

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