Analysis

3/17/23

7 min read

RB Athletic Archetype Guide: Philadelphia Eagles

By Nic Bodiford

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Welcome to The 33rd Team’s Athletic Archetypes series. These pieces will break down the preferred, position-specific athletic profiles utilized by NFL general managers. The purpose of the series is to help identify team-specific 2023 NFL Draft targets at the running back position.

NFL Combine data will be used whenever possible. Pro-day data will be used in a supplementary capacity if and when a player chooses not to participate in a combine drill or if the combine data is not available. Pro-day data is marked using an asterisk except for arm length and hand length, which is always collected at pro days.

NFL Draft Scout is the primary data source, with Relative Athletic Score used as the preferred backup. 

Other Archetypes: ARZ | ATL | BUF | CAR | CHI | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | SF | SEA | TB | WAS

Eagles RB Prototype

Howie Roseman (2019-present)

Sample size: 29

• Howie Roseman was hired as a Philadelphia Eagles front office intern in the year 2000 and has been with the team since. 
• Roseman was the Eagles' general manager from 2010-2014, before pivoting to executive vice president of football operations from 2015-2018.
• Roseman became executive vice president and general manager in 2019, which remain his current titles.
• Few players likely have had as large an impact on Roseman as 2002 third-round pick Brian Westbrook. The 5-foot-8, 200-pound running back dominated the NFC East through 2009, teaching Roseman the value of a mid-to-late round difference-maker.
• As Westbrook’s career progressed, Roseman hopped from salary cap staff counsel (2002) to director of football administration (2003-2005) to vice president of football administration (2006-2007) before ascending to vice president of player personnel (2008-2009).
• The table below reflects Roseman’s preferred athletic archetype at the running back position from 2014-present day.

• Roseman places a premium on body mass index (BMI), while casting raw height and weight measurements aside. 
• Philadelphia’s 29-running back sample has perhaps the NFL’s largest range of heights and weights. Aside from three outliers, they rarely dip below the minimum 29.0 BMI threshold. 
• Since drafting Miles Sanders in the 2019 NFL Draft, 13 of 14 Eagles running backs registered a 28.9 BMI or larger, eight registered 29.7 BMI or larger and seven registered 30.5 or larger. 
• Both the 40-yard dash and 10-yard splits largely are irrelevant to their running back evaluation processes.
• If an RB prospect can display short-shuttle quickness, Roseman likely will be interested; 10 of 29 running backs had a time of 4.21 seconds (76th percentile in relative athletic score) or better. However, seven running backs chose not to participate in the drill.
• Among 24 Philadelphia running backs to participate in the three-cone drill, 13 ran it in 7.00 seconds or better (74th percentile RAS), with 11 running it in 6.90 seconds or better (87th percentile RAS) and seven hitting 6.85 seconds or better (92nd percentile RAS). Boston Scott produced a 99th-percentile three-cone time of 6.67 seconds. 
• Among the first five running backs in Roseman’s sample, just one produced better than a 9-foot-4 broad jump (Brian Westbrook, 9-foot-10), while two of them registered sub-9-foot marks (Darren Sproles; 8-foot-9 and LeSean McCoy; 8-foot-11).
• New broad jump thresholds were set in 2018-2019 though, as just one running back since 2019 (DeAndre Torrey, 9-foot-10) jumped less than 10-foot. 
• Similar to the short shuttle, Roseman prefers his running backs to produce good marks in the vertical jump, but players are not removed from consideration if they don't. Eleven running backs jumped 36 inches or higher, nine beat 37 inches and six hit 38.5 inches.
• Since 2022, two of five running backs have produced sub-33-inch vertical jumps (Kennedy Brooks; 31 inches and Rashaad Penny; 32.5 inches). 
• The bench press is irrelevant. 

Physical Traits Eagles Will Target

• A 29.0-32.0 BMI
• Ideally hitting 4.21 seconds or better in the short shuttle
• Ideally hitting 7.00 seconds or better in the three-cone drill
• A minimum 10-foot broad jump
• Ideally jumping 35 inches or higher in the vertical jump

Potential 2023 Draft RB Targets

Players with strong archetype correlation are asterisked.

• *Bijan Robinson, Texas: 30.0 BMI, 10-foot-4 broad jump and a 37-inch vertical jump. (scouting report)
• *Israel Abanikanda, Pittsburgh: 31.0 BMI, 10-foot-4 broad jump and a 41-inch vertical jump. (scouting report)
• Zach Charbonnet, UCLA: 29 BMI, 10-foot-2 broad jump and a 37-inch vertical jump. His 7.16-second three-cone drill is acceptable.(scouting report)
• *Eric Gray, Oklahoma: 30.1 BMI, 4.18-second short shuttle and a 37.5-inch vertical jump. His 9-foot-10 broad jump could disqualify him.
• Tyjae Spears, Tulane: 10-foot-5-inch broad jump and a 39-inch vertical jump. His 28.8 BMI is 0.2 below the ideal threshold, but it will not disqualify him. (scouting report)
• Chase Brown, Illinois: 30.4 BMI, 10-foot-7 broad jump and a 40-inch vertical jump. (scouting report)
• Sean Tucker, Syracuse: 30.6 BMI. He skipped the NFL Combine. Tucker is expected to show well at this April 24 makeup pro day (scouting report)
• *Kendre Miller, TCU: 30.0 BMI. An MCL sprain prevented Miller from participating in pre-NFL Draft workouts. (scouting report)
• *Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State: 29.8 BMI and a 35.5-inch vertical jump. Vaughn’s 9-foot-8 broad jump falls below Roseman’s recent four-year standard but is in line with LeGarrette Blount (9-foot-9), Corey Clement (9-foot-7) and Donnel Pumphrey (9-foot-9). Pumphrey is interesting since his 5-foot-8, 176-pound frame is similar to Vaughn’s (5-foot-5, 179 pounds). 
• *Evan Hull, Northwestern: 30.0 BMI, 6.90-second three-cone drill, 10-foot-3 broad jump and a 37-inch vertical jump. 
• *Deneric Prince, Tulsa: 29.3 BMI, 6.97-second three-cone drill, 10-foot-4-inch broad jump and a 35.5-inch vertical jump.
  

Measurements for Eagles RBs

Athletic Testing for Eagles RBs

• Brooks improved his vertical jump to 35.5 inches at his pro day.
• Ryan Mathews improved his short shuttle to 4.10 seconds at his pro day. 
• Chris Polk significantly improved both his 40-yard dash and 10-yard split at his pro day. The former dropped to 4.45 seconds; the latter reached 1.57 seconds.

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Nic Bodiford

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Nic Bodiford contributes to The 33rd Team's fantasy football department and works elsewhere as an analyst and editor in written, video and audio mediums. These works can be found at Pro Football Focus, 4for4, Nerdball and Fake Teams. Nic moonlights at Legendary Upside by editing Pat Kerrane's weekly article, The Walkthrough.