RAS Roundup: How athletic are the top running back prospects for the Miami Dolphins in the 2023 NFL Draft?

The Miami Dolphins will be looking to fill many roster holes with their selections in the 2023 NFL Draft. To hone in on specific players, teams use various tools to determine who fits specific criteria they might be valuing over others. One such tool is RAS — or Relative Athletic Score.

What is RAS?

RAS was developed by Kent Lee Platte and is a score that is given to prospects based on that player’s athletic testing results from the NFL Combine and/or that player’s pro day. The 10-point sliding scale factors in things such as height, weight, vertical jump, 40-yard dash time, bench press reps and more. Once a player’s overall score is determined, one can easily compare how athletic that player is to his peers or even past draft prospects.

With this exercise, I’m aiming to give our readers the top 10 RAS scores for positions of need for our Miami Dolphins, while also using Pro Football Focus’ Mock Draft simulator to predict where the Dolphins will need to pick certain highlighted players if they don’t want to be left out in the cold.

Please note that not all players qualify for a RAS score due to skipping particular drills.

Today’s position group is a deep one — running backs! Let’s dive in.

1. Deneric Prince — Tulsa — RAS: 9.84
2. Bijan Robinson — Texas — 9.81
3. Zach Charbonnet — UCLA — 9.68
4. Chase Brown — Illinois — 9.62
5. Evan Hull — Northwestern — 9.18
6. Camerun Peoples — Appalachian State — 8.75
7. Keaton Mitchell — East Carolina — 8.53
8. Roschon Johnson — Texas — 8.09
9. Jahmyr Gibbs — Alabama — 7.95
10. Tank Bigsby — Auburn — 7.49

Zach Charbonnet

Charbonnet checked in with the third highest RAS score out of all running backs at the 2023 NFL Combine with an elite 9.68 grade. The 22 year-old stands just over six feet tall and weighs 214 pounds — making him one of the larger backs in this year’s class. He doesn’t have elite speed — running just a 4.53 40-yard dash — yet he has some burst, checking in with a 1.54 second 10-yard split.

According to PFF, he could be had in the second or third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, so if the Dolphins want to secure the services of Charbonnet, they may need to snatch him up at pick #52.

Chase Brown

What can Brown do for you — or the Miami Dolphins? While not the biggest back — just over 5’9” and 209 lbs — Brown is one hell of an athlete. The former Illinois ball carrier posted elite marks in the vertical jump, broad jump, 40-yard dash time (4.43), 20-yard splits and 10-yard splits at the NFL Combine. He did have six fumbles during his college career, so protecting the ball is something the 22 year-old will have to work on when he gets to the next level.

PFF projects him as a fifth round pick, so the Dolphins could nab him in a trade down scenario where they acquire a mid-round selection or hope he falls to their sixth round draft slot.

Roschon Johnson

Johnson was the backup to Bijan Robinson in college at Texas, so he enters the 2023 NFL Draft with a little more to prove than his college backfield mate. Johnson has good — not elite — speed at the position, clocking a 4.58 40-yard dash time. His broad jump was elite, yet his vertical jump was not great. Johnson did not catch the ball out of the backfield often during his college tenure, so if the Dolphins are looking for a pass catching back, they might want to look elsewhere to fill that hole.

PFF predicts Johnson to be a fourth round pick, so if the Dolphins want to be sure they land the former Longhorn, they will need to take him with one of their third round selections if they choose not to acquire another mid-round pick in a trade down scenario.

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The Dolphins have plenty of work to do between now and the 2023 NFL Draft, which means so do we. Keep an eye out for another edition of the RAS Roundup later this week as we check in on another position group the Dolphins could be targeting!