2022 Scouting Report: RB Isiah Pacheco - Trailer

*Our RB grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

*We use the term "Power RB" to separate physically bigger, more between-the-tackles–capable RBs from our "Speed RBs" group. "Speed RBs" are physically smaller, but much faster/quicker, and less likely to flourish between the tackles.

By the time of this study/writing, I have done a deeper study of the top RB prospect names in the 2022 NFL Draft. There's been a running theme of these RB studies, so far – after previewing the top RBs pre-Combine, I ended up thinking they were all B-C-D grade workers without a ton of real 'live' speed/pop, and then they all ran like track stars at the Combine…a bunch of shocking 4.3s and 4.4s, but after doing the deeper tape study on those speedsters, I'm still scratching my head (mostly) because I don't see 4.3s and 4.4s on the field, on the tape.

Seriously…the 2022 Combine results are either a giant fraud or the era of the super (Combine) athlete has begun. The 40 and 10-yard times are freakish, historically freakish. However, one-by-one I go back through the tape of their career, and I don't really see this super speed in their play. At one moment, I'm wondering if I've just 'lost it', as a scout…or maybe my eyes are going bad, and the next I'm buying into a giant conspiracy theory on the times…that they can't be true.

So, as I work my way down the consensus RB rankings of these freakish speedsters, I hit Isiah Pacheco…the fastest of all the freakazoid RB 40-times (tied with Pierre Strong), a guy 'so fast' he had a 3.9 yards per carry senior season and a 4.3 yards per carry college career on 563 carries. How are these speed times possible with these flimsy/OK/good college career outputs? But I dutifully marched on with my study.

I'm glad I did, because I think I stumbled onto a contender for best RB prospect of the 2022 draft class. I mean, like potentially the 'best in class'. Like…a 'get excited', finally, type of RB prospect for the NFL.

To read all of this section, go to Weekly Report - Free!

The Pacheco backstory in 7 minutes: https://youtu.be/mTemTLUmvtM

Isiah Pacheco, Through the Lens of Our RB Scouting Algorithm:

It's not even worth time pointing out his statistical performance trends, when I'm going to throw them out/adjust them for a better idea of what he might be had he gone literally about anywhere else for his college play – and, again, this is very dangerous. I'm not trusting the science/metrics…I'm trusting the R.C. eyeball experience. We'll see if I'm right.

 -- Six 100+ yard rushing games in his career, two of them against Michigan…including in 2021, against the best Michigan defense of the past four years in near upset of the Wolverines last year (Rutgers lost 20-13, Pacheco had 20 carries for 107 hard-fought yards…while his QB was 9 of 16 for 163 yards passing, FYI)

https://youtu.be/veJmxXCuXBI

To read all of this section, go to Weekly Report - Free!

2022 NFL Combine/Pro Day Measurables:

5'10"/216

9.25" hands, 30.5" arms

4.37 40-time, 2.53 20-yard, 1.49 10-yard

27 bench reps (Pro Day), 33" vertical, 9'10" broad

4.27 shuttle, 7.09 three-cone (Pro Day)

Combine quick footage: https://youtu.be/I7Xj02UYaVw

The Historical RB Prospects to Whom Isiah Pacheco Most Compares Within Our System:

A shorter Adrian Peterson. Runs with similar upright, strong style that keeps moving forward not stopping/blinking in traffic or with tacklers coming at him.

I liked the Peterson comp until I saw the computer go with Rashaad Penny, and that made a ton of sense too…maybe more sense, more current comp-ing.

A Peterson-Penny hybrid is interesting.

*A score of 8.50+ is where we see a stronger correlation of RBs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system and indicates a greater probability of becoming an elite NFL RB.

All of the RB ratings are based on a 0-10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances.

Overall rating/score = A combination of several on-field performance measures, including refinement for strength of opponents faced, mixed with all the physical measurement metrics—then compared/rated historically within our database and formulas. More of a traditional three-down search—runner, blocker, and receiver.

*RB-Re score = New/testing starting in 2015. Our new formula/rating that attempts to identify and quantify a prospect's receiving skills even deeper than in our original formulas. RB prospects can now make it/thrive in the NFL strictly based on their receiving skills—it is an individual attribute sought out for the NFL, and no longer dismissed or overlooked. Our rating combines a study of their receiving numbers in college in relation to their offense and opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with hand-size measurables, etc.

*RB-Ru score = New/testing starting in 2015. Our new formula/rating that attempts to classify and quantify an RB prospect's ability strictly as a runner of the ball. Our rating combines a study of their rushing numbers in college in relation to their offense and strength of opponents, as well as profiling size-speed-agility along with various size measurables, etc.

Raw Speed Metric = A combination of several speed and size measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile.

Agility Metric = A combination of several speed and agility measurements from the NFL Combine, judged along with physical size profile, and then compared/rated historically within our database and scouting formulas. This is a rating strictly for RBs of a similar/bigger size profile.

2022 NFL Draft Outlook:

The draft rankings are all over the board with Pacheco…from 5th-round and beyond to UDFA. I suspect I'm not the only person to take notice of the 'what might be' and Pacheco will go 5th-round.

To read all of this section, go to Weekly Report - Free!

NFL Outlook:   

This is where I worry… Draft stock follows NFL opportunity, usually. It will be easy for an NFL team to treat a day three pick like Pacheco as a possible practice squad stash…and not given the keys to the car like a Breece Hall will be. It's not fair, but it's reality.

To read all of this section, go to Weekly Report - Free!

A 25-minute compilation tape of Pacheco's career in a chronological order, if you care to get more time in observing his capabilities: https://youtu.be/n1M6dhrTJd8