*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.

I went into this study with a negative attitude. I saw Achane as a track runner at RB…which you can get by with in college but doesn't translate as well to the pros at 188 pounds. But I kept seeing Achane in the top 100 overall consensus draft rankings…a top 5 among the RB prospect ranks, and I figured I should take a deeper look to check the box that I didn't run with bad assumptions/feelings from my previews and his 'small' physical analytics for the NFL here.

After watching his game tape, I have to admit…I painted him in a box as a limited/track runner at running back -- and I was wrong to do so, to a degree.

Achane is actually a very good technician at running back…not just a speedster. He reads holes, he has the patience and vision to read blocking and defenses as well as any of the top RB prospects. Where Achane then has an advantage over the other top guys in the RB class -- his 4.32 speed ability to punch an accelerator and GO. If Achane has space…he's making yards. If Achane is headed towards congestion, he has the nimbleness and speed to change course and get around it on occasion.

Achane is small, but pretty tough. He runs the interior fearlessly. He isn't shying from contact or coming up limping after every interior run. He's got a pretty muscular build in a smaller, compact body. And I was surprised by his toughness.

Achane also is a decent receiver out of the backfield…good for screens and flares. Not a real route runner and WR-like in the open field type RB receiver, but good enough. Smaller 8'5" hands isn't optimal, but not damning.

All the attributes above, the low 4.3s speed, the sneaky toughness, the technical skills, the decent receiver ability…and he's a gritty blocker (just so small) -- I saw it all on display every game I watched, and I watched him against the big boy teams in the SEC (Alabama, LSU, etc.). Every game, Achane was the same guy.

It's not all candy and roses…there are some scouting concerns, but most of it not an Achane problem. Achane's size is an issue at the next level. Teams say they want guys like Achane as weapons and co-RBs for a duo/trio backfield and that they're great for the passing game, yada-yada…and then they set aside 2-3 touches a game for Achane's style/ability and when it doesn't have immediate 90+ yard TD events all the time it gets forgotten so that the O-C can go back to a big RB running up the middle for 3 yards and a cloud of dust. Guys the size, speed, and capability of Achane have been available to the NFL for years…decades…they just never seem to matter for more than a 'spurt'. Hopefully, Achane can help break the chain/pattern, but that's asking a lot. Size matters in the NFL…unless you played for Alabama, Georgia, or Ohio State.

Achane off the field is a bit immature, more on the silly side not on the problematic side, per se, but that's fixable…but you'd rather have a quiet worker than a 'talker'. Won't matter if he becomes a top kick returner in the NFL -- which is what the NFL is likely to see him the most as.

Achane has gifts to bring to the NFL…the question will be, after opening them on Christmas, will the NFL ever really play with the gift post-Christmas? The odds say the NFL won't. We might be a few more years away from this sentiment changing in the league.  

Devon Achane, Through the Lens of Our RB Scouting Algorithm:

 -- Five of last 7 games all with 100+ yards rushing…all against SEC teams.

 -- Was a split role guy 2020-2021, with Isaiah Spiller. 2022 was his first real spotlight and he was #3 in the SEC in rushing despite missing a couple games with a minor foot injury. Also, 4th in rushing TDs in 2022.

 -- Two kick return TDs in his career…on just 28 returns.

 -- 3.6 catches per game with 3 receiving TDs in 2022.

 -- 16-62-0 vs. Alabama 2022, 7-34-0 vs. them in 2021.

 -- 38-215-2 vs. LSU in his final college game of his career/2022.

2023 Combine/Pro Day Measurables:

5'8.4"/188

8.5" hands, 29" arms

4.32 40-time (I've done some deeper work on 50+ RB prospects so far, and declined work on another 50+ who just aren't NFL-worthy…and Achane has the fastest 40-time in the RB class that I've looked at so far, so far)

1.49 10-yd, 2.49 20-yd

4.35 shuttle, 7.05 three-cone (at his Pro Day)

n/a = Bench press

33" vertical

9'3" broad jump

The Historical RB Prospects to Whom Devon Achane Most Compares Within Our System:

The comps are not encouraging -- all the smaller RBs who ran 4.3s, but never really mattered in the NFL…even when they showed flashes of being homerun hitters and weapons. BUT all the comps are guys from another decade -- Achane may be getting into a more 'accepting' league of the smaller, weaponized RB prospects.

*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 the 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 = Our 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 = Our 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.

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2023 NFL Draft Outlook:

Achane continues to track well within the top 100 overall…more inside the top 75. Most of the 4.3s running RBs from 2022 draft…guys who were over/well over 200 pounds…didn't get drafted in the top 100 (Isiah Pacheco, Ty Chandler, Pierre Strong, D'Vonte Price…all ran 4.3s at the Combine, only Breece Hall got drafted top 100). I'm not sure why Achane will get such a big nod at 188 pounds…but there is little rhyme or reason to the NFL Draft. I'll assume the NFL chases the media/analyst consensus and he'll be taken in the top 100 overall.

If I were an NFL GM, I'm not totally ignoring or against Achane…but I would never pay the price needed to draft him. There are guys like him/close to his skillset and much bigger in size available on day three late.

NFL Outlook:  

Likely…his draft team will do a lot of talking but won't see it through and Achane will be stuck as a return man and 1-2 touch a game guy otherwise. But hopefully, he lands on a progressive offensive team and carves out a role and can maybe try and be a modern day Darren Sproles or better/takes more carries and is not stuck as just a screen/flare/west coast passing game weapon.