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RB Zach Charbonnet, SEA (6 Viewers)

Stock Up, Stock Down on 10 Notable 2022 NFL Draft Prospects

Excerpt:

Stock Up: RB Zach Charbonnet, UCLA

Iowa State's Breece Hall entered this season as the consensus top running back in the 2022 draft class, but he hasn't been quite as effective this season. Besides, NFL offenses require ball-carriers that add a little more to the offense in regards to big-play potential instead of traditional workhorse capabilities. 

UCLA's Zach Charbonnet fits that mold. He's a 220-pound back with great breakaway speed and excellent vision. 

"I think he has elite vision, and if you didn't coach him, that is difficult to tell," UCLA head coach Chip Kelly told The Athletic's Bruce Feldman. "... We knew he was that big and that fast, but a lot of times, you see guys they don't have the vision. You tell them to run right, they run right and (are) going to run up the back of people. He's really unique that way."

As a true freshman at Michigan, Charbonnet flashed with 726 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. But he chose to return home to California after the 2020 campaign, and he has flourished this season with 566 yards and seven touchdowns in six games. 

A year ago, D'Andre Swift and Jonathan Taylor were considered the top two backs in the 2020 draft class. Ultimately, Clyde Edwards-Helaire became the only first-round running back selected. 

The same could unfold again in 2022. Hall and another rising star in Michigan's State's Kenneth Walker III are the bigger names with more production, but some teams may still prefer the explosive Charbonnet. 
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UCLA redshirt sophomore RB Zach Charbonnet rushed 17 times for 67 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday's 44-20 win against Colorado.

The yardage total wasn't the news here for Charbonnet (6'1/220), and he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry. But he has totaled four rushing touchdowns in the past two games, and it was his first three-TD game since Aug. 28 against Hawaii. His 67 rushing yards were his most since Oct. 13 at Washington when he had a season-high 131 yards. He'll look to keep it rolling in next's rivalry game at USC.

Nov 14, 2021, 1:31 AM ET
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UCLA redshirt sophomore RB Zach Charbonnet rushed 28 times for 167 yards and a touchdown in a 62-33 win over USC this Saturday.

With his running mate, Brittain Brown, forced to miss the contest, Charbonnet (6'1/220) parlayed his heaviest workload of the season into his career single-season high for single game rushing yards. He consistently broke off long runs as UCLA posted 11 plays of 20-yards or more against the Trojans. His star performance means Charbonnet currently has 1,031 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the year, the first 1,000 yard season of his career. The Michigan transfer will close out his exceptional regular season next Saturday vs. Cal.

Nov 20, 2021, 10:30 PM ET
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Doctor Gridiron @DrGridiron_MD
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Zach Charbonnet is my favorite RB in this draft. He is a complete back. Runs with physicality, at 6-1 and 220 Lbs he’s got elite feet and hip fluidity, he can make you miss in a phone booth. He also has great hands and can hurt you in the passing game.
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Daniel Harms @InHarmsWay
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Zach Charbonnet RB #24 has the makings of a three-down back in the NFL. His size, speed, and athletic ability jump off the tape and he can string moves together in open space with the best of them in this class. Calm in space with defenders closing and making plays.
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He’s firmly RB3 for me as of a few weeks ago. I seriously doubt I move him above Gibbs, but I doubt I drop him any further either unless Tucker goes higher than what I’m seeing him mocked at lately.
 
Watched a few clips recently and was really impressed, until I saw the college opponents ... South Alabama, Bowling Green and then a weak Colorado program ... but then came Utah, Oregon and Washington (all 3 were ranked Top 25) ... and he still was impressive .. He is starting to get more steam in my rankings... Currently, Late January, I see him Mock PPR as mid-early 2nd for a 12 Team 1QB... but he might move up to late 1st without much trouble as some of the WR start to slide...
ETA: I see him as a 3rd Rnd NFL pick... pending all the RB FA moves
 
Birdie048 said:
Watched a few clips recently and was really impressed, until I saw the college opponents ... South Alabama, Bowling Green and then a weak Colorado program ... but then came Utah, Oregon and Washington (all 3 were ranked Top 25) ... and he still was impressive .. He is starting to get more steam in my rankings... Currently, Late January, I see him Mock PPR as mid-early 2nd for a 12 Team 1QB... but he might move up to late 1st without much trouble as some of the WR start to slide...
ETA: I see him as a 3rd Rnd NFL pick... pending all the RB FA moves
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Right now I feel like the level of his competition is the only blemish on his game. That said, he’s a physical specimen, and if the right team takes him, he could be a monster in the NFL.
 
Hot Sauce Guy said:
Birdie048 said:
Watched a few clips recently and was really impressed, until I saw the college opponents ... South Alabama, Bowling Green and then a weak Colorado program ... but then came Utah, Oregon and Washington (all 3 were ranked Top 25) ... and he still was impressive .. He is starting to get more steam in my rankings... Currently, Late January, I see him Mock PPR as mid-early 2nd for a 12 Team 1QB... but he might move up to late 1st without much trouble as some of the WR start to slide...
ETA: I see him as a 3rd Rnd NFL pick... pending all the RB FA moves
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Right now I feel like the level of his competition is the only blemish on his game. That said, he’s a physical specimen, and if the right team takes him, he could be a monster in the NFL.
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If you look at his splits of 4 games vs Top 25 Programs (#7 USC, #10 Oregon, #11 Utah & #15 Washington)
His Average stats: 20.7 Carries for 142 Yards per game --> 6.8 yard/carry with 3 TD Total + Avg 2.75 Rec/gm for 28 yards/gm
I would consider that more than "Above Average" compared to his Draft RB compatriots

RankOpponentScoreCarriesYards RushAverage y/cTDRecRec YardAvg Y/RecRec TD
# 7vs USCL 48-451995504297.30
# 10at OregonL 45-30201517.6142870
# 11vs UtahW 42-3222198910000
# 15vs WashW 40-32221245.6135618.70
 
travdogg said:
I'm thinking more like young Mark Ingram.
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He's much bigger than Ingram was. Just by looking at him.

eta* Ingram was 5'9". Charbonnet is around 6'0"-6'1" or something like it.

eta2* Ingram was not noted for quicks. His testing wasn't quick nor fast. He was JAG in the NFL, really. Durability and pass-catching prowess helped him stay in the league. Plus, Saints and Payton.
 
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The Conner comp makes sense. I've seen DeMarco Murray as well. Charbonet runs a bit upright so I can see that comp (though Murray was faster) I like his game a lot.
 
Ilov80s said:
The Conner comp makes sense. I've seen DeMarco Murray as well. Charbonet runs a bit upright so I can see that comp (though Murray was faster) I like his game a lot.
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I really like the Murray comp. We'll see how ZC tests, but I'd be surprised if he's significantly slower than Murray. At minimum, he has very similar short-area burst; body type and running style are super similar as well.
 
rockaction said:
travdogg said:
I'm thinking more like young Mark Ingram.
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He's much bigger than Ingram was. Just by looking at him.

eta* Ingram was 5'9". Charbonnet is around 6'0"-6'1" or something like it.

eta2* Ingram was not noted for quicks. His testing wasn't quick nor fast. He was JAG in the NFL, really. Durability and pass-catching prowess helped him stay in the league. Plus, Saints and Payton.
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I meant more his running style than his athletic profile, though while Ingram wasn't a noted speed guy by any means, he was very quick through the hole. Decisive would probably be the word to describe it. Anyway, that's that I also see in Charbonnet, very decisive running style.

Its crazy to think Charbonnet lost the Michigan job to Hassan Haskins, who is the very definition of JAG.
 
Ministry of Pain said:
I have him slotted for the Miami Dolphins at 51
I'm unbiased of course
As of late February the Dolphins have exactly ZERO RBs under contract
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Demarco Murray was a 4th round pick after running a 4.41. I'd guess 2nd-4th round for Zach depending on how well he tests at the combine.

ETA: correction, 3rd rounder, 71st overall. Thx to JJ88 for catching that.
 
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Roger Craig was listed 6 foot and 225 which for 1984 was pretty darn big and that's who this guy reminds me of.
Craig didn't always break long runs, he got the yards that were made available and then some and this guy reminds me of him, has a few spin moves.
Craig is one of the all time greats and Charbonnet likely could never be the receiver that Craig was
But there are some similarities in their running styles and the way they bounce off guys.

Maybe he takes another step at the NFL level, sometimes guys improve, sometimes they stay about the same.
 
LawFitz said:
Ministry of Pain said:
I have him slotted for the Miami Dolphins at 51
I'm unbiased of course
As of late February the Dolphins have exactly ZERO RBs under contract
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Demarco Murray was a 4th round pick after running a 4.41. I'd guess 2nd-4th round for Zach depending on how well he tests at the combine.

ETA: correction, 3rd rounder, 71st overall. Thx to JJ88 for catching that.
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Great question for someone who may remember, why did Murray fall so far in the draft? That’s before NFL teams were discounting RBs so heavily. Murray’s college ypc was never great but his production was awesome at Oklahoma and he was a pass catching monster.
 
Zach Charbonnet NFL Draft 2023: Scouting Report for UCLA RB

Excerpt:

OVERALL

Zach Charbonnet is a thick, well-built back with much more to him than strength and power.

That said, Charbonnet's size and strength is the place to start. Fighting through arm tackles, bouncing off defenders and falling forward to gain extra yardage are core tenets of his game. Furthermore, Charbonnet has excellent coordination and balance to maximize that strength. He has a unique skill for being able to contort his body, minimize contact and come to balance when battling through tackling attempts. It's very difficult to bring him down with one guy or on the first attempt.

In terms of finesse and savvy, Charbonnet is a mixed bag. Behind the line of scrimmage, he shows good lateral ability for his size and can comfortably switch lanes. However, he can be too patient and antsy to find that "perfect" lane, resulting in slowing down his feet and losing momentum. He knows how to make himself skinny through tight rushing lanes, though, which is a plus. At the second level, Charbonnet plays to his size in a negative way, showing stiff hips and average explosiveness. He won't make many defenders straight-up miss.

What separates Charbonnet from other big backs are his speed and pass-catching skills. Despite being 220 pounds, he has good acceleration and top speed to win the edge. He can get to the perimeter, turn the corner and be off to the races with enough long speed to be a threat to rip off gains of 20, 30 or 40 yards. That's a rare skill for a big man. Additionally, Charbonnet shows great comfort in catching passes in the short area and picking up reliable yardage. He can't be split out at wide receiver or run many vertical routes, but he will be a major plus as a checkdown and quick game option.

Charbonnet offers almost everything you want from a starting NFL running back. His build, strength and rare balance point to a quality starting running back, and he's got more speed than most other backs his size save for the All-Pro types. Sprinkle in his pass-catching skills and it's not hard to see a real-deal NFL starter.

GRADE: 7.6 (Potential Impact Player, Round 2)

OVERALL RANK: 56

POSITION RANK: RB4

PRO COMPARISON: Najee Harris
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IHEARTFF said:
Will he be there at 1.6? About to get some more data.
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Who can know? Maybe by end of today we'll be able to get a little more clarity but stuff seems all over the board after the consensus top two. He is the current consensus RB3 but I'm just not sure we can get any kind of handle on this RB class until the draft is over. Today if anything probably trims the candidates a little at least. But I could easily see the current consensus RB3 or RB4 ending up as like RB11 and vice versa. To me more then anything it's what has made forecasting the first round out after the top few picks.

I get people like to trust their scouting acumen but if a RB you are not fond of is getting late second/early third round draft capital and one you really liked is a 5th round pick that has to matter, at least combined with comp they are entering into. Especially with picking them in this range.
 
menobrown said:
IHEARTFF said:
Will he be there at 1.6? About to get some more data.
Click to expand...
Who can know? Maybe by end of today we'll be able to get a little more clarity but stuff seems all over the board after the consensus top two. He is the current consensus RB3 but I'm just not sure we can get any kind of handle on this RB class until the draft is over. Today if anything probably trims the candidates a little at least. But I could easily see the current consensus RB3 or RB4 ending up as like RB11 and vice versa. To me more then anything it's what has made forecasting the first round out after the top few picks.

I get people like to trust their scouting acumen but if a RB you are not fond of is getting late second/early third round draft capital and one you really liked is a 5th round pick that has to matter, at least combined with comp they are entering into. Especially with picking them in this range.
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Yeah probably not. Really strong testing would help him, but I suppose draft will be even more important for these RBs.
 
IHEARTFF said:
Really strong testing would help him
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From what I've gathered he was not seen as someone who would test great and those are the kind of players that are helped the most by testing well so agree it would be a major boost to him and likely solidify his draft capital being high.

I don't know about everyone else but this year I'm more intrested in RB workouts then any other position and by a ton. Wish they had not chose to do them last.
 
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