PHILADELPHIA — To no surprise within the industry, the Eagles were rated as the second-best team in the NFL in “Relative Athleticism Score.”
Kent Lee Pratt, a self-proclaimed math geek, created the RAS to evaluate current prospects not only against each other but also against past prospects, in an attempt to identify trends in terms of position on athletic testing that are most predictive of success at the NFL level.
The Eagles are one of the more analytics-heavy teams that have been doing behind-the-scenes research for years to gain potential advantages, and Alec Halaby, one of the team’s two assistant general managers, has a background in analytics.
A Harvard University graduate, Halaby began his NFL career as an intern in the Eagles’ football operations department and gradually worked his way up to vice president of football operations and strategy and ultimately assistant general manager, where he focused on player evaluation, roster management and resource allocation, with a particular emphasis on integrating traditional and analytical methods in decision-making.
When Andy Weidle left for Pittsburgh in 2022 (more on him later), Halaby was promoted to assistant GM.
Behind the scenes, executives like Mr. Halaby have been using the same information that Mr. Pratt has been sharing with the public.
One example is University of Toledo cornerback Quinion Mitchell, who the Eagles selected 22nd overall in April’s draft, who had a RAS of 9.75.
Mitchell was ranked first among cornerbacks in the 40-yard dash (4.33) and 10- and 20-yard dash times (1.54 and 2.52, respectively). He also led the way in vertical jump (38 inches) and bench press (20 reps at 225 pounds).
Mitchell’s size (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) was deemed “good,” as was his broad jump of 10 feet. Overall, he tested 56th out of 2,222 cornerbacks from 1987-2024, comfortably in the top 3% for a large sample size.
In the grand scheme of things, if Mitchell fails as an NFL player, it will likely have little to do with his athleticism.
The Eagles’ offseason roster has a RAS of 8.00, second only to Indianapolis’ 8.39. The third-best team is the New York Jets, fourth is Jacksonville, fifth is the New York Giants and eighth is Pittsburgh.
What’s interesting is that each of the top 10 teams has a connection to the “Philadelphia way”: The Colts’ head coach is former Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen, Jets general manager Joe Douglas was Philadelphia’s vice president of player personnel from 2016-2019, and former Eagles head coach Doug Pederson now takes the reins on the field for the Jaguars.
The Giants’ assistant GM is Brandon Brown, who previously ran the Eagles’ pro scouting department, while the Steelers’ assistant GM is Weidle, who succeeded Douglas as Philadelphia’s vice president of player personnel.
Of course, finding them takes more than just picking the best athletes (two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City is currently 13th in RAS and trending upwards), and other teams considered powerhouses or playoff contenders rank even lower (Baltimore is 19th, San Francisco 23rd, Houston 26th, Buffalo 29th, Cincinnati 30th and the LA Rams are last at 32nd).
The Eagles are one of the teams that successfully combines analytical data with traditional scouting techniques, and that foundation has helped them build one of the best roster positions in the NFL.
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