10 interesting athletic comparisons for Rams in 2024 NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Rams have a very important draft coming up in April. With Aaron Donald retiring, but Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp still on the roster, the Rams will be looking to capitalize on the current window while also looking to build up the team for the future. After a strong 2023 draft, general manager Les Snead and co. will look to take that momentum into 2024’s class.

While film is the best tool when evaluating prospects, one popular form of athletic testing analysis has been the rise of RAS or Relative Athletic Score. Much like most analytics, RAS is a tool and is great when it comes to quantifying testing results. It’s not the end all be all with prospects, but is an easy to read tool and can be used to compare prospects and their athletic testing. Going through RAS’ database, here are the 10 most interesting athletic comparisons for the Rams.

1. DL Mekhi Wingo, LSU – Aaron Donald

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

There’s never going to be another Aaron Donald on the field, but from an athletic standpoint, Mekhi Wingo compares pretty closely. Both players are almost identical and size and when it comes to their explosiveness and initial quickness, they are also similar. Wingo and Donald had identical 10-yard splits in the 40-yard dash and their verticals were within half an inch of each other. Donald’s strength pops off in the bench press, but overall they compare well.

2. OT Amarius Mims – Andrew Whitworth

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

Simply based off of the athleticism in this draft class, this could end of being one of the all-time great tackle classes in NFL history. Olu Fashanu compares athletically to D’Brickashaw Ferguson and players like Tyler Guyton and Patrick Paul are athletically close to Jonathan Ogden. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see how that translates on the field, but the traits are encouraging. In this case, Mims compares well to Andrew Whitworth who had a lot of success on the blind side, especially with the Rams. Both were 6’7 and close to 340-pounds. The 10 and 20-yard splits are within milliseconds of each other and the broad jumps are almost identical. It’s worth noting that Taliese Fuaga also compares athletically to Whitworth.

3. LB Chop Robinson – Micah Parsons

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

Parsons has been one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL since being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and it’s clear to see why. Parsons was an insane athlete coming out of Penn State. With that said, there is another great athlete for the Nittany Lions who could be taken in the first round this year. That player is Chop Robinson. From a speed perspective, Robinson and Parsons are pretty close. While Parsons was faster in the 40, their 20-yard splits were within hundredths of a second of each other. Robinson’s 1.53-second 10-yard split was also faster than Parsons’ and his lateral movement was on display with a better shuttle.

4. WR Luke McCaffrey – Torry Holt

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

There’s a reason that Holt was a top-10 pick and McCaffrey will not be and that’s because of their play-making ability. However, looking at their athletic testing and measurables, they are very close. McCaffrey and Holt are both a similar size and the speed testing is almost identical. The 40-time is within two hundredths of each other and the 20-yard splits are the exact same. Again, there is a reason Holt ended up being the receiver that he did. This athletic comparison is interesting nonetheless.

5. OT Kingsley Suamataia – Greg Robinson

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

Not all athletic comparisons are good ones. The top RAS comparison for Kingsley Suamataia is Greg Robinson. Rams fans will know Robinson well as a former second overall pick that ended up as one of the biggest draft busts in franchise history. Like Robinson, Suamataia needs to improve his football, but it’s very clear that there is an athlete here. Both players tested at almost the same size and were within one rep of each other in the bench press. Their 10 and 20-yard splits are also almost identical along with their scores in the vertical and broad jump. This isn’t to say that Suamataia will end up like Robinson, but the comparison athletically is uncanny.

6. WR Adonai Mitchell – Julio Jones

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

Back in 2011, Les Snead was the director of player personnel for the Atlanta Falcons when they selected Julio Jones in the top-10. Adonai Mitchell and Jones are near athletic clones of each other. While Jones had more weight on him, their actual testing scores are very similar. The ran the same 40-time and both their broad and vertical jumps are within an inch. Mitchell may not go inside the top-10 like Jones did, but he could slip into the first-round. It will be interesting to see if the Texas wide receiver gives Snead some flashbacks of Jones.

7. CB Nate Wiggins – Champ Bailey

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

It would be a surprise to see the Rams take a cornerback in their first pick after signing both Tre White and Darious Williams. Still, if the player is right, it would have to be something that they could consider. With fewer players running the agility drills, a lot of these athletic comparisons are based on speed scores and size. That’s the case here with Nate Wiggins and Champ Bailey. The 40-yard dash times are identical as both ran a 4.28. Bailey does have 10-pounds on Wiggins, but their testing scores are pretty similar.

8. WR Xavier Legette – Andre Johnson

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Legette is nowhere near the same prospect that Andre Johnson was, but it is a good look at the athletic upside. The production wasn’t there for Legette at South Carolina until last year. However, once he got an opportunity, he took off. Legette and Johnson both test with similar 40-times with the South Carolina wide receiver running slightly fast. They are also very similar in size and had almost identical verticals. The Rams could target a wide receiver in round three and Legette would make a lot of sense as their “x” receiver.

9. OL Karsen Barnhart – Austin Corbett

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

The Rams met with Michigan’s Karsen Barnhart at the Wolverines pro day and it’s easy to see why. From an athletic standpoint, he compares very favorably to Austin Corbett who played right guard for Los Angeles from 2019 to 2021. Both players are pretty much identical in side at 6’4, 306-pounds. The 10 and 20-yard splits are also very close. Corbett tested slightly better in agility drills, especially in the shuttle, but in the 3-cone, both were similar. Barnhart will be a day three option to keep an eye on for the Rams as guard/tackle depth.

10. EDGE Javon Solomon – Ogbonnia Okoronkwo

Courtesy Kent Lee Platte (@mathbomb) | RAS Football

At some point the Rams will have to take an edge rusher in the draft. It’s possible that player is someone like Chop Robinson the first-round. However, if they wait, a player like Javon Solomon also makes some sense as a development guy with upside. Okoronkwo was an extremely explosive player for the Rams and you can see some of that explosiveness with Solomon in his vertical and broad jump scores. Both Solomon and Okoronkwo also each had same times in their 10-yard splits.