Athletic Profile
Height: 6003
Weight: 214
Arm Length: 32”
40 Time: 4.53
10 Yard Split: 1.54
Vertical: 37”
Broad Jump: 1002
Relative Athletic Score: 8.71
* Indicates Recorded At Pro Day
Statistics
2022: 1,358 YARDS / 14 TDs / 7.0 YPC / 4.15 YCO / 320 RECY
2021: 1,153 YARD / 13 TDs / 5.7 YPC / 3.50 YCO / 181 RECY
Pros
Contact Balance
Power
Efficient Running Style
Vision
Experience
Ability to get skinny through holes
Cons
Home Run Ability
Elusiveness
Limited Passing Game Work
Choppy Footwork
Summary
Zach Charbonnet is a big physical back who posted back to back 1,000 yard seasons after transferring in from Michigan. A player who some thought would declare last year returned to prove his 2021 season wasn’t a fluke. Charbonnet is a well built back who possesses exceptional power and leg drive. His no nonsense north-south style of running and the power he has in his lower half results in most carries ending with him falling forward and the pile coming with him. Nobody is ever going to confuse Charbonnet to be a particularly elusive back but his wiggle at his size often catches defenders flat footed. When paired with his power and excellent contact balance it makes him an extremely difficult tackle at the second level and in space. Charbonnet runs with solid pace and vision. He understands his limits and does not try to create horizontally where his lack of lateral mobility can hurt him. He runs with a downhill tilt and only needs a glimpse of daylight to put his head down and hit the hole. When Charbonnet is faced with early penetration or messy holes he uses a jump cut to switch lanes and disrupt flowing defenders. His experience really shines through on runs in between the tackles where he is extremely patient and lets his blocks develop. Charbonnet lacks the home run ability and elusiveness that many of the top backs in this class have. In the passing game this shows up in his route running which is subpar. Even though his hands are dependable as a check down option his passing game involvement was limited in college. A willing pass blocker when asked his lack of reps means his technique is very inconsistent and he tends to whiff easy blocks. Charbonnet has a lot of traits NFL teams will like when it comes to vision, balance and power, but his lack of explosiveness may hurt his overall ceiling. He should be able to step in Day 1 as the power back in a committee and thrive in early down work with his tackle breaking ability and leg drive. Those talents alone should make him a Day 2 pick and if his passing game involvement can develop at the next level he should be a quality starter even if he doesn’t light up the stopwatch.
Grade: 6.03 - Mid to Late Second Round Grade (Potential Starter)
Games Watched: LSU (2021), Utah (2021), Stanford (2022), Colorado (2022), USC (2022)
Pro Comp: D’Onta Foreman