In the past, I have written about Ted Thompson and Brian Gutenkunst's connection with RAS and their draft picks (you can find those articles here). So I recently had the idea to go further back in time and investigate Ted Thompson's mentor and NFL Hall of Fame GM Ron Wolf.

Editors's Note: This is a guest post by Brian, who helped us out with some NFL Draft profiles this year and wanted to take a shot at writing a different type of post.

Thompson and Gutey are both descendents of the Ron Wolf General Manager Tree. Wolf’s reign with the Packers was from 1991-2000, a time when workout data/combine information was sparse at best and even now, hard to find publicly. With that being said, Kent Lee Platte (the creator of RAS) has done a great job of pulling together whatever he could find and generating some RAS scores from that era.

During that time, Wolf selected 102 players in the draft. Of those 102 there are only 59 publically known RAS scores. It would be great to have more, but it is what it is, as the ol' gunslinger liked to say. Despite the lack of volumes of data, there is still some interesting information that can be gleaned from the RAS scores that Platte was able to compile.

One item lacking is the existence of many 3-cone drill times, which is something the Packers seem to prioritize with their draft picks. Also it sholuld be noted at that time there were few combine workout/preparation facilities which many players now go to in an attempt to better their scores. This is a phenomenom that exploded mostly within the last decade. Most players back in the 90s just worked out on their own, if at all, to prep for the combine. It's easy to assume that if these facilities existed back then, the result would have been much better combine/RAS scores. With all that being said, let’s get on to the numbers.

Below is the average RAS scores at each position Wolf drafted players. In parentheses you will find combined averages for Ted Thompson/Brian Gutekunst draft picks to compare.

Quarterbacks: 6.21 (7.67)

Running backs:  7.99 (7.37)

Tight Ends: 2.64 (6.1)

Offensive line: 5.38 (8)

Wide Receiver: 6.4 (8)

Defensive Line: 7.6 (7.61)

Edge: 6.33 (8.2)

Linebacker: 5.8 (6.33)

Defensive back: 7.15 (7.72)

Comparing the numbers, you can see a number of similarities. Quarterback, running back, defensive line, linebacker, and defensive back RAS scores are all similar., especially accounting for the advanced prepration and training players now do.They show how the Packers prioritize athleticism at certain positions (qb, rb, db, dl) and not at others(linebacker).

At first glace, it would seem Wolf did not prioritize athletes as edge players (6.33 RAS), but upon closer examination, he actually did. There are only RAS scores available on five edge defenders from all of Wolf's drafts. One player was JJ Wierenga who was drafted in 1991 in the 11^th round (what would be considered a UDFA now). He posted a RAS score of 2.02, which brought down the overall average score.  If you eliminate his score,  the average goes up to a very respectable 7.4.  In addition, you have Jamal Reynolds, a very good athlete coming out of Florida State who ran a 4.68 40 but does not have a RAS score. A full RAS score on Reynolds would have surely brought that number up some more.

Tight end is an interesting exception, although there are RAS scores on only two tight ends drafted by Wolf so the numthe average goes up to a 6.06 which is still not great. What I think it does show is the change in the NFL offenses in the 2000’s. The run game and physicality was de-emphasized while the passing game and athleticism became way more important. You can see those trends developing in  Wolf’s later drafts. Some of those early tackles drafted would end up as guards in the NFL today.

In summary, there does seem to be some level of connection starting with Wolf and continuing with Gutekunstwith regards to  positional value and athletic value by position. Still, everything evolves over time and there have been some obvious changes in how Gutey drafts. For example, Wolf and Thompson had a steadfast rule on not drafting defensive backs under 5’10 ½. Gutekunst has now drafted two corners under 5’10 ½(Alexander and Jean-Charles). Also, TT and Gutey like drafting college tackles and moving them to guard, something Wolf did not do. But overall, the Packers still follow a lot of the same rules and standards established by Wolf. This shows his fingerprints are still all over this organization a full 21 years after his retirement.