RB, UCLA
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 220 lbs
Class: Senior
As a four-star recruit and the No. 46 overall prospect in the 2019 class, Charbonnet earned 25 offers. He committed to play for Michigan prior to his senior season and had an immediate impact for the Wolverines. As a true freshman in 2019 he led the team in both rushing yards (726) and touchdowns (11), earning Third Team All-Big Ten honours.
Charbonnet saw a substantially reduced workload the following season, leading to him entering the transfer portal ahead of the 2021 season. A California native, he made the decision to move closer to home and committed to UCLA. He has earned All-Pac-12 honours in each of his two seasons with the Bruins and was voted a First Team All-American in 2022.
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Strengths
Charbonnet offers the combination of size and speed that teams look for in a running back. At 6’1″ and 220 lbs he has the size to translate well to the NFL level. He boasts outstanding play strength as a ball carrier, which allows him to be hugely productive through traffic. That showed up in the stat sheet too, with Charbonnet averaging an incredible 6.6 yards per carry between the tackles in 2022. He is ideally suited to operating a gap scheme at the next level that can take advantage of his incredible power as a runner.
Whilst he is a bigger back, Charbonnet is also a deceptively quick runner. He has good straight line speed and is able to rip of big gains once he gets some daylight. He logged a 22.7% explosive run rate in 2022, which ranked third amongst all FBS backs and ahead of the likes of Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs. Charbonnet also showcases some good footwork around the line of scrimmage, with some nice lateral cuts to navigate blockers and find the open field.
What makes Charbonnet such an exciting prospect is his outstanding contact balance. He runs with great pad level and is able to easily absorb shots from defenders. You rarely see him go down on first contact, especially when he has been able to generate some build-up speed. His ability to seemingly pinball off would-be tacklers makes him a nightmare to bring down in space and is hugely important when projecting to the NFL. Charbonnet logged an impressive 52 forced missed tackles on his 194 carries in 2022.
Whilst he isn’t an exceptional receiver, Charbonnet can be a solid contributor on all three downs. His route tree remains fairly basic, but he is comfortable working as a checkdown option in the passing game, with the dynamism after the catch to create his own yardage. Charbonnet is also a solid pass blocker, with good core strength and tenacity to pick up additional rushers and keep his quarterback upright.
Weaknesses
The biggest weakness with Charbonnet’s game is his lack of fluidity and twitch as a runner. He is noticeably high hipped, with real stiffness to his running style. This limits his ability to quickly change direction, with a noticeable drop in momentum when making his cuts. It also limits his scheme versatility as he lacks the decisive cutting ability required in a wide zone scheme.
The other concern with Charbonnet’s game is his indecision at the line of scrimmage. Chip Kelly is excellent at scheming UCLA’s running game so this didn’t often cause issues, but when blocking was imperfect and Charbonnet was presented with a murky picture at the line of scrimmage he struggled to quickly analyse blocks and make decisions. For a player who isn’t overly twitchy or explosive in short areas, this is even more of a problem.
Bottom Line
Charbonnet is a tough and physical runner who possesses the ideal mix of size and explosiveness. He isn’t the most agile or decisive runner, but his outstanding record of production and ability to make an impact on all three downs is difficult to ignore.
Ideal role: Lead back in a gap-heavy scheme
Round projection: Late 2nd round
