Rookie Profile: Zach Charbonnet

Zach Charbonnet - RB - Michigan <TRANSFER> UCLA

NFL Draft Capital:

Seattle Seahawks Round 2 - 52nd Overall

Seattle Seahawks Twitter

Listed Measurables:

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 214 lbs

Arms: 32"

Hands: 9 7/8"

Draft Age: 22.2 Y/O

Early Declare: No

Breakout Age: 18.6

BMI: 29.0

2023 NFL Combine Grades:

40-Yard Dash: 4.53s

10-Yard Split: 1.54s

Vertical Jump: 37"

Broad Jump: 10’2” 

3 Cone Drill: N/A

20 Yd Shuttle: N/A

Bench Press: 18 Reps

Career Notes:

247 Sports

Zach Charbonnet was born and raised in the southern California area where he would not step foot onto a competitive football field until his first year of high school. The lack of experience as a youth would have no bearing on the budding athlete's development as Charbonnet would tally 4741 rushing yards and 62 total touchdowns while attending Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California.

Early dominance earned Charbonnet nationwide praise as he received an invite to the Under Armour All-American Game and a unanimous 5-star recruitment rating from 24/7 Sports, ESPN and Rivals.com.

After turning down several high-profile scholarship offers, Charbonnet would finally commit to the University of Michigan where he would spend two seasons before transferring to UCLA in order to be closer to his family. 

Accolades:

• Unanimous 5-Star Recruit (24/7, ESPN, Rivals)

• Michigan School Record for Most Touchdowns by a Freshman RB (11-2019)

• PAC-12 Newcomer of the Year Award (2021)

• Second-Team All-PAC (2021)

• First-Team All-PAC (2022)

• First-Team All-American (2022)

• Led NCAA with 168.0 All-Purpose Yards Per Game (2022)

Past Production/Collegiate Career:

Charbonnet would need surgery to repair an undisclosed injury to his knee shortly after arriving in Michigan. The freshman’s recovery time would keep him off the field for Michigan’s spring game campaigns but managed to meet his recovery deadline before the start of the 2019 season.

The lack of repetition within a new offense did nothing to stem the bruising runner’s impressive true freshman breakout as accumulated 99 scrimmage yards (90 RSH YDS/9 REC YDS) on only 10 touches (8 RSH/2 REC) in his first game for the program. The following week, Charbonnet handled 33 carries for 100 yards and 3 touchdowns, cementing himself as one of the nation’s top young superstars. He totaled 99 yards, 90 rushing yards on eight carries and nine receiving yards on two receptions.

Charbonnet wrapped up his inaugural collegiate season with 726 rushing yards on 149 carries (4.9 YPC) while setting a school record for most touchdowns as a freshman with 11.

In 2020, as a sophomore, Charbonnet would suit up for only five games in a year shortened by Covid-19. The second-year Michigan running back handled 19 carries for 124 yards (6.5 YPC) and one touchdown, ultimately conceding his spot atop the depth chart to rising star Blake Corum and soon-to-be new recruit Donovan Edwards.

Michigan’s stacked running back room and the desire to be closer to his family forced Charbonnet into the transfer portal where he would quickly commit to UCLA.

The new UCLA commit was not awarded the starting role immediately, despite dominating touches at Michigan as a freshman. Charbonnet split duties with Brittain Brown in an unfamiliar running-back-by-committee offense. The former Michigan standout would be thrust into a three-down workload after Brown went down with a season-ending injury. The untimely injury to his backfield partner allowed Charbonnet to break through in his Junior year, rushing for 1137 yards on 203 carries (5.6 YPC) and 13 touchdowns while adding a complimentary 24 receptions for 197 yards (8.2 YPR).

Although Charbonnet warranted plenty of 2022 NFL Draft, he would elect to return to UCLA for his senior season. That choice would prove to be an excellent business decision as Charbonnett’s final collegiate season was amongst the best of any prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft class. The thumping hulkster completed his senior campaign with 1359 rushing yards on 195 attempts for an absurd average of 7.0 YPC while setting career highs in both receptions (37) and receiving yards (327). Charbonnet would be recognized with First-Team All-PAC and First-Team All-American Honors after leading the nation with 168.0 scrimmage yards per game, marking the 8th-highest total in UCLA program history.

After 4 seasons at Michigan (2) and UCLA (2), Charbonnet declared for the 2023 NFL Draft where he is expected to be selected within the first two rounds.

Stats to Know:

LastWordOnSports

• Averaged 3.8 Yards After Contact per attempt with a cumulative Yards After Contact total of 1954 yards.

• Boasts a 117.5 Elusive Rating per PFF, exhibiting plus agility despite his prototypical power-runner label.

• Generated 149.0 total missed tackles.

• Accumulated 48 Rush Attempts of 20 yards or more across four seasons in the NCAA.

• Led NCAA with 168.0 scrimmage yards per game in 2022.

2019 Stats:

7 GP

149 CAR

30.4% RSH Share

726 YDS (11 TD)

4.9 YPC

36.8% RSH YDS Share

0.80 RSH YDS/TA

8 REC

3.5% REC Share

15 TGT

3.7% TGT Share

30 YDS (0 TD)

0.07 RY/TPA 

0.9% REC YDS Share

3.8 YPR

0.0% REC TD Share

157 Touches

756 Scrimmage Yards (11 Total TD)

4.8 YPT

19.5% Total OFF. YDS Share

14.4% Total OFF. TDS Share

58.1 Scrimmage YPG

2020 Stats:

5 GP

19 CAR

11.1% RSH Share

124 YDS (1 TD)

6.5 YPC

15.7% RSH YDS Share

0.32 RSH YDS/TA

6 REC

4.8% REC Share

7 TGT

3.8% TGT Share

41 YDS (0 TD)

0.19 RY/TPA 

2.7% REC YDS Share

6.8 YPR

0.0% REC TD Share

25 Touches

165 Scrimmage Yards (1 Total TD)

7.1% Total OFF. YDS Share

4.7% Total OFF. TDS Share

6.6 YPT

33.0 Scrimmage YPG

2021 Stats:

12 GP

203 CAR

40.4% RSH Share

1137 YDS (13 TD)

5.6 YPC

42.9% RSH YDS Share

1.39 RSH YDS/TA

24 REC

11.5% REC Share

25 TGT

9.3% TGT Share

197 YDS (0 TD)

0.59 RY/TPA 

7.2% REC YDS Share

8.2 YPR

0.0% REC TD Share

227 Touches

1334 Scrimmage Yards (13 Total TD)

25.0% Total OFF. YDS Share

24.1% Total OFF. TDS Share

5.9 YPT

111.2 Scrimmage YPG

2022 Stats:

10 GP

195 CAR

38.9% RSH Share

1359 YDS (14 TD)

7.0 YPC

43.6% RSH YDS Share

1.47 RSH YDS/TA

37 REC

12.6% REC Share

44 TGT

11.2% TGT Share

321 YDS (0 TD)

0.76 RY/TPA 

9.2% REC YDS Share

8.7 YPR

0.0% REC TD Share

232 Touches

1680 Scrimmage Yards (14 Total TD)

25.5% Total OFF. YDS Share

21.5% Total OFF. TDS Share

7.2 YPT

168.0 Scrimmage YPG

Collegiate Career Totals:

Senior Bowl

40 GP

566 RSH

30.2% RSH Share

3346 YDS (39 TD)

5.9 YPC

75 REC

91 TGT

7.0% TGT Share

1212 YDS (0 TD)

7.9 YPR

0.8 YPRR

617 Routes

7.1% Slot Rate

6.3% Wide Rate

641 Touches

3935 Scrimmage Yards (39 Total TD)

6.1 YPT

98.37 YPG

117.5 Elusive Rating

Collegiate Career Bests:

10 GP

195 CAR

38.9% RSH Share

1359 YDS (14 TD)

7.0 YPC

43.6% RSH YDS Share

1.47 RSH YDS/TA

37 REC

12.6% REC Share

44 TGT

11.2% TGT Share

321 YDS (0 TD)

0.76 RY/TPA 

9.2% REC YDS Share

8.7 YPR

0.0% REC TD Share

232 Touches

1680 Scrimmage Yards (14 Total TD)

25.5% Total OFF. YDS Share

21.5% Total OFF. TDS Share

7.2 YPT

168.0 Scrimmage YPG

Scouting Report:

NFL Draft Grade: 6.23 (Will Eventually Be Average Starter)

Next-Gen Draft Grade: 82 (Good)

Scouting Strengths:

247 Sports

• Big, Thick, Mean, and Quick.

• Has the prototypical size and skill set of a 3-down grinder.

• Very patient runner that allows his blocks to develop, making life easy in the run game.

• Deceptive speed along the sidelines.

• Downfield north/south runner with a nose for bursting through contact and tight lanes at the line of scrimmage.

• Can evade defenders one play and run through them the next.

• Rarely fumbles. Incredible ball security.

• Can work between the tackles or outside in a zone-blocking scheme.

• You better bring an army to take him down. Solo tackles will not get the job done.

• If you need one yard, he’ll get you six.

• Demonstrated positive upside with an improved receiving profile in every season.

Scouting Weaknesses:

• Loses forward momentum when changing direction. 

• Likes to dance at the line of scrimmage but doesn’t possess the elite lateral footwork necessary to make that a reliable part of his process.

• Runs upright at times, sacrificing acceleration through the hole.

• Slightly weaker pass blocker despite his physicality.

• Limited route tree with a career aDOT in the negatives.

• Does not possess elite lateral agility.

• Struggled with some drop issues while at Michigan but steadily improved as a receiver at UCLA.

• Knee Injuries.

Top NFL Player Comparisons:

Daily News

J.K. Dobbins

Josh Kelley

AJ Dillon

Darrell Henderson

Joe Mixon

Kareem Hunt

James Conner

Melvin Gordon

Doug Martin

Demarco Murray

Marshawn Lynch

Deuce McCallister

Future NFL/Fantasy Outlook: 

Charbonnet’s 2023 NFL Draft stock was certainly on the rise after his stellar senior year at UCLA. He has the ideal size and athleticism to fit into any offensive system as the lead-back. Landing with the Seahawks in the second round makes Charbonnet’s path to an immediate three down workload difficult as he will surely open the season behind second-year star Kenneth Walker III. 

Charbonnet has a decent receiving pedigree and elite pass-blocking skills, making him a fixture on third downs where Walker has struggled. If Charbonnet is left alone in the backfield he has the ability to be a true game-changer on fantasy rosters with rushing production alone.

Charbonnet falling to the mid-2nd round of the 2023 NFL Draft boosted an already promising dynasty profile with decent draft capital despite a perceivably poor landing spot.

The former Michigan and UCLA star has the potential to develop into a complete 3-down back at the pro level but will need to supersede Walker in order to meet his 1st-round price tag in upcoming dynasty rookie drafts.

Much respect, thank you for reading. If you have any continued thoughts and would like to share, I am always available for an open conversation on Twitter: @PsychWardFF or Instagram: @psychwardff.

You can find my other works as the Lead Writer and DOC at BRoto Fantasy Football.

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By Matt Ward