Audric Estimé Draft Profile | Notre Dame, RB Scouting Report

He got off to an incredibly hot start in 2023. But how does Notre Dame RB Audric Estimé project to the NFL as a 2024 NFL Draft prospect? Let’s take a closer look at his game film and make that discernment ourselves.

Audric Estimé Draft Profile and Measurements

• Height: 5’11”
• Weight: 227 pounds
• Position: Running Back
• School: Notre Dame
• Current Year: Junior

Estimé is a physical presence to behold. That was the case as early as his high school days when he was a 215-pound senior who ran for 10.5 yards per carry. The four-star Estimé signed with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish out of St. Joseph Regional, and it didn’t take him long to make an impact in South Bend.

Estimé played sparingly as a true freshman in 2021, but in 2022, Kyren Williams made the leap to the NFL, and Estimé was left as the lead back in his stead. Estimé racked up 920 yards and 11 touchdowns on 156 carries while sharing touches with Chris Tyree. He also caught nine passes for 135 yards and a score.

He’s a proven and productive back. He’s been very efficient with his receiving opportunities and rushing volume. And now, as the 2023 season plays out, Estimé is quickly rising up the 2024 NFL Draft board. As he continues to produce, it’s time to look at where he might ultimately end up.

Audric Estimé Scouting Report

Strengths

• Bowling ball of a back at 227 pounds, with overwhelming mass, density, and leg churn.
• Can use his frame and smooth weight redistributions to shrug off direct contact.
• Forward-charging broken-tackle machine with high-level balance and aggression.
• Uses his dense midsection to absorb direct hits and stay on his feet.
• Incredibly instinctive at recollecting his feet amidst contact and re-accelerating.
• Shows off eye-catching explosiveness and accelerative capacity upon entering space.
• Possesses enough flexibility to bend upfield and sustain acceleration moving vertically.
• Flashes good one-cut agility behind the line of scrimmage for his size.
• Has the strength to pry through solo tackles and drive his legs vertically.
• Shows good patience and discipline between the tackles, following blockers closely.
• Possesses the baseline interior vision to snake through lanes with lateral adjustments.
• Has the instincts to plant outside, then redirect inside to tug defenders off-course.
• Can roll his shoulders to evade early contact threats and slide to outside gaps to adapt.
• Flashes excellent body control and focus as a receiver catching away from his frame.
• Physical pass blocker who lowers his shoulder into contact.

Weaknesses

• At times, can make better use of stride variations and split steps ahead of the line.
• Sometimes careens into blockers and doesn’t use tempo variations to manage space.
• At times, lacks full-field vision, and fails to recognize wide open spaces outside.
• Sometimes fails to trigger ideal backside C-gap opportunities on inside zone runs.
• Overall, not a natural improviser when the middle of the line is clogged up.
• Hips are a bit stiff, which can cause slight re-acceleration delays after sharp cuts.
• Largely a vertically-oriented runner who lacks high-end change-of-direction.
• Slight hip stiffness limits his ability to stack cuts and direction changes in succession.
• Sometimes runs with his pad level too high, sapping at initial acceleration through gaps.
• Lacks true breakaway speed, and can be run down by defenders with superior range.
• Generally has sturdy ball carriage, but can be prone to peanut punches in space

Current Draft Projection and Summary

Currently, Audric Estimé grades out as a late Day 2 prospect on my 2024 NFL Draft board, who could fall to the early-to-mid Day 3 range on account of positional value. RB capital, in particular, can be difficult to decipher past the top few targets. The important thing to remember is this: Estimé grades out as a safely draftable prospect, who has an easily projectable role in the NFL.

Estimé does have limitations that constrict his projected versatility. His hips are a bit stiff, and he’s not incredibly free-flowing as a lateral mover. He also lacks elite foot speed and recalibration quickness, nor does he have exceptional creative instincts behind the line of scrimmage.

MORE: Top RBs in the 2024 NFL Draft

Estimé, instead, wins as a reliable volume back with great explosiveness, good speed, good layered vision on the interior, passable one-cut agility, and an overwhelming physical profile that features dominating play strength, density, physicality, and hyper-elite contact balance.

With his solid processing ability, vision, patience, and discipline between the tackles, Estimé can find lanes through which to chisel upfield with his fleet-footed burst and savvy hip adjustments. And once he encounters contact, he has the strength, leg churn, and contact balance to break through and finish forward on runs.

Give Estimé a good offensive line, and he has the tools to be a David Montgomery-type of yardage generator, who can keep the chains moving when his team has a positive game script. As a bonus, Estimé is quietly a solid receiver for his size and an able, willing pass blocker. The 20-year-old is well worth a mid-round pick, and if he continues on his current trajectory, Day 2 capital is possible.