Audric Estime scouting report: Exploring Notre Dame RB's strengths and weaknesses

A four-star recruit of 2021, Audric Estime started off his Notre Dame career in a rather tepid fashion. He only carried the ball seven times for 60 yards as a true freshman.

In his second year, he turned 165 touches into 1055 yards and 12 TDs. Yet this past season was when he was named second-team All-American for turning 210 carries and 17 catches into a combined 1483 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Breaking down Audric Estime scouting report

NFL Combine

Strengths

• Urgently approaches the line of scrimmage and consistently produces positive yardage
• Can make subtle adjustments to tightly work around an engaged blocker pretty well for a big back
• Does well to press the crease between double-teams on duo and lure force-defenders inside to open up bounce opportunities for himself
• Shows good flexibility to step around bodies without really getting off track
• Utilizes pulling linemen well, guiding them with his off-arm and staying tight behind them, rather than just taking the immediate open space
• For a big back, Estime has good feet to navigate around players
• Shows the balance to slide or spin off tacklers with regularity
• Does well to not get tripped up with defenders around his legs and consistently runs for YAC
• Slides over the top of bodies and stretches forward for the first down on short-yardage situations
• Nearly unstoppable when he smells the end zone
• Carries the ball high and tight whilst switching hands when he has space to operate. Didn’t fumble once this past season across 227 touches, after putting the ball on the ground three times the previous year
• Surprises with his pull-away speed
• Uses his off-arm pretty well to swipe down the reach of defenders trying to hold him up as he blows by them
• Estime averaged 4.27 yards after contact last season (13th among FBS running backs with 100+ carries) and was tied for the fifth-most carries of 15+ yards
• Has respectable receiving chops and was able to deal with little checkdown passes
• Frequently targets and drops the pads emphatically after turning up the field, powering ahead for a couple of extra yards instead of trying to dance and make guys miss (playing to his strengths)
• Closes space on blitzers and lifts from below to stand them up. If he times up his strike a little better, he could become a very effective pass-protector
• Patient with sliding in front and not lunging against guys rushing from the slot or looping around the edge
• Received the highest grade for an FBS running back who declared for the 2024 NFL Draft (94.2) by Pro Football Focus

Weaknesses

• If he can’t build up momentum, there’s nothing really special about Estime in terms of being able to create or bounce off people
• Lacks the twitch in condensed space or the ability to change up his footwork on the fly to manipulate defenders
• Not nearly as comfortable making decisions with blockers out in space on toss or screen plays, too often hesitating and getting chopped down for limited yardage
• Doesn’t offer much creativity as a ball carrier when he gets through the line of scrimmage or to the open field, while lacking that top gear to stride away from the defense
• Tends to overextend in pass-pro and savvy blitzing linebackers can make him whiff for it.

Audric Estime's draft projection

Estime tested poorly at the combine. He ran the slowest 40-yard dash time among all RBs (4.71s), despite top-five marks in both the jumps. He also had a rough field workout, where his feet hit the bags a couple of times.

While I think he’s better than A.J. Dillon was coming out of Boston College, he does give off the same vibes. There’s more nuance to Estime when it comes to adjustments to his footwork to set up and get through creases, but I still look at both as very much linear athletes.

If he can work on not overextending as a pass-protector, he can be a useful player in that capacity as well as an early-down and short-yardage runner. I just don’t see him ever becoming someone in a featured capacity.

Grade: Early fifth round