The Arizona Cardinals Improve Their Offensive Line With OG Jonathan Cooper

June 25, 2013 by

The Arizona Cardinals have not excited me with their recent drafts.  Their best offseason move was to bring in Bruce Arians, to be Head Coach as he will likely be a tremendous benefit to the offense.  There is a reason he has the nickname of Wide Receiver Whisperer.

While the Arizona Cardinals did not take advantage of the abundance of arbitrage opportunities in the 2013 NFL Draft, they did have a solid selection worth mentioning.  First, the value of the position of this player relative to where he was selected is for another article.  I am not grading where the player was, but the quality of a player for his position and long term value.  OG Jonathan Cooper has the analytical profile of a guard that will be starting for many years.  One of his non-modified metrics meets the thresholds you would want in a good OT or DE, but he will be doing it from the Guard position.  The fact that they have a guard that will be a very good player at his position is worth noting.  Again, positional value of offensive guard is worth an analytical study.

Filed Under: Arizona Cardinals, Football Analytics, Head Coaches (HC), NFL Draft, Offensive Guards (OG)

The Buffalo Bills, Moneyball, And WR Robert Woods

June 24, 2013 by

Bill President, Russ Brandon, declared that the Buffalo Bills would be a Moneyball organization.  While the 2013 NFL Draft was not a strong indication of that direction by their scouting department, the Buffalo Bills did take a very solid wide receiver prospect in Robert Woods.

WR Robert Woods was taken 41 overall in the second round out of Southern California.  Despite playing across from one of the more highly touted wide receivers in the nation in Marquise Lee, he put up good reliance and production analytical scores, both which suggest that he is a very small risk for failure.  At the wide receiver position, he was probably one of the safest plays if you were looking for a long term starter.   Interestingly enough, his comparative analysis also shows something very unique about him, but that will be left as a mystery to you for now.  What isn’t a mystery is that WR Robert Woods analytical profile shows he was a good selection by the Buffalo Bills.

Filed Under: Buffalo Bills, Football Analytics, NFL Draft, Scouting Department, Wide Receivers (WR)

The Kansas City Chiefs, TE Travis Kelce, And Deja Vu

June 23, 2013 by

The Kansas City Chiefs selected TE Travis Kelce with the pick number 63 overall in the 3rd round of the 2013 NFL Draft.  So why images of deja vu and groundhog day?  Well, it all traces back to his comparative analytics profile and on the other end of it is TE Tony Moeaki, currently also on the Kansas City Chiefs roster as a 2010 draft selection in the 3rd round.

Tony Moeaki has battled injury throughout his career, including missing the entire 2011 season.  Travis Kelce steps in as a younger, longer term viable option at Tight End and an insurance policy if Moeaki is not ready for training camp.  It was a good selection by the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2013 NFL Draft for the short and long term.

Filed Under: Football Analytics, Kansas City Chiefs, NFL Draft, Tight Ends (TE)

Who Is WR Tobais Palmer Of The Jacksonville Jaguars?

June 22, 2013 by

While the Jacksonville Jaguars selection of CB Dwayne Gratz was solid, it was the signing of WR Tobais Palmer as an undrafted free agent that was intriguing.  Tobais Palmer is a wide receiver out of North Carolina State that brings an intriguing skill set as an undrafted player.

Besides the obvious measure of speed, Tobais Palmer scored well in the reliance and production metrics at wide receiver.  He also gets a boost due to what he can provide as a kick returner.  He was not a punt returner in college, but may be worth a look at the position as well.  He has the analytical profile to be able to stick on a roster despite going undrafted.  He is certainly an arbitrage signing based on his profile makeup, and should push for playing time down the line as he develops.  While he develops, he can provide special teams value.

Filed Under: Cornerbacks (CB), Football Analytics, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kick Returners (KR), NFL Draft, Punt Returners (PR), Wide Receivers (WR)

The San Francisco 49ers And The Selection Of Quinton Patton

June 21, 2013 by

WR Quinton Patton arrived in San Francisco after buying his own ticket to fly from Nashville.  Had he actually arrived and entered the team facility too soon, he would have forfeited his rights to participate at rookie minicamp.  Despite demonstrating such an enthusiasm to get started, it was only the starting point to the question: what is his picture for long term success?

And this wide receiver out of Louisiana Tech, WR Quinton Patton has a good analytical profile for success.  This included a strong reliance metric score as well as a strong production metric score.  Meanwhile, 2012 draft pick WR A.J. Jenkins had an analytical profile with much higher risk for long term success despite stronger physical measures when he entered the league.  NFL Data Consultants predicts that WR Quinton Patton will become a better wide receiver prospect than first round pick WR A.J. Jenkins.

Filed Under: Football Analytics, NFL Draft, San Francisco 49ers, Wide Receivers (WR)