Carnegie Mellon analytics helping shape NFL draft decisions
With the NFL draft so close, this is the home stretch for football teams putting together their draft boards. It's decisions that can make teams Super Bowl contenders or set them back for years.
With all the setup on the North Shore and Point State Park, you almost forget that the purpose of the NFL draft is to get players who will be part of a team's future.
And with technology used in just about every facet of everyday life, it's also changing how NFL teams look at athletes. Some of that development happens at Carnegie Mellon University.
Before any future stars hear their names called, they put together a resume of game film, combine drills, and pro days. For years, scouts relied on their skills to find the right players. As we get more data from players, there are more tools at a scout's disposal.
"You can have athletes that might look amazing at the combine, but what's going on within the game," Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center Dr. Ron Yurko said.
He said data can show traits and abilities players show that don't always pop out in drills. This data can include in-game speed and shiftiness, the angle of a player's arm when throwing a ball, and the impact on a play.
"These are concepts that scouts and coaches would be looking at before, but now we can directly and objectively measure them based on data," Dr. Yurko said.
With chips in players' pads at the NFL level and artificial intelligence programs that follow players in college game film, data shows what may be missed in film or box scores.
"This allows us to measure new aspects of players that we didn't have before in traditional box score stats, knowing which type of defenders are slowing down the ball carrier but didn't get credited with a tackle before," Dr. Yurko said while showing KDKA-TV how a simple play can reveal data on a player.
This data has developed so much over the last decade that Dr. Yurko says it's changed the way teams draft. While quarterbacks are always a priority, running backs have been devalued in exchange for pass rushers.
"Someone like Derrick Henry is a massive running back. You won't see someone like that probably playing running back in the future. They will be an edge rusher," Dr. Yurko said.
CMU has had graduates work for teams and analyze data. They have also been consulted by teams across several sports leagues to put data to its best use. Moving forward, data could be used to prevent injuries and help with recovery.
"See what's meaningful at the NFL level. See if we can track it at the college level to identify the best type of prospects we need to be drafting," Dr. Yurko said.
This data and analysis help determine what players excel at and the traits that fit their system. For each team, that differs based on the coaches and their styles for offense and defense.
