It takes three years to evaluate a draft class, but those picks will always be set in stone. Regardless of talent, it’s been shown that first-round picks will get larger free agent contracts and have longer careers simply due to their draft status, so let’s do a re-draft that recognizes this. Instead of switching around […]
Does College Sack Production Matter to NFL Success?
Georgia defensive end Travon Walker has been one of the late risers of the NFL Draft cycle. As tracked by NFL Mock Draft Database, the former five-star prospect was expected to be available in the second round as recently as New Years, but a strong CFP Championship game started an ascension that now may make […]
How is Risk Calculated in NFL Player Acquisition?
In the NFL, there are two main resources you can allocate to acquire players: salary cap dollars and draft picks. Both are finite, meaning that every team starts with the same salary cap and same number of draft picks. As we touched on earlier this week, the decision to draft, trade for, or sign a […]
Risk vs. Reward in the First Wave of 2022 NFL Free Agency
There is one word that matters above all else when it comes to building an NFL roster: value. With the league ruled by the salary cap, each team has (roughly) the same amount to spend on its roster. The goal of each team is to outcompete and outlast their opponents while bidding and drafting from […]
Evaluating the Evaluators: An Opportunity to Find Productive Players
When a new head coach and/or GM is hired to an NFL team, one of their first responsibilities is assessing the roster they’ve been given. Going position by position, they must decide which players and contracts can provide the immediate impact or have the development potential to one day contribute to the team. Furthermore, many […]
NFL Combine Wrap Up: Who is Rising? Who Surprised? And Who Solidified Their Stock?
The NFL Combine is in the books, and it proved to be the fastest Combine in the books. After a year off due to the pandemic, the NFL hosted the Combine in prime time for the first time ever. Members of The 33rd Team were in attendance for the Combine all week, and we bring […]
Deep Dive: The Background of Successful NFL Head Coaches
Since 2002, we’ve seen 130 different men given the full-time opportunity to lead an NFL team from the sidelines. With a trio (John Fox, Mike Mularkey and Lovie Smith) hosting three distinct tenures, and another 25 receiving two, there have been 159 total head coaching tenures over that span, counting the pre-2002 hires that extended […]
3 Non-Obvious Things that Made the Rams Champions
Veritable tomes of analysis have been crafted on how the Los Angeles Rams built their first league champion of the century. We’ve heard about the daring Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, and Von Miller trades, the underrated Eric Weddle and OBJ additions, and the Cooper Kupp-sized hole that Sean McVay blew into the Bengals. However, the […]
The Stats That Will Define Super Bowl LVI
It’s almost here! Here are some of the stats that Rams and Bengals coaches will be studying in the next few days in order to find any possible advantage. OFFENSE Tendencies: LAR: 84.5% in 11 personnel (1st), 49.1% run on 1st Down (18th), 45.9% in Bunch Sets (3rd) CIN: 76.7% in 11 personnel (2nd), 51.8% […]
Why NFL Evaluators Love Christian Watson
As many receiving yards per route run as Jerry Jeudy. A higher yards per carry than Travis Etienne. More yards per kick return than Devin Hester. Christian Watson has seemingly come out of nowhere to impress at the Senior Bowl, but the tape has been selling this story for years. Let’s take a deeper dive […]
