Combine SPARQ Scores

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dead_poet
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Combine SPARQ Scores

Post by dead_poet »

SPARQ is an athleticism metric that was developed by Nike and subsequently adopted by current Seattle Seahawks management in their player evaluation process. It’s a way of understanding in simple terms how a given player compares athletically relative to their peers, both in their draft class and on a league-wide basis.

Terms to know:

pSPARQ – The SPARQ formula isn’t published, but there’s a significant data set available from SPARQ high school camps. From this data, I back-calculated a formula that’s very close to SPARQ. I then worked to keep the SPARQ weighting the same while applying the tests that we use for NFL athletes. The eight inputs for my metric, pSPARQ, are as follows: player weight, bench press, broad jump, vertical jump, forty-yard dash, ten-yard split, short shuttle and 3-cone (L) drill.

simScore – This is a measure of how a given player compares to another using a SPARQ-based similarity algorithm. As far as I know, the idea of similarity scores is originally credited to Bill James, a pioneer in baseball sabermetrics. With my metric, a simScore of 60 shows a vague similarity, 80 represents a significant match, and 90 is a near-exact result.

Z-Score of 0 is an average NFL athlete of that position.

Z-Scores are based on positional averages. So that means that a Z-Score for a wide receiver is comparable to another wide receiver, but you can't compare a Z-score of WR with a RB, because each position has different SPARQ averages. Also it's better to compare players to other players of their own position or else it's meaningless because each position does something different. For example a lineman not being as athletic as a wide receiver is normal because their job is obviously different.

This profile is based on the following metrics: WT, 40 yard dash, Bench Press, Vertical Leap, and 20 yard shuttle. Also the scores above are of players who participated in the 5 exercises. I can't generate a score if they're missing one them.

...via http://www.rotoworld.com/articles/nfl/5 ... thleticism

2016:

Wide receivers: http://3sigmaathlete.com/rankings/wr/

Defensive linemen: http://3sigmaathlete.com/rankings/dl/

Doctson is #1. Several are incomplete due to choosing not to do some drills (ex. Treadwell).

What is SPARQ? http://3sigmaathlete.com/documentation/
http://www.fieldgulls.com/nfl-draft/201 ... in/4125461
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
S197
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Re: Combine SPARQ Scores

Post by S197 »

This is the test that McKinnon scored very highly on, correct?
dead_poet
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Re: Combine SPARQ Scores

Post by dead_poet »

S197 wrote:This is the test that McKinnon scored very highly on, correct?
McKinnon's SPARQ score of 147.5 was one of the top scores among all running backs over the last 16 years.

No other running back has an athletic profile similar (i.e., over 80) to that of Jerick McKinnon. Backs with McKinnon’s speed, lower-body explosiveness and upper-body strength just don’t exist.

An average NFL skill position player will ring in at around a 110 pSPARQ, a good athlete at 120, and very good at 130. Elite is about 140, and the 150+ range is reserved for Calvin Johnson, Vernon Davis, and a select few others. McKinnon’s 147.5 is one of the top scores among all running backs over the last 16 years.

Out of 1000+ RBs in the analyst's database shows that only 56 have recorded a sub-4.4 40-yard-dash at either the combine or their pro day. The top 6 pSPARQs from those 56 are: Willis McGahee (tests taken pre-ACL), Chris Johnson, Edgerrin James, Jamal Lewis, Reggie Bush and Jerick McKinnon.

32 bench press reps, 11'0" broad jump, 40" vertical, 4.41 40, and a 4.12 shuttle.
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
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