Which Bronco player was most cost effective in 2013?

So often we just look at raw numbers when it comes to production or salary. One of the biggest movements in modern sports statistics has been looking at this on a "per" basis or a ratio. Take for example passing yards or touchdowns, we as fans of the sport are evolving away from merely stating totals and looking at YARDS PER ATTEMPT instead of yards or TOUCHDOWN PERCENTAGE instead of just touchdowns. By doing this we are able to get a clearer picture of a players true impact. Two players with 30 touchdowns aren't the same if one did it with 100 fewer attempts. With the rise in economics in the NFL as well, we rarely ask "what is the dollar amount per snap we are paying this player?"

By overlooking this we don't truly see if a player is a value to the team or not. To frequently we'll say "this player only had six sacks, that's not worth it." Without realizing he's making half the money of a player who had eight sacks, with this we can see which player is of more value in terms of cost per production. I also include special teams snaps since they impact play on the field as well. This also does not factor in injuries, for better or worse.

So I am going to look at this just from the Broncos point of view, we'll take a gander at each position and see how each valued out. For the varying positions there will be a differing of categories but for each we will be consistently looking at cost per snap. For position specific stats I'll include an explanation of them before the appropriate table. It's important to remember that for some players it's hard to gauge their value sabermetricly since many metrics are still too young. Offensive line is one position I won't include much since it's hard to truly put their impact into monetary value just yet. Finally I excluded players who went on Injured Reserve prior to the season starting.

All these figures come from Spotract.

*All these tables are sortable*

Quarterbacks

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap	Attp	$ per Attp	Yards	$ per Yard	TD	$ per TD
Manning	$17,500,000	1181	$14,818	677	$25,849	5357	$25,849	55	$318,182
Osweiler	$799,244	51	$15,671	18	$44,402	87	$44,402	0	$799,244
Dysert	$417,050	0	$417,050	0	$417,050	0	$417,050	0	$417,050

Running Backs

- Touches are rushing attempts plus receptions
- Total yards are rushing and receiving yards combined
- Touchdowns are the combination of rushing and receiving touchdowns

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap	Touches	$ per Touch	Total Yards	$ per Yard	TD	$ per TD
Moreno	$3,287,000	724	$4,540	301	$10,920	1586	$2,073	13	$252,846
Hillman	$687,708	159	$4,325	67	$10,264	337	$2,041	1	$687,708
Ball	$629,878	329	$1,915	140	$4,499	704	$895	4	$157,470
Anderson	$409,166	29	$14,109	7	$58,452	38	$10,768	0	$409,166

Wide Receivers

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap	Touches	$ per Touch	Total Yards	$ per Yard	TD	$ per TD
Welker	$4,150,000	799	$5,194	73	$56,849	778	$5,334	10	$415,000
Thomas	$2,430,250	1139	$2,134	92	$26,416	1430	$1,699	14	$173,589
Decker	$1,506,037	1075	$1,401	87	$17,311	1288	$1,169	11	$136,912
Caldwell	$900,000	299	$,3010	17	$52,941	207	$4,348	3	$300,000

Tight Ends

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap	Touches	$ per Touch	Yards	$ per Yard	TD	$ per TD
Tamme	$3,458,333	333	$10,385	20	$172,917	184	$18,795	1	$3,458,333
Dreesse	$3,333,333	268	$12,438	7	$476,190	47	$90,722	1	$3,333,333
Thomas	$651,000	921	$707	65	$10,015	788	$826	12	$54,250
Green	$572,250	369	$1,551	9	$63,583	45	$12,717	0	$572,250

Offensive Line

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap
Ramirez	$1,231,666	1288	$956
Vallos	$555,000	16	$34,688
Vasquez	$3,250,000	1297	$2,506
Kuper	$2,008,916	108	$18,601
Beadles	$1,060,000	1288	$823
Clark	$1,548,666	1142	$1,356
Justice	$991,176	20	$49,559
Clady	$12,600,000	153	$82,353
Franklin	$1,188,000	1179	$1,008

Defensive Line

- Total Pressures is the culmination of sacks, hits, pressures and holding penalties forced
- Pressure isn't the perfect way to measure the value of a defensive lineman but it's better than sacks, tackles for a loss or merely tackles.

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap	Sacks	$ per Sack	Total Pressures	$ per Pressure
Ayers	$2,241,250	514	$4,360	7	$320,179	48	$46,693
Wolfe	$1,036,691	566	$1,832	4	$259,173	35	$29,620
Jackson	$533,403	616	$866	6	$88,901	46	$11,596
Mincey	$1,525,000	61	$25,000	0	$1,525,000	5	$305,000
Phillips	$1,400,000	784	$1,786	11	$127,273	52	$26,923
Williams	$1,378,500	301	$4,580	2	$689,250	13	$106,038
Knighton	$1,250,000	611	$2,046	4	$312,500	35	$35,714
Unrein	$555,000	369	$1,504	0	$555,000	14	$39,643
Fua	$163,235	12	$13,603	0	$163,235	0	$163,235
Vickerson	$2,500,000	411	$6,083	1	$2,500,000	17	$147,059

Linebackers

- Total Pressures is the culmination of sacks, hits, pressures and holding penalties forced
- Pressure isn't the perfect way to measure the value of a defensive lineman but it's better than sacks, tackles for a loss or merely tackles.
- I exclude tackles for linebackers since tackles are determined more by the defensive line, hard for players to control.

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap	Pressures	$ per Pressures	INT	$ per INT
Lenon	$1,540,000	291	$5,292	4	$385,000	0	$1,540,000
Irving	$728,750	366	$1,991	6	$121,458	0	$728,750
Johnson	$484,000	33	$14,667	0	$484,000	0	$484,000
Woodyard	$3,250,000	803	$4,047	18	$180,556	1	$3,250,000
Trevathan	$506,018	1007	$503	18	$28,112	3	$168,672
Marshall	$28,235	15	$1,882	0	$28,235	0	$28,235
Miller	$4,921,215	552	$8,915	41	$120,030	0	$4,921,215

Defensive Backs

- I exclude tackles for linebackers and secondary players since tackles are determined more by the defensive line, hard for players to control.

Name	Cap	Snaps	$ per Snap	INT	$ per INT
Bailey	$10,750,000	193	$55,699	0	$10,750,000
Rodgers-Cromartie	$2,900,000	799	$3,630	3	$966,666
Carter, T	$715,000	331	$2,160	1	$715,000
Bolden	$598,607	336	$1,782	0	$598,607
Harris	$555,668	1066	$521	3	$185,222
Webster	$539,950	612	$882	1	$539,950
Adams	$2,000,000	788	$2,538	1	$2,000,000
Jammer	$1,500,000	261	$5,747	0	$1,500,000
Bruton	$1,200,000	331	$3,625	0	$1,200,000
Ihenacho	$480,000	801	$599	0	$480,000
Huff	$296,470	50	$5,929	0	$296,470
Moore	$1,213,125	672	$1,805	2	$606,526

Takeaways

Best Per Snap Value:
1. Danny Trevathan, LB, $503
2. Chris Harris, CB, $521
3. Duke Ihenacho, S, $599
4. Julius Thomas, TE, $707
5. Zane Beadles, OG, $823

Worst Per Snap Value:
- Zac Dysert, QB, $417,050
- Ryan Clady, OT, $82,353
- Champ Bailey, CB, $55,699
- Winston Justice, OL, $49,559
- Steve Vallos, OL, $34,688

An important thing to note is that players near the end of their rookie contracts and those on their 2nd or 3rd contracts are obviously going to be making a lot more money than rookies who make far less, even early round picks, these rookies may make a small impact which may seem to be cost effective purely because they are incredibly cheap.

Now to wrap up this isn't perfect obviously, it was never intended to be, and snaps isn't the best way to measure a persons production, but it does measure if they impact the game, you have to be on the field to produce, period.