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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.