The All-SPARQ Mock Draft

[HarveyWallbangers]

Another interesting tidbit...Lucas Patrick, who is fighting it out with Barclay and Murphy for TJ Lang's position, was the #4 Ranked O-lineman by SPARQ in 2016, three ranks higher than...Jason Spriggs.

I like to use SPARQ as a tool, but you have to be careful comparing Combine results with Pro Day results. Pro Day results tend to be inflated (faster tracks, lack electronic timing, etc.). Spriggs tested at the Combine. Patrick tested at Pro Day. Even with that, how did Patrick beat out Spriggs? All of my numbers for Spriggs are better than Patrick.

40 - 4.94 vs 5.26
Sht - 4.44 vs 4.66
3-Cone = 7.70 vs 7.77
Vertical = 31.5" vs 29"
Broad Jump = 115" vs 106"

[Maxie the Taxi]

SPARQ is probably best suited to use by us fans.

You'd think, but it seems Ted and others in the NFL use it as one of their primary tools.

For instance, Josh Hawkins whom Ted signed as a UDFA was the #8 SPARQ Ranked CB in 2016, 15 spots higher than Jalen Mills.

[Maxie the Taxi]

I like to use SPARQ as a tool, but you have to be careful comparing Combine results with Pro Day results. Pro Day results tend to be inflated (faster tracks, lack electronic timing, etc.). Spriggs tested at the Combine. Patrick tested at Pro Day. Even with that, how did Patrick beat out Spriggs? All of my numbers for Spriggs are better than Patrick.

40 - 4.94 vs 5.26
Sht - 4.44 vs 4.66
3-Cone = 7.70 vs 7.77
Vertical = 31.5" vs 29"
Broad Jump = 115" vs 106"

Beats me. I just go by the SPARQ rankings at the website. Maybe they figure in height, weight, age, muscle mass, ??? LOL

[Maxie the Taxi]

Harv, I see the difference now. At the website they use a couple more measureables than you have listed. Patrick did better in these than Spriggs. Still, they two are very, very close raw number-wise. You can scroll to the right of the chart and get what they based the SPARQ on. https://3sigmaathlete.com/rankings2016/ol/

[MadScientist]

You'd think, but it seems Ted and others in the NFL use it as one of their primary tools.

For instance, Josh Hawkins whom Ted signed as a UDFA was the #8 SPARQ Ranked CB in 2016, 15 spots higher than Jalen Mills.

SPARQ just combines a bunch of performance numbers into one. I suspect that the Packers use the original numbers instead of SPARQ. When TT goes for UDFA's, he tends to go for the best athletes he can get his hands on, in the hopes that they can coach them into players. That will naturally lead to higher SPARQ ratings.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Harv, I see the difference now. At the website they use a couple more measureables than you have listed. Patrick did better in these than Spriggs. Still, they two are very, very close raw number-wise. You can scroll to the right of the chart and get what they based the SPARQ on. https://3sigmaathlete.com/rankings2016/ol/

I still don't see how he's ahead, and it shouldn't be close. Spriggs has him beat in everything except 10 shuttle and 20 shuttle. Most categories he's comfortably ahead. Patrick weighed 3 more pounds, but Spriggs has a distinct height advantage on him.

[pbmax]

SPARQ doesn't make someone a football player, but if you want a fast and athletic defense, then those numbers are important. Look at the Seachickens D.

It can't be the first metric you account for, but it has to weigh in. Otherwise you get a lot of good college performers who are outclassed physically in the NFL.

[pbmax]

I still don't see how he's ahead, and it shouldn't be close. Spriggs has him beat in everything except 10 shuttle and 20 shuttle. Most categories he's comfortably ahead. Patrick weighed 3 more pounds, but Spriggs has a distinct height advantage on him.

Patrick's 10 and 20 yard splits in the 40 were faster than Spriggs (unsure of source of numbers).

Patrick is a 122.6 pSparq and Z-score of 1.6. Spriggs was 122.6 and 1.4. pSparq is a positional score (Patrick compared to Guards, Spriggs to tackles) and the Z-score is the deviation from the population of Guards or Tackles.

So Maxie's ranks are telling us that Patrick was a freaky Guard and Spriggs was a slightly less freaky Tackle in terms of athletic traits.

[3irty1]

I think you've got to take the ratings for offensive players with a grain of salt. More is obviously still better but since defenders do not know what's coming, they need some degree of make-up-speed to be successful. A slow WR who can run precise routes and explode out of their cuts or a slow running back with outstanding vision can both be NFL worthy by exploiting the element of surprise. Ted seems to prefer these types on offense. Possible exception being his offensive linemen. He likes em big, quick, and positionally ambiguous.

On Defense though I would be surprised if Ted didn't pluck one or two of these high-Sparq guys.

[Maxie the Taxi]

These are the results (SPARQ Position Ranking After Name):

29: R1P29
CB KEVIN KING - #1 CB
WASHINGTON

61: R2P29
EDGE JORDAN WILLIS - #3 EDGE (#1 = Samson Ebukam; #2 Hassan Reddick)
KANSAS STATE

93: R3P29
G NICO SIRAGUSA - #6 OL (Highest ranked major college O-lineman)
SAN DIEGO STATE

134: R4P27
EDGE TANOH KPASSAGNON - #4 DL (#1 = Chris Wormley)
VILLANOVA

172: R5P28
CB BRIAN ALLEN - #12 CB
UTAH

182: R5P38
RB T.J. LOGAN - #18 RB (#1 Among Major College RB's = Alvin Kamara)
NORTH CAROLINA

212: R6P28
WR ROBERT DAVIS - #1 WR
GEORGIA STATE

247: R7P29
RB CHRIS CARSON - #22 RB
OKLAHOMA STATE

So far, so good.

[pbmax]

Bump.

Again, kudos to Maxie for digging up this info.

Its clear a lot of teams (Packers included) are trying to get more athletic and this kind of ranking helps explain what they are doing what they are doing.

As 3itry1 opines, as offenses get weirder and more pass whacky, the athleticism of your defense becomes more important. Because you aren't holding up a wall at the front of the defense, you are chasing players across the width and depth of the field.