The Stats Behind the Cleveland Browns Signing of Linebacker
After a rather quiet start to NFL free agency on Monday, Cleveland Browns General Manager Andrew Berry re-signed two of his own in EDGE Za’Darius Smith and interior defensive lineman Maurice Hurst, while also signing former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks. While those contracts cannot be officially signed until Wednesday, it is a mere formality.
Note that all statistics were sourced from Sports Info Solutions, SumerSports, rbsdm.com, and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted
Expected points added (“EPA”) via Inside the Pylon: “Expected Points Added (EPA) is a football statistic that seeks to measure the value of individual plays in terms of points. This is done by calculating the Expected Points (EP) of the down, distance, and field position situation at the start of a play and contrasting it with the situation at the end of the play. A three-yard gain on first-and-10 is pretty different than a three-yard gain on third-and-two, something not usually captured in conventional statistics. The Expected Points framework helps translate raw gains into value.”
Relative Athletic Score (“RAS”): measures a prospect’s athletic testing results from the combine or a pro day in relation to the prospect’s size and historical results from players at the same position. Each prospect is given a score from 0 to 10 based on how their RAS matches up to those of the same position throughout history. Compiled and calculated by Kent Lee Platte of Pro Football Network.