Eckert: OL Stat Study 2.0 Using PFF Run/Pass Blocking, SIS Total Points Earned Metrics 2016-2020

Today I am continuing my “Offensive Line Study Series”, here is a link to the first study that I would recommend for full context of this study:

OL Study 1.0

I wanted to dive deeper and get a broader view than a single season. I also wanted to answer this question: How did the players grade according to stats from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Sports Info Solutions (SIS) in the last five years?

Here are the definitions for the datapoints used in this study:

• PFF Run Block Grade (RBLK) = PFF Grade for Run Blocking
• PFF Pass Block Grade (PBLK) = PFF Grade for Pass Blocking
• SIS Total Points Earned (TPE) = The total of a player’s EPA responsibility using the Total Points system

Some important things before the graph, the players in this study are the leaders in single season TPE with the highest snap counts (for durability), then layering in the PFF grades and TPE from 2016-2020. I also focused on more recent players that have played since 2018, then how those players did over the five-year sample size with the above datapoints. With that in mind, here’s what 2016-2020 looked like:

Great! I really enjoyed layering in the TPE as the dot sizes to see how their team value datapoint compared to the PFF Grades. Any players with larger dots in the bottom left were favored by the TPE stat, and any smaller dots elsewhere were favored by PFF grades. I also marked the Steelers players so we could see how Alejandro, Maurkice, and Ramon compared to the league. This again highlights how durable Villanueva has been, along with the new era at a position we’ve been blessed to see great stability in personnel for several years. All being below the mean in run blocking leads me to an interesting question: Are you optimistic the Steelers line will improve in run blocking this season? If so, which players could be above average league wide?

Now let’s look at this angle, who were the best TPE players from the graph according to SIS, with PFF Grades, and Study 1.0 Ranks:

This view will tend to favor players with longer/healthier careers but that is valuable for as physical this position group is. We know this all to well regarding having an offensive line as one of the strengths of the team to being one of the biggest concerns in this sample size. Hopefully this will apply to the 2021 o-line, staying healthy (knocks on wood) so they can build chemistry and hopefully be successful.

Now I would like to take all the information from this study to get a more complete ranking for this study:

For the next study, I will add playoff value like my other series and wrap up with more visualizations, hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments!