The current trend in the NFL is the use of analytics. But not every team embraces them fully. ESPN polled the league to rank the teams based on how much they rely on advanged analystic and metric and the Pittsburgh Steelers actually checked in quite low as one of the least analytically advanced with only a single vote in the poll.
One of the things they used this information for was to determine with players are generally considered underrated and overrated based on these advanced metrics. The Steelers actually got two guys on the overrated list and they are safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and linebacker T.J. Watt.
Watt and Fitzpatrick you say? The two best defensive players on the team and arguably the two best at their position in the NFL. Just by virtue of this list you start to understand why so many teams still haven’t embraced analytics. A voter to who chose Fitzpatrick noted his play was chaotic and he made too many mistakes. This is a term I need defined by analytics standards. There are no amount of analytics that can explain why the Steelers defense got so much better when Watt returned from IR even if his production didn’t show up in the box score.
But let us know in the comments if you are a fan of analytics and if you are, does this line up with your philosopohy or does it change your mind.
