MOBILE, Ala. — As Senior Bowl practices unfolded at the University of South Alabama this week, the numbers flashed on the giant video screen at Hancock Whitney Stadium: rushing leaders by position and notable rushing stats. A linebacker, Western Michigan’s Marshawn Kneeland, reached nearly 20 mph while chasing a run down the sideline. Kentucky quarterback Andrew Phillips hit 20.7 mph while breaking up a pass in one-on-one drills.
Zebra Sports, the NFL’s player and ball tracking technology partner that facilitates businesses like Next Gen Stats, also collects tracking data from spring all-star events like the Senior Bowl and East-West Shrine Bowl.
At the Senior Bowl, data is collected through approximately 20 sensors located around the field that communicate with small tags that players wear under their shoulders. The tags are about the size of a nickel. Zebra uses radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which customer service manager Dominic Russo says is accurate to within six inches. GPS tracking data, Russo said, is accurate to within 39 inches.
All NFL teams have access to Zebra’s tracking data through spring all-star events. The general public has access to some of this data, including positional metrics such as top speed (measured in miles per hour), acceleration/deceleration and the frequency at which a player records a deflection or “explosive effort” and distance traveled.
For skill players, acceleration/deceleration translates into changing direction and/or the ways a player creates separation from defenders. NFL teams can see how much separation a given skill player creates (or prevents, in the case of cornerbacks) on any given route and, on average, how quickly they can reach their top speeds.
“Maybe it’s not the top speed they want to look at,” Russo said, “maybe it’s ‘How fast can he get to 10 mph in the first 5 yards of the route?'” If a guy can get there more fast, but its top speed might not be that high, maybe that’s more important than that top speed.”
Teams add Zebra’s tracking data to their ever-evolving player evaluations through the pre-draft process. Each NFL team has an online system designed and programmed uniquely for its scouting department where player data and evaluations are entered and stored.
It’s important to remember that tracking data is packaged among many other variables that teams use to evaluate players, and that all teams weight their respective data sets differently.
For example, the Los Angeles Rams are notorious for placing far less value on a player’s 40-yard dash time than their movement data from events like the Senior Bowl or partnering with some colleges that also use a form of technology to tracking when they match a feature film.
The most famous example is Cooper Coop, the third-round pick in 2017 who won the Triple Crown in 2021 after his slow 40 time sank his draft stock. The Rams weighted the tracking data they got from Kupp’s route running in the Senior Bowl, as well as his college record, much more heavily than they weighted his straight-line speed (at the time, it was obtained via GPS data). The Rams used a similar process in 2020 to identify starting safety Jordan Fuller in the sixth round (though not with Senior Bowl data) to see how well he fit into position and second-round receiver Van Jefferson (who was tracked by Zebra as the fastest player at the 2020 Senior Bowl). The tracking and split data was a useful tool again in 2023 when evaluating fifth-round receiver Puka Naqua, who last season set the all-time rookie receiving and catching records despite Naqua not getting a full week in Senior Bowl due to injury.
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Seattle Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen clocked 22.45 mph at the 2022 Senior Bowl — the fastest ever for the event — before he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.26 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine a month later – late. NFL team personnel who hadn’t seen him live wanted to know more about how Woolen hit that peak speed in the Senior Bowl and was able to go back through the practice tape to match the data point to film to paint a clearer situational picture in his evaluation.
Even teams that place less weight specifically on a player’s 40 times still use it as one tool combined with many others during the evaluation process, including in conjunction with tracking data.
Above average straight line speed without above average change of direction speed is an obvious combination to flag. Will the player only thrive in situational use? If a player has great tracking data but consistently terrible 40-yard dash times, the scouting department can delve into why his straight-line speed is suffering, or even into the testing environment.
The data that matters more (and therefore the questions asked of that data) depends on the team and its overall philosophy as a scouting staff, plus traits the team wants in players for specific roles in its scheme.
One AFC scout, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to do so publicly, noted that timing-based offenses looking for receivers can especially weigh tracking data points like acceleration and deceleration, change of the direction, the speed with which they reach certain parts of their route, etc. That team needs to know that a player can reach field goal — and be open — at a certain point in the game depending on their scheme.
“Each team has their own flavor in how they use (the data),” Russo said. “Some teams, at a very basic level, speed is obviously very easy to look at. It could be a form of validation (on film), it could be ‘Hey, maybe we’ll take a second look, we didn’t think this guy was that fast on tape, but the data shows otherwise.’
“Another aspect of it is really diving into the raw data and breaking it down deeper for individual players and trying to find guys that fit their system or might be similar to someone who plays in their system, that they would like to have on their team.”
According to Russo, a third of NFL teams also use Zebra’s tracking technology in their practice facilities to record daily movement from practices. Like all-star events, the depth of information teams care about varies.
“(The tags) go into the pads and jerseys and stay there all year,” Russo said. “Some teams will take the data and really dig into the little things, other teams just use it for speed, which is fine. You want to use it for anything that you think will help you.
(Top photo by Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint: Vasha Hunt / USA Today)
