The Safety Radar Chart
What is a radar chart?
A radar chart is a way to quickly and effectively present information, especially when showing how a player compares across multiple statistics and their percentiles in those statistics. It has become one of the default ways of showing player stats in the other football (soccer) for how easily it conveys data, and was popularized by Ted Knutson and the team at Statsbomb.
Why use them?
Radar charts give a quick and easy look at the kind of player you are looking for. The statistics represent different S archetypes. Do you have an in the box run stuffer, a pass covering centerfielder, or an all-rounder? Does the S play a high or low variance game?
However, there are a few things to remember when looking at these charts. All this represents is statistical output, and if you had players on other teams or in different situations, it would most likely affect all the numbers.
This is only a tool to help evaluate players and add extra context to a holistic evaluation.
The Stats and the Data Set
The data is all sourced from PFF and includes all Ss who played FBS football from 2015 to the present with at least 20 carries, and compares the S against their draft year, unless otherwise specified. These stats were chosen because I believe they best exemplify what type of S a prospect is.
- PFF Defense Grade – A proprietary PFF rating capturing a safety's overall contribution across all of their responsibilities.
- Man Coverage Grade – A proprietary PFF rating evaluating a safety's effectiveness in man coverage.
- Zone Coverage Grade – A proprietary PFF rating evaluating a safety's effectiveness in zone coverage.
- QB Rating Against – The passer rating allowed by a safety when they are the primary coverage defender on a targeted pass. Lower is better.
- Run Defense Grade – A proprietary PFF rating measuring a safety's effectiveness in run support.
- Stop Percentage – The percentage of run plays a safety was involved in that were stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage.
- Tackle Grade – A proprietary PFF rating measuring tackling technique and effectiveness.
- Missed Tackle Rate – The percentage of tackle attempts that were missed, as graded by PFF. Lower is better.
- Box Safety Snaps – The number of snaps a safety is aligned near the line of scrimmage.
- Free Safety Snaps – The number of snaps a safety aligned in the deep middle as a centerfield free safety.
Now, charts!
