Like most other football fans during this time of the year I have been busy pouring over scouting reports, videos, and stats of the incoming draft class. Wide receiver is a popular pick for us and I keep hearing this phrase "Catch Radius" pop up in discussions and it got me thinking. How do you measure catch radius? I thought it would be a straightforward answer but it turns out it isn't. The closest I got to an answer were these two links:
Catch Radius from seahawktracker
The Catch Radius Project: In Search of Better TD Production from rotoviz.com
From these two sites I put together a formula that aims to quantify a receiver's catch radius by using select measurables from the combine. It involves the Pythagorean Theorem. This image from seahawktracker explains it well:
Basically it is the (Velocity score)^2 + (Vertical score)^2 = (Catch radius score)^2
Here is the formula I used:
√((1440/[40yarddashtime])+(1080/[3conetime])+(720/[shuttletime])/3)^2 + (heightinches+arminches + ((Broadjump+Vertical)/2))^2= Catch Radius Score
I calculated the 14 top WR from MiscAndrewStuff's chart. Having his chart put together made my job a TON easier. I'd like to give him a big thank you for doing those! Anyway here are the results I got. Unfortunately I wasn't able to calculate some notable receivers due to a lack of data in certain tests.
Player name | Catch Radius Score |
---|---|
Sammy Watkins | 283.98 |
Kelvin Benjamin | 280.05 |
Marqise Lee | 286.55 |
Davante Adams | 284.01 |
Odell Beckham Jr. | 289.17 |
Brandon Cooks | 289.01 |
Donte Moncrief | 289.22 |
Allen Robinson | 286.85 |
Jordan Matthews | 285.68 |
Bruce Ellington | 285.99 |
Dri Archer | 286.94 |
T.J. Jones | 280.39 |
Martavis Bryant | 288.18 |
Jeff Janis | 291.60 |
If you would like me to do more of these let me know. Also if you have questions or suggestions on how this can be improved please comment! If someone can talk Mike Evans and Brandon Coleman into doing a broad jump that would be a big help!