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2015 Depth Charts

2014-depth-charts

So here they are again. The much-debated depth charts – or at least the beginning of the series. We’ll give you two a day on weekdays from now (which should take us to the start of Free Agency) and try and update the published ones as frequently as possible, at least up to Week 1 of the regular season.

As usual, please read the associated notes below (and on the individual articles) as the devil is usually in the detail. However, if you do see mistakes or have comments, I’d encourage you to post them in the comments section of each article (or below if it relates to the entire series). If you believe that information is definitive (and not just your opinion) it would be great if you could post a link.

For example, if the head coach has just come out and said X player will be given the first opportunity to win the starting job, it would be really helpful if you could give me a quick way to verify it. If we work together on this we can produce an extremely accurate and definitive set of depth charts that will hopefully be useful for everyone.

Key Points

1. We are not trying to recreate the entire roster and place every undrafted free agent and their comings and goings. The charts will currently include: anyone who played in the NFL last year, 2015 draftees (after they are drafted obviously), and players from last year who would likely have played but for injury. As UDFA’s clearly move into contention for a roster spot we’ll include them, but not before.

2. The grade given is for now – it’s not a prediction of future development. While it’s primarily based on last year (or their last year of action) it does include more than just a nod to their career. For example, if a corner played well up until 2014 and then stunk, we’ll take account of his better years as well. Further, this is an opinion based series, with Sam, Ben and I having a series of discussions to weigh up which rating to give each player. No one in PFF believes the overall grades are absolutely definitive and neither should you. For example, how should one weight the relative receiving and blocking skills of a tight end? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

3. Elite is as advertised. Broadly it’s the best 50 players in the NFL but that doesn’t mean its two or three from each position group across the board. There may be none or there may be seven or eight. That’s just the nature of it; some periods are good for one position, some others.

4. The grade is for the position specified and doesn’t include their usefulness on special teams. So, for example, while we know Kelcie McCray of Kansas City is currently the best special teams player in football, his grade reflects only his play as a defensive back.

5. 2013 was the first season we began to grade long-snappers and other special teams positions in unrivaled fine detail. We don’t just factor totally botched snaps into a long snapper’s grade, but snaps that are significantly off-line in any direction, whether that inaccuracy was compensated for by the punter or holder or not. A long-snapper’s grade will also be made up from his work on coverage units and can be harmed by missed tackles, poor lane-discipline among other factors.

6. Players over 30 years old are marked in bold.

Links to the charts as they post:

Arizona Cardinals Miami Dolphins
Atlanta Falcons Minnesota Vikings
Baltimore Ravens New England Patriots
Buffalo Bills New Orleans Saints
Carolina Panthers New York Giants
Chicago Bears New York Jets
Cincinnati Bengals Oakland Raiders
Cleveland Browns Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys Pittsburgh Steelers
Denver Broncos San Diego Chargers
Detroit Lions San Francisco 49ers
Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks
Houston Texans St Louis Rams
Indianapolis Colts Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans
Kansas City Chiefs Washington Redskins

 

Follow Sam, Ben, Nathan and Gordon on Twitter: @PFF_Sam, @PFF_Ben@PFF_Gordon, @PFF_NateJahnke

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