While the Buffalo Bills' analytics department might not be up and running yet, the Jacksonville Jaguars' number crunchers played a key role in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Jaguars owner Shad Khan's son, Tony, spearheads the analytics department that works hand-in-glove with the personnel department in prospect research.
In the case of rookie Luke Joeckel, the two departments reached the same conclusion -- for different reasons -- that the Texas A&M offensive tackle was the clear choice at No. 2 overall.
The Jaguars' scouts appreciated Joeckel's makeup, background, competitiveness and history versus top pass rushers from the Big 12 and Southeastern conferences. Tony Khan, on the other hand, produced data that suggested Blaine Gabbert was in the top third of NFL quarterbacks when given at least 2.6 seconds to throw.
"He had the passer rating broken down from where the quarterback had 2.6 seconds to throw to 2.5, the amount of pressure, the sacks we gave up, third-most in the league last year," general manager David Caldwell told NFL.com's Albert Breer. "We used a lot of the stuff Tony put together."
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Even though the Jaguars already had a left tackle in Eugene Monroe, Khan pointed to a study by ProFootballFocus.com's Steve Palazzolo that revealed right tackles have become just as important as left tackles in today's NFL.
Although the NFL salary scale has yet to catch up with the trend, it's noteworthy that the first two players drafted last week currently are penciled in on the right side.
It's easy to see that the analytics department adds useful color, depth and background to scouting reports. As always will be the case with professional football, though, the numbers have to match up with the tape.
Follow Chris Wesseling on Twitter @ChrisWesseling.
