About the numbers
What is SSI_Val?
SSI_Val is the SelectionSquare Index: our own score for a player's whole NFL career. It is built only from plain facts (how long a player started, how many games he played, and the honors he earned), so anyone can check it.
| Each season as a starter | 5 points |
| Games played | 1 point per 10 games |
| Each Pro Bowl | 4 points |
| Each first-team All-Pro | 8 points |
| Hall of Fame | 20 points |
Kickers, punters and long snappers count half, since they're on the field for only a few plays a game. Totals are rounded; a player who never played scores 0.
What the numbers look like
Half of all drafted players who reached the field score under 10. A solid starter for a decade lands around 60 to 100, and the greatest careers pass 200: Jerry Rice tops the list at 272.
For example, Adrian Peterson started 12 seasons (60), played 184 games (18), made 7 Pro Bowls (28) and 4 All-Pro teams (32): 138.
How a swap is scored
A swap is worth the swapped-in player's SSI_Val minus the original pick's. Taking Adrian Peterson (138) instead of JaMarcus Russell (13) at #1 in 2007 is worth +125. A redraft's total is the sum of its swaps.
You can swap in anyone drafted later that year, at any position, just as the team could have on draft day.
What SSI_Val doesn't capture
- Long careers score higher. A brilliant player whose career was cut short can trail a steady starter who lasted twelve years.
- Honors carry weight. Pro Bowls and All-Pro teams are votes, so players at less visible positions, or on losing teams, can be underrated.
- Every position counts the same. A season starting at quarterback is worth the same as a season starting at guard.
- Recent classes aren't finished. Players marked Still playing are still adding to their SSI_Val, so drafts from the last few years will change, and rookies start at 0.
- Each swap stands alone. If your team takes a player earlier, the team that really drafted him still keeps its pick: the rest of the draft is left as it happened.
- Only drafted players. Undrafted players aren't included.
So treat SSI_Val as a guide, not a verdict. We expect to refine it over time.
Where the data comes from
Draft picks, games, seasons as a starter and honors come from the nflverse project's draft data (CC-BY 4.0), originally compiled by Pro Football Reference. SSI_Val is calculated by SelectionSquare from those facts. The data covers every draft from 1980 and is refreshed after each April draft.
SelectionSquare is not affiliated with or endorsed by the NFL, its teams, nflverse or Pro Football Reference.