No Pass Rush, No Pads, No Point: The Myth of NFL OTA Stats

Stats from OTAs are more useless than male nipples. 

Lately, I’ve seen an increasing number of posts highlighting quarterback stats from Organized Team Activities. While OTAs serve several valuable purposes for NFL teams (just ask the Bengals), tracking and publicizing stats is not one of them.

Take, for example, the ongoing debate about who will start at quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. That conversation will (and should) continue through the final week of the preseason. It absolutely should not begin with — or even include — the first nine passes thrown by fourth-string quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

A graphic making the rounds on social media claims Sanders threw for three touchdowns. What it doesn’t tell you is that he didn’t take a single rep with the starting offense in 11-on-11 drills — and there were no defensive linemen on the field to apply pressure.

Sanders was essentially playing a glorified version of catch in a tightly controlled environment designed more for acclimation — particularly to his new helmet — than for meaningful evaluation. It’s only fair (especially to him) to wait until at least the first preseason game to see if he’s as good as his OTA stats. And even then, the truest test will come if he sees action against first-team starters in Week 3 of the preseason. 

That’s not to say OTAs don’t matter. They do. Teams use this time to build chemistry with new coaching staffs, help rookies adjust to the speed and expectations of the league, and evaluate overall roster construction. It’s also a chance to install offensive and defensive schemes, fine-tune communication, and lay the groundwork for team culture. They are completely useless, however, for evaluating stats during a 7-on-7 drill with fourth-string players.

Because if you’re using OTA stats to say a fourth-string quarterback is dominating, the reverse is also true: the defense must be garbage.