Willie Snead IV Is An Unsung Hero for Ravens, Analytics Show

Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Willie Snead IV is often lauded by his coaches and teammates for his work ethic.

The analytics show he is also an unsung, valuable playmaker.

The Pro Football Network recently released its list for the NFL's most valuable receivers using a pair of key metrics — Offensive Share Metric (OSM) and the Relative Athletic Score (RAS).

The OSM measures how much influence players have over their own statistics, and how much impact they had on the offense overall. The RAS measures the athleticism of NFL prospects by combining their pre-draft measurements, such as their height and weight, and their 40-yard dash times, into a single score.

Snead ranked 10th among all NFL receivers using those metrics, which underscore how the league's most valuable wide receivers in the NFL are often not the most athletic.

"It isn’t just that these wide receivers have varying degrees of overall athleticism, either," Lucas Ellinas, an analyst for the Pro Football Network, wrote. "Many of those ten players excelled in entirely different areas. Take Lockett, for example. He weighed in at less than 5’10” and 182 pounds, but he had a high-speed score, running a 4.4 40-yard dash."

In addition to Snead, the other nine players that made the list were:

1. Hunter Renfrow (Raiders)

2. Deebo Samuel (49ers)

3. Cooper Kupp (Rams)

4. Michael Thomas (Saints)

5. Tyler Lockett (Seahawks)

6. Adam Humphries (Titans)

7. Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)

8. Albert Wilson (Dolphins)

9. Robert Woods (Rams)

The Ravens signed wide receiver Snead to a one-year contract extension in October worth $6 million. He had been in the final year of a two-year, $7 million deal he signed in 2018.

Last season, Snead finished with 31 receptions for 339 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, He was also an effective blocker for the Ravens record-setting run defense.

"Players like Renfrow and Snead might never rack up 1,000-yard seasons or make multiple Pro Bowls, but they can still be incredibly valuable pieces for their teams,"Ellinas wrote. "More importantly, they show that an athletic receiver can only have a similar amount of value if they can back up their physical prowess with technical skill."