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Sam Hoppen

@samhoppen.bsky.social

NFL Data Scientist πŸ“Š| Fmr FantasyPros, Betsperts | #GoPackGo | Opinions are my own Substack: https://samhoppen.substack.com/

2,075 Followers  |  196 Following  |  472 Posts  |  Joined: 13.07.2023
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Posts by Sam Hoppen (@samhoppen.bsky.social)

Here's a look at how some of the top offensive free agents signed so far rank within their position in terms of APY (not all guarantees have been reported yet):

10.03.2026 01:34 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

So far in free agency we've seen 5 of the top 9 center contracts by APY doled out. Incredible week for the position.

10.03.2026 01:15 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

Saints were 24th in the league in 12 personnel last year. Betting Kellen Moore wants to get into more of the heavy-TE packages this year.

09.03.2026 21:50 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The Andrews extension was perplexing at the time and now it's even more confusing knowing they could've kept Likely, who is six years younger, at just a slightly higher cost.

09.03.2026 16:57 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

If it keeps the Chiefs from drafting Love in the top 10, then by all means go for it

09.03.2026 16:35 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Chicago's list of needs has gotten a little longer since the start of the offseason, but they're now becoming more well-equipped to fill those needs especially with four top-90 draft picks.

06.03.2026 14:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Remember, Brandon Beane was promoted

05.03.2026 18:03 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Told my wife that I wrote this article and how many times I watched the 40 and she replied with, "My god, I married such a nerd"

05.03.2026 00:32 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

In this article, I also used Carnell Tate's controversial hand-timed 40s to show how big of an impact it could have on projecting draft position if those were used over his NFL-registered time.

04.03.2026 20:06 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Why do scouts still hand time combine drills? An investigation into the pitfalls and modeling impacts of using hand-timed measurements

Link to read (FREE): open.substack.com/pub/samhoppe...

04.03.2026 16:33 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Why do scouts still hand time combine drills?

I watched Kenyon Sadiq's 40-yard dash 47 times to get a sense of his true range of outcomes. Then, I wrote about why teams might still use hand times, what pitfalls they have, and the potential impact on modeling for teams.

πŸ”—β€΅οΈ

04.03.2026 16:33 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

I randomly just got really excited about the idea of the Colts signing Malik Willis. Think they have the cap space to do it and feel like it’d be a rather simple shift of the Jones offense from last year. Plus, pairing him with JT would keep the floor of the run game very high.

01.03.2026 02:40 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Walked into a cafe and someone (whom I don't know) gave me a head nod with a "Hey coach, how's it going?" so it's nice to know that I at least give off that vibe

25.02.2026 16:30 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The only reason I can think of is, "I don't want to attach myself to this defense" as a reason.

24.02.2026 18:05 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

.....then why didn't he call plays last year?

24.02.2026 18:02 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
AFC West Offseason Preview Previewing the offseason for all the teams in the AFC West

AFC West ($): samhoppen.substack.com/p/afc-west-o...
AFC East ($): samhoppen.substack.com/p/afc-east-o...
AFC North ($): samhoppen.substack.com/p/afc-north-...
AFC South ($): samhoppen.substack.com/p/afc-south-...

21.02.2026 17:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
NFC West Offseason Preview Previewing the offseason for all the teams in the NFC West

NFC West ($): samhoppen.substack.com/p/nfc-west-o...
NFC East ($): samhoppen.substack.com/p/nfc-east-o...
NFC North (FREE): samhoppen.substack.com/p/nfc-north-...
NFC South ($): samhoppen.substack.com/p/nfc-south-...

21.02.2026 17:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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ICYMI, yesterday I wrapped on my offseason preview series! I went through every division sharing these dashboards and touching on each team's offseason priorities, potential cap casualties, and team needs! You can find them all on my Substack at the links below!

21.02.2026 17:02 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Who thought this jersey combo was a good idea?

20.02.2026 20:13 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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2026 NFL Draft QB prospects completion percentage over expectation by how far they threw the football down the field. Capped at 40 yards because its wonky after that. Yes that is Cole Payton and NDSU you are seeingπŸ‘€

20.02.2026 14:41 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 4
Preview
NFC West Offseason Preview Previewing the offseason for all the teams in the NFC West

Link to read: open.substack.com/pub/samhoppe...

20.02.2026 14:27 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The last of my offseason previews is here, wrapping things with the NFC West! I cover:
🐦 Arizona thinking about the long-term future
🟑 How San Fran is equipped to restock to compete
🐏 Why the Rams are set up for this year and beyond
πŸ† Seattle replenishing their depth

πŸ”—β€΅οΈ

20.02.2026 14:27 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

For those who care, I just pushed an update to my play callers dataset with all 2025 games as well as my assumptions for who will call plays for each team in 2026. Shout if you see any potential errors!

github.com/samhoppen/NF...

19.02.2026 17:05 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

WHAT A MOVE TO GET THE GOAL πŸ₯‡πŸ₯‡πŸ₯‡

19.02.2026 20:56 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

For those who care, I just pushed an update to my play callers dataset with all 2025 games as well as my assumptions for who will call plays for each team in 2026. Shout if you see any potential errors!

github.com/samhoppen/NF...

19.02.2026 17:05 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

A good first move for the Chiefs, but they're still $11m over the cap even with this move. Gonna take more work not only to be cap compliant but also make space to sign some free agents.

18.02.2026 15:23 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
https://samhoppen.substack.com/p/afc-east-offseason-preview?r=418ht

Link to read: t.co/tzQZIHBR1L

18.02.2026 14:14 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Back with another offseason preview, this one for the AFC East! I cover:
✈️ The Jets kicking off their rebuild
🐬 How the Dolphins navigate their QB decision
🦬 The limited resources Buffalo has to work with
🟦 What the Patriots can do to build off of their 2025 season

πŸ”—β€΅οΈ

18.02.2026 14:14 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

More and more people seeing the light on Andrew Berry

17.02.2026 18:31 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Ohhh this looks cool. Can't wait to read!

13.02.2026 17:22 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0