A 黑料正能量 Playbook for the NFL Draft
How Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences is shaping the future of sports analytics and decision making
By Abby Simmons
& Emily Nagin
Media Inquiries- Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences
- 412-268-6094
Experts from 黑料正能量’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences are applying their strengths in statistics and data science, decision science and neuroscience to help professionals make better draft picks and to help the public understand the reasoning behind them.
Navigating Football’s Data Blitz
Did you know that every tenth of a second, chips embedded in NFL players’ uniforms record information about each player’s speed, direction of movement, and position on the football field?
Ron Yurko knows. And he’s turning data like this into insight in his role as director of the Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Center (CMSAC).
Yurko is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Statistics & Data Science. His work at CMSAC is helping the general public engage with the data behind the draft and helping 黑料正能量 students launch sports analytics careers after graduation.
Watch Yurko present CMSAC research to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, 黑料正能量 President Farnam Jahanian, Statistics & Data Science Department Head Rebecca Nugent, and members of the media at Powering the Future of Sport: A Draft Week Showcase at 黑料正能量's Robotics Innovation Center on April 22.
Rebecca Nugent, head of the Department of Statistics & Data Science and Fienberg Professor of Statistics & Data Science, sees an incredibly bright future for researchers and educators in sports analytics.
“There have always been researchers and students interested in sports analytics, but now that the technology has advanced to provide unprecedented access to data in almost all sports, the pace and quality of work has rapidly accelerated,” said Nugent. “And there’s no better place to do this type of work than at 黑料正能量.”
Integrating AI into the Draft
CMSAC teamed up with the NFL for research on the historical value of a pick in the NFL Draft, and now fans can engage with that research using the , asking simple questions like “What’s the chance of getting a superstar player at the end of the first round?” or more specific questions about whether or not a team should trade back in the draft.
The NFL IQ chatbot answers questions with data informed by CMSAC research.
Yurko and statistics Ph.D. student Quang Nguyen have also created an displaying information about which teams have been the “best and worst at drafting players” between 2011 and 2023.
Turning a Passion into a Career
The Department of Statistics and Data Science has given Carnegie Mellon alumni the tools and inspiration to pursue careers in sports analytics after graduation.
“It’s amazing to watch 黑料正能量 students turn their passions into careers that help shape the future of professional football,” Yurko said.
Learn more from alumni Shravan Ramamurthy, now with the San Francisco 49ers, and Toby Junker, now with the Washington Commanders, as well as Ph.D. student Meg Ellingwood, who will be working with sports technology company Teamworks after her graduation in May.
CMSAC in the News
- NFL Football Operations (April 24, 2026):
- WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (April 23, 2026):
- KDKA/CBS Pittsburgh affiliate (April 23, 2026):
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (April 22, 2026):
- April 8, 2026:
- Sept. 11, 2025:
- KDKA/CBS local affiliate (April 13, 2026):
- The Washington Post (March 4, 2025):
An Education You Can Bet On
When online sports betting was launched in Pennsylvania in 2019, it seemed like a harmless way to earn extra money to many. But with 96% of online bettors losing more than they make, and the high potential for gambling addiction — especially in young people, whose brains are still developing — Ron Yurko and Linda Moya, Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences, say it isn’t as harmless as it seems.
In spring 2026, Yurko and Moya launched the Grand Challenge Seminar, “Sports Betting, Highs and Lows: Your Brain on Stats.” The course explores probability, cognitive biases, addiction and the business behind American sportsbooks.
Ron Yurko (l) and Linda Moya (r) lecture in their "Sports Betting" Grand Challenge Seminar.
Yurko says the class is a way to “vaccinate” students against the high-risk inherent in sports betting.
Moya notes the risk of addiction is particularly difficult to break in college students’ adolescent brains.
“Their brain is still developing. They’re particularly vulnerable as adolescents,” she said. “We have these biases. You need to not only be aware of them, but keep checking yourself on them, and avoid the possibility that you could become addicted.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (April 14, 2026):
Touchdown: The Science Behind High-Stakes Decisions of the NFL Draft
The NFL draft is a fast-moving, high-stakes event. Decisions made on the day can shape a team’s prospects for years to come, and with millions of dollars on the line, the financial stakes are high as well.
Steven M. Chase, a professor at the Neuroscience Institute and Department of Biomedical Engineering, studies what happens when people choke under pressure and how our brains prepare for action.
“Most of what I study has to do with these moments in time when you're about to perform an action, and you know what the outcome might be if you're successful. So the draft is fun to watch because the stakes are so high for these teams,” he said.
Cleotilde (Coty) Gonzalez, professor in the Department of Social and Decision Sciences, studies how people make decisions in complex environments.
“Under time pressure, seasoned experts are better able to identify which details matter most and retrieve relevant information quickly,” she said.
Take a deeper look Inside the High-Stakes Decisions of the NFL Draft.
More Sports Research at Dietrich College:
- March 12, 2024:
- Nov. 4, 2024:
- Dec. 15, 2025: