← 1981 DRAFT PLAYER PROFILE R1 · #9 OVERALL · LB

Mel Owens

Drafted by LAR · GM Don Klosterman · Michigan

All NFL teams

Full-career context

These totals follow Mel Owens across every NFL team. Draft credit is separated below for each team that selected him.

Games played122
Games started91
Weighted career AV42
Pro Bowls0
AP1 All-Pro0
Career seasons9

Accountability by draft event

What each drafting team received

1981 · Round 1 · #9

LAR draft credit

GM Don Klosterman

Team games122
Team starts91
On-team AV48
On-team PB / AP10 / 0
Good+0.04 contribution11th of 34 picks for this GM

Games: direct team-season record. Starts: direct team-season record.

A Good pick

Mel Owens was Don Klosterman's 11th-best of 34 picks across his career.

His retained-value contribution score (opportunity plus quality plus recognition, with related outcomes collapsed inside each bucket) is +0.04. This is a per-pick accountability metric, separate from Don Klosterman's leaderboard composite θ.

The walkthrough below shows which bucket carried the pick: playing time, value quality, or league honors.

Opportunity
Did he earn the field?
Games played
122
on drafting team
Games started
91
on drafting team
Snap-z
0.0
0 modeled seasons
Quality
Was that time valuable?
On-team AV
48
modeled; full weighted AV 42
AV / 1k snaps
snap-era only
AV-rate z
position-year adjusted quality
Recognition
Did the league notice?
Pro Bowls
0
all on drafting team
AP1 All-Pro
0 AP1
all on drafting team · AP2 context 0
All-Decade
0
context only

Did this pick move Don Klosterman's grade?

The first chart removes the time axis: every Don Klosterman pick is sorted by retained contribution across opportunity, quality, and recognition. Mel Owens totals +0.04. The second chart breaks that same contribution into the seasons when the evidence arrived. Opportunity and quality can move separately, which keeps high-snap, low-AV profiles from looking cleaner than they are.

Aggregate contribution by player

-2-10+1+2+3+4+5+670. Irvin#70 · LeRoy Irvin · aggregate +6.18Irvin +6.2111. Reed#111 · Doug Reed · aggregate +2.18Reed +2.232. Ellard#32 · Henry Ellard · aggregate +1.9936. Wilcher#36 · Mike Wilcher · aggregate +1.47154. Guman#154 · Mike Guman · aggregate +0.9343. Collins#43 · Jim Collins · aggregate +0.9097. Newsome#97 · Vince Newsome · aggregate +0.8617. Johnson#17 · Johnnie Johnson · aggregate +0.742. Dickerson#2 · Eric Dickerson · aggregate +0.64176. Collins#176 · Kirk Collins · aggregate +0.169. Owens#9 · Mel Owens · aggregate +0.04Owens +0.0134. Grant#134 · Otis Grant · aggregate -0.03175. Battle#175 · Ron Battle · aggregate -0.10171. Simmons#171 · Jeff Simmons · aggregate -0.3882. Murphy#82 · Phil Murphy · aggregate -0.44181. Shearin#181 · Joe Shearin · aggregate -0.4458. Thomas#58 · Jewerl Thomas · aggregate -0.46158. Daniels#158 · William Daniels · aggregate -0.4750. Pankey#50 · Irv Pankey · aggregate -0.48133. Stephens#133 · Hal Stephens · aggregate -0.48118. Barnett#118 · Doug Barnett · aggregate -0.5887. Nelson#87 · Chuck Nelson · aggregate -0.58188. Radachowsky#188 · George Radachowsky · aggregate -0.64145. Locklin#145 · Kerry Locklin · aggregate -0.67144. Kowalski#144 · Gary Kowalski · aggregate -0.84117. Kersten#117 · Wally Kersten · aggregate -0.8563. Meisner#63 · Greg Meisner · aggregate -0.9466. Cobb#66 · Robert Cobb · aggregate -0.9488. Gaylord#88 · Jeff Gaylord · aggregate -1.03190. Clark#190 · Mike Clark · aggregate -1.08192. Ellis#192 · Gerry Ellis · aggregate -1.2267. Bechtold#67 · Bill Bechtold · aggregate -1.24104. Lilja#104 · George Lilja · aggregate -1.6114. Redden#14 · Barry Redden · aggregate -2.63Redden -2.6

Incremental contribution by season

-10-8-6-4-20+2+4+61980 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +0.261980 · Kirk Collins · incremental -0.031980 · Mike Guman · incremental -0.111980 · Jewerl Thomas · incremental -0.451980 · Phil Murphy · incremental -0.541980 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental -1.591980 · Gerry Ellis · incremental -1.931980 · Irv Pankey · incremental -3.081981 · Kirk Collins · incremental +0.121981 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.191981 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.251981 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.371981 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +2.531981 · Phil Murphy · incremental -0.111981 · Jewerl Thomas · incremental -0.141981 · Jim Collins · incremental -0.281981 · Ron Battle · incremental -0.281981 · William Daniels · incremental -0.821981 · Greg Meisner · incremental -0.821981 · George Lilja · incremental -0.971981 · Robert Cobb · incremental -1.511981 · Mel Owens · incremental -1.691981 · Mike Clark · incremental -1.761982 · Jim Collins · incremental +0.051982 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.061982 · Kirk Collins · incremental +0.071982 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +0.141982 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.151982 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.221982 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.271982 · Greg Meisner · incremental -0.011982 · Joe Shearin · incremental -0.041982 · Ron Battle · incremental -0.051982 · Jewerl Thomas · incremental -0.071982 · Doug Barnett · incremental -0.641982 · Kerry Locklin · incremental -1.221982 · Wally Kersten · incremental -1.371982 · George Lilja · incremental -1.551982 · Jeff Gaylord · incremental -1.671982 · Barry Redden · incremental -1.801982 · Bill Bechtold · incremental -1.991983 · Kirk Collins · incremental +0.041983 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.061983 · Jim Collins · incremental +0.191983 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.261983 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.341983 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.401983 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +0.481983 · Eric Dickerson · incremental +0.671983 · Otis Grant · incremental -0.061983 · Doug Reed · incremental -0.121983 · Greg Meisner · incremental -0.141983 · Doug Barnett · incremental -0.261983 · Vince Newsome · incremental -0.261983 · Barry Redden · incremental -0.281983 · Joe Shearin · incremental -0.541983 · Mike Wilcher · incremental -0.641983 · Jeff Simmons · incremental -0.641983 · Chuck Nelson · incremental -1.021983 · Gary Kowalski · incremental -1.321984 · Otis Grant · incremental +0.071984 · Doug Reed · incremental +0.151984 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.171984 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.181984 · Vince Newsome · incremental +0.241984 · Mike Wilcher · incremental +0.251984 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.261984 · Jim Collins · incremental +0.271984 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.341984 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +0.561984 · Eric Dickerson · incremental +0.661984 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.701984 · Joe Shearin · incremental -0.051984 · Barry Redden · incremental -0.201984 · Greg Meisner · incremental -0.251984 · Hal Stephens · incremental -0.831984 · George Radachowsky · incremental -1.091985 · Greg Meisner · incremental +0.041985 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.101985 · Vince Newsome · incremental +0.171985 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.211985 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.241985 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.251985 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.361985 · Mike Wilcher · incremental +0.471985 · Doug Reed · incremental +0.681985 · Jim Collins · incremental +0.841985 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +1.471985 · Eric Dickerson · incremental -0.361985 · Barry Redden · incremental -0.491986 · Greg Meisner · incremental +0.021986 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.121986 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.171986 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.211986 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.241986 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.261986 · Vince Newsome · incremental +0.311986 · Mike Wilcher · incremental +0.471986 · Doug Reed · incremental +0.491986 · Eric Dickerson · incremental +0.681986 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +3.521986 · Barry Redden · incremental -1.451987 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.161987 · Vince Newsome · incremental +0.171987 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.181987 · Jim Collins · incremental +0.191987 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.191987 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.211987 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.251987 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +0.311987 · Mike Wilcher · incremental +0.351987 · Doug Reed · incremental +0.481987 · Eric Dickerson · incremental -0.071987 · Greg Meisner · incremental -0.221988 · Mike Guman · incremental +0.011988 · Greg Meisner · incremental +0.031988 · Jim Collins · incremental +0.051988 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.091988 · Vince Newsome · incremental +0.141988 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.251988 · Johnnie Johnson · incremental +0.401988 · Mike Wilcher · incremental +0.471988 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +0.561988 · Doug Reed · incremental +0.661988 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.741989 · Mel Owens · incremental +0.211989 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.221989 · Vince Newsome · incremental +0.351989 · LeRoy Irvin · incremental +0.351989 · Mike Wilcher · incremental +0.441989 · Doug Reed · incremental +0.451989 · Henry Ellard · incremental -0.091990 · Irv Pankey · incremental +0.251990 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.271990 · Vince Newsome · incremental +0.351990 · Mike Wilcher · incremental +0.421990 · Doug Reed · incremental +0.631991 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.241992 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.221993 · Henry Ellard · incremental +0.25Johnson -1.6Ellis -1.9Pankey -3.1Irvin +2.5Cobb -1.5Owens -1.7Clark -1.8Owens +0.1Lilja -1.6Gaylord -1.7Redden -1.8Bechtold -2.0Owens +0.3Owens +0.3Owens +0.3Owens +0.3Irvin +3.5Owens +0.2Owens +0.1Owens +0.219808 players198115 players198218 players198319 players198417 players198513 players198612 players198712 players198811 players19897 players19905 players19911 player19921 player19931 player
Above expectationBelow expectationMel OwensGM total -2.0Mel Owens by season -0.1

How much retained production did Mel Owens return vs. his slot?

Each mark below is one player's model value above slot. Light gray marks are slot-similar peers: LBs drafted within ±5 picks of Mel Owens since 2010 (12 players).The score is the retained production/value bucket from the pick-residual model: on-team AV plus AV-rate quality, adjusted for draft slot, position, and era. Opportunity snaps and league honors are excluded.

-1.5-1-0.50+0.5+1+1.5+2+2.5Model value above slot9. KuechlyLuke Kuechly · model value +2.8+2.812. ParsonsMicah Parsons · model value +2.7+2.75. WhiteDevin White · model value +0.212. GaryRashan Gary · model value +0.29. OwensMel Owens · model value +0.2+0.29. BarrAnthony Barr · model value +0.17. Hines-AllenJosh Hines-Allen · model value 05. MackKhalil Mack · model value -0.210. Jr.Devin Bush Jr. · model value -0.48. McClainRolando McClain · model value -0.68. SimmonsIsaiah Simmons · model value -0.713. ReddickHaason Reddick · model value -1.36. MingoBarkevious Mingo · model value -1.6
Mel OwensSlot-similar peers (12)

Cumulative value over time

Year-by-year running totals since draft. Left axis = games started. Right axis = honors (Pro Bowl / AP1 / AP2). Pre-2013 picks have no games-started line because that comes from per-game snap counts (not available for older players). Honors extend back to 1980.

'82'84'86'88'8902346689101Cumulative GSHonors count
Games started (cumulative) Pro Bowls AP1 All-Pro AP2 All-Pro

Full-career season history (9 scored seasons)

YearTeamGPGSSnapsSnap-zAVAV/snapPBAP1AP2
1981LAR1601
1982LAR711
1983LAR16168
1984LAR16168
1985LAR16159
1986LAR16168
1987LAR12125
1988LAR743
1989LAR16115

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