The Denver Broncos have poached an employee from the NFL’s league office.

The Broncos hired Meyappan Subbaiah as a senior data scientist, ESPN’s Seth Walder reported earlier this week. Before landing in Denver, Subbaiah previously worked in the NFL’s league office as a data scientist, and he worked for Zelus Analytics before that.

Subbaiah holds a Master’s of Science in Business Analytics from the University of Texas and a Master’s of Science in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M, according to his website. Fan can read his 2020 project “identifying the most valuable positions on the defensive line position and how to value those positions accordingly” here, and his 2021 project “assess[ing] and evaluat[ing] defensive players using provided tracking data” here.

Broncos coach Sean Payton said earlier this year that he uses analytics more for roster building than for in-game decisions.

“I would say where it’s most valuable, in my opinion, to us, is the procurement of talent,” Payton said on Aug. 1. “It’s the Bo Nix one in every 82 plays having a negative, a fumble, interception or sack. Analytically comparing that over 30 years, and then doing studies on sacks or studies on fumbles. We have a receiver every year that we look at who’s 5-11, 160 pounds. [Senior director of football technology and research] Tony [Lazzaro], I’ll say, ‘Put up the last 30 years of receivers under the weight of 165 pounds.’ When the list goes up, you look at it and you say, ‘All right, are we in that business?’

“The personnel side of things, it’s extremely valuable. We prototype players at positions. Running backs don’t have any height requirements, but if they’re short, we want them short not small. RJ Harvey, you wouldn’t say he’s small. You’d say he’s short. So each position, there are certain things that we’re looking for. But clearly, in 2025, it’s different in-game. Yet you can’t lose track of what’s going on. How are we running it? How are we protecting? What’s going on can have a big impact on moving your analytical needle if that makes any sense.”

This isn’t the first time Denver has hired from the NFL’s league office. In 2022, the Broncos hired Damani Leech as their new team president after he served as the NFL’s chief operating officer of NFL International from 2019-2022. Leech first joined the NFL as vice president of football strategy and business development in 2015.

Before the Subbaiah hire, Denver’s website listed six “football technology and research” employees on staff, including a data scientist (Joey DiCresce) and a backend data engineer (Preston Sharpe).

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