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nflfastR

ANALYTICS
Velocity0.0

R package nflfastR by nflverse — release notes from GitHub.

github.com/nflverse/nflfastR ↗

nflfastR is shedding surface to the rest of nflverse and consolidating on one stats API.

sports analyticsnflverseapi consolidationplay-by-play datadeprecationsxgboost
◆Current state
The play-by-play backbone of nflverse, shipping one or two releases a year with long bug-fix lists against decades of NFL data. Since 5.0.0 the package has had a single calculate_stats() entry point that replaces the older calculate_player_stats*() family, backed by an exported nfl_stats_variables table describing every returned column. The last two releases hand work outward — standings moved to nflseedR, and the loaders are now straight re-exports of nflreadr — while fast_scraper_roster(), fast_scraper_schedules() and report() are formally deprecated.
◆Where it's heading
nflfastR is becoming the parsing and modelling core rather than the whole toolkit. Every recent release either narrows its own API or points users at a sibling package, and the documentation strategy follows: re-exported functions are deliberately undocumented here so nflreadr stays the single source. The remaining in-house work is data correctness — duplicated play IDs, scramble identification, new penalty types — plus keeping the xgboost-backed models running as that dependency moves.
◆Prediction
The deprecated scrapers and report() are the next things to be removed outright, and the calculate_player_stats*() family should follow, leaving calculate_stats() as the only supported path.

◆Recent moves

  1. 6mo ago

    Loaders re-exported from nflreadr; legacy scrapers deprecated

    calculate_stats() gains a pbp argument so stats can be computed over a subset of play-by-play, the nflreadr loaders become direct re-exports, and fast_scraper_roster(), fast_scraper_schedules() and report() are deprecated. The consolidation started in 5.0.0 continues, with xgboost v3 compatibility and a run of data-accuracy fixes alongside.

    View source ↗
  2. 1y ago

    Standings handed to nflseedR; R 4.1 now required

    calculate_standings() is deprecated in favour of nflseedR's implementation and the package now requires R 4.1 for the native pipe. Another responsibility handed to a sibling package rather than maintained here.

    View source ↗
  3. 1y ago

    nflfastR 5.0.0

    ⚡ SPARK

    calculate_stats() unifies the whole calculate_player_stats*() family behind one faster function, with nfl_stats_variables documenting every output column and five dependencies dropped. This is the hinge the two later releases build on.

    View source ↗
  4. 2y ago

    Season-level conversion rate aggregation fixed

    Corrects season-level aggregation in calculate_series_conversion_rates() and adjusts test behaviour at CRAN's request. A maintenance release.

    View source ↗
  5. 2y ago

    Raw play-by-play can now be cached and parsed locally

    Adds full support for loading raw play-by-play from the local filesystem, with save_raw_pbp() and missing_raw_pbp() to populate and audit that directory. A real workflow change for anyone rebuilding seasons repeatedly.

    View source ↗
  6. 3y ago

    Reverse-dependency tests and dplyr compatibility fixes

    Reverse-dependency tests, internal performance work and fixes for upcoming dplyr and tidyselect changes. Insulation against the tidyverse moving underneath it.

    View source ↗