We’ve had a chance to digest what took place last Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Chicago, and after crunching some numbers, we’ve discovered some interesting stats-based trends regarding the NFL Draft.
Offense early: 53 of the last 72 top-four picks, dating back to 1999, have been offensive players. That’s 74 percent. During that 17-draft span, we’ve never seen three defensive picks in the top four. During the previous 29 drafts, between 1970 (first year after the NFL-AFL merger) and 1998, offensive players were chosen in the top four only 56 percent of the time.
Quarterbacks early: Quarterbacks were chosen 1-2 for the third time in five years. Prior to that stretch, that had only happened six times in NFL history (dating all the way back to 1935). A total of 20 quarterbacks have been taken in the top five in the last 15 drafts. In the previous 15 years, only 14 went in the top five. In the 15 years before that, only seven quarterbacks went that early.
First-round balance: But more defensive players (17) than offensive players (15) were taken in Round 1. In the first 16 drafts this century (2000-2015), defensive players were taken with 51 percent of first-round picks. A majority of first-round picks have been used on offensive players only once since 2010 (53 percent in 2015).
Running back trepidation: Sure, Ezekiel Elliott became just the second running back since 2009 to be selected in the top five, but no other backs were taken until Derrick Henry went off the board 45th overall. In the last four years, only three backs — Elliott, Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon — have been taken in the first round. Times have changed, quickly.
Special-teams love, part 1: It’s hard to believe, but 13 placekickers have been drafted earlier than Roberto Aguayo, who went No. 59 to Tampa Bay in 2016. However, the only kicker to be drafted higher this century was Mike Nugent, who went No. 47 overall in 2005. Only four of the 13 kickers drafted earlier than Aguayo went on to make the Pro Bowl.
Special-teams love, part 2: We also had a punter (Drew Kaser) and a long snapper (Jimmy Landes, who became only the fourth pure long snapper to be drafted) taken in Round 6. Throw in two seventh-round punters and all in all, five specialists were drafted. That’s as many as were drafted in 2014 and 2015 combined.
