NFL Draft: Some Facts and Statistics

by JMFlyer1454

I've decided not to write my NFL Mock Draft 2008 Version 3 until after week 15. To fill that gap I have conjured up some NFL Draft facts and statistics. Have you ever wondered what school produced the most NFL talent? Or who the number one picks have been? Or maybe who was the last pick in every draft, deemed Mr. Irrelevant? Maybe not. But I'm going to write about it regardless.

A Little History

The NFL Annual Player Selection meeting, commonly referred to as the NFL Draft, has been around since 1936. The first draft was held on February 8, 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 1936 draft lasted 9 rounds. The first selection to ever be made by a professional football franchise, Jay Berwanger, a halfback out of Chicago, refused to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was traded to the Chicago Bears but did not sign there either. He never played a professional football game. The first player to ever sign a contract was the 1936 second overall pick, Riley Smith from Alabama, for the Boston Redskins.

AFL-NFL Feud

From 1960 through 1966 the NFL and AFL feuded over collegiate players. The newly formed AFL succeeded in taking premiere college players that were originally drafted by, but were never signed by, NFL teams. In fact, six of the top 10 players drafted by NFL teams signed with teams in the AFL. Among those players were:

• Billy Cannon a RB from LSU. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams with the 1st overall pick in the 1960 NFL Draft but signed with the Houston Oilers of the AFL.
• Another back from LSU, Johnny Robinson, was selected 3rd overall by the NFL's Detroit Lions. He instead signed with the AFL's Dallas Texans.
• QB Richie Lucas from Penn State was chosen by the Washington Redskins but instead signed with the Buffalo Bills.
• FB Jack Spikes out of TCU shunned the Pittsburgh Steelers and signed with the Dallas Texans.
• Ron Burton, a RB from Northwestern chose the AFL's Boston Patriots over the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
• Finally, Ron Mix, an OT out of USC, signed with the Los Angeles Chargers instead of the Baltimore Colts.

Cannon, Robinson, and Mix would become AFL All-Stars. Fighting for collegiate players would occur for 7 years. Not until an AFL-NFL merger was agreed upon prior to the 1966 season (although this didn't go into effect until 1970) would college football players have one professional league fighting over them. In 1967 the NFL-AFL held a joint draft. The leagues did this in 1968 and 1969 as well before the official merger.

The Common Draft (1967 through present)

Facts & Statistics

• Since 1967 there have been 13,556 players selected from 529 North American colleges and universities.
• The length of the draft in terms of the number of rounds has fluctuated. From 1967 through 1976 the draft was 17 rounds long. It shrunk to 12 rounds in 1977 and remained this way through 1992. In 1993 the draft lasted for 8 rounds. From 1994 through now the draft lasts for 7 rounds.
• There have been 41 number one picks. These picks have accounted for 102 Pro Bowl selections and seven Hall of Famers (Ron Yary, 1968; O.J. Simpson, 1969; Terry Bradshaw, 1970; Lee Roy Selmon, 1976; Earl Campbell, 1978; John Elway, 1983; Troy Aikman, 1989). It is more than likely that this group will welcome Bruce Smith (1985) when he becomes eligible in 2009. Odds are favorable for Orlando Pace (1997) and Peyton Manning (1998) and possibly Carson Palmer (2003) to join them as well.
• Speaking of number one picks, USC holds the record for most number one selections with 5 (Ron Yary, 1968; O.J. Simpson, 1969; Ricky Bell, 1977; Keyshawn Johnson, 1996; Carson Palmer, 2003). Ohio State sits in second place with 3 number one selections (Tom Cousineau, 1979; Dan Wilkinson, 1994; Orlando Pace, 1997). There are 7 schools that have had two number one selections (Auburn, Miami (FL), Oklahoma, Penn State, Stanford, Texas, and Virginia Tech).
• Most season played by a number one pick: 20; Vinny Testaverde, Miami (FL) (1987)
• Most Pro Bowls by a number one pick: 11; Bruce Smith, Virginia Tech (1985)

Below is a breakdown of the colleges/universities with the most selections over the last 41 NFL drafts.

Mr. Irrelevant

Or, the last person taken in the NFL Draft

JuTMSY4Legend

747 days ago

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Jim Finn strikes me as the best Mr. Irrelvant...but its hard to tell...

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JMFlyer1454Draft Pick

747 days ago

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Yeah I was going to elaborate on their statistics but it would take a long time. I may do that for a future article. By skimming the names I'd have to agree with Jim Finn but one of the guys from the '70s or '80s may have done more. We may not have heard of him.

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