2022 NFL Draft: Behind the Numbers

2022 NFL Draft Prospect — 2022 NFL Draft: Behind the Numbers by James Costanz

Edge rushers picked in the top 3 since 2013

The Jaguars have multiple options at #1, but it does appear as if the edge rushers have dominated much of the conversation surrounding the top picks. How have teams fared in recent years with taking edge rushers high?

Year	Team	Player	Still with team?
2013	Miami Dolphins	Dion Jordan (3rd overall)	No
2014	Houston Texans	Jadeveon Clowney (1st overall)	No
2015	Jacksonville Jaguars	Dante Fowler (3rd overall)	No
2016	San Diego Chargers	Joey Bosa (3rd overall)	Yes
2017	Cleveland Browns	Myles Garrett (1st overall)	Yes
2017	San Francisco 49ers	Solomon Thomas (3rd overall)	No
2019	San Francisco 49ers	Nick Bosa (2nd overall)	Yes
2020	Washington Commanders	Chase Young (2nd overall)	Yes

Combined number of contract extensions: 2 * (Young not eligible, while Nick Bosa’s extension looms)

Record of teams in the year following taking Edge Rusher in top 3:

2013 Miami Dolphins: 8-8
2014 Houston Texans: 9-7
2015 Jacksonville Jaguars: 5-11
2016 San Diego Chargers: 5-11
2017 Cleveland Browns: 0-16
2017 San Francisco 49ers: 6-10
2019 San Francisco 49ers: 13-3
2020 Washington Football Team: 7-9

Drafts in which QB’s did not selected in top 10 (since 1980)

While it is very much possible a QB (or two?) goes in the top 10, most of the hype has been away from the QB position. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some drafts in which a QB did not make it in the first 10 selections.

Year	First QB taken	Overall pick	Games started for drafted team
2013	EJ Manuel	16th	16
2000	Chad Pennington	18th	61
1997	Jim Druckenmiller	26th	1
1996 *	Tony Banks	42nd	43
1991	Dan McGwire	16th	4
1988	Tom Tupa	68th	13
1985	Randal Cunningham	37th	107
1984	Boomer Esiason	38th	123
1980	Marc Wilson	15th	50

* = 96 was the last draft in which a QB was not taken in the first round

There’s only 3 positions to look at with 1st overall pick

Since 1997, the only positions that have produced #1 picks are QB, DE, OT
Last time a WR went 1st overall: 1996 (Keyshawn Johnson)
Last time a RB went 1st overall: 1995 (Ki-Jana Carter)
Last time a DT went 1st overall: 1994 (Dan Wilkinson)
Last time a ILB went 1st overall: 1979 (Tom Cousineau)
A DB has never been selected 1st overall

Eight teams have multiple first round draft picks in 2022:

Detroit Lions (#2, #32)
Houston Texans (#3, #13)
NY Jets (#4, #10)
NY Giants (#5, #7)
Philadelphia Eagles (#15, #18)
New Orleans Saints (#16, #19)
Green Bay Packers (#22, #28)
Kansas City Chiefs (#29, #30)

Combined record of teams in the season following a draft where they have multiple first rounders (since 2017):

157-214-1

Teams without a first round pick in 2022:

Chicago Bears (First pick #39)
Indianapolis Colts (First pick #42)
Cleveland Browns (First pick #44)
San Francisco 49ers (First pick #61)
Denver Broncos (First pick #64)
Las Vegas Raiders (First pick #86)
Miami Dolphins (First pick #102)
Los Angeles Rams (First pick #104)

Most selections in the draft: Jacksonville Jaguars and Kansas City Chiefs (12)

Fewest selections in the draft: Miami Dolphins (4)

Jaguars once again picking #1

6th team to pick #1 overall back-to-back years (1936-37 Eagles, 1939-40 Cardinals, 1976-77 Buccaneers, 1986-87 Buccaneers, 1994-95 Bengals, 1999-00 Browns, 2017-18 Browns)
Jaguars have picked in the top ten in 13 of the last 14 drafts

Notable numbers from 15 top prospects

EDGE Aidan Hutchinson: 14 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 2021 (3.5 sacks in college career before 2021)

EDGE Travon Walker: 5 sacks, 20 hurries, and 9 QB hits in 2021

QB Kenny Pickett: Threw more touchdowns in 2021 (42) than he did in previous 4 years at Pitt (39)

QB Malik Willis: Combined stats against Power 5 programs (5 games): 79 for 126 (62% completion percentage) with 1,279 total yards, 12 total touchdowns, and 6 interceptions