NFL Draft: Quantifying First Round Picks
Posted by Andrew McKillop on May 1, 2011
I decided to do a simple by the numbers analysis of NFL teams first round draft habits in the modern day college draft (since 1967).
Note: Analysis doesn’t include supplemental draft picks.
Listed below is a chart displaying how many first round picks each team has had in the draft since 1967 or inaugural season (i.e. expansion teams), as well as first round picks per season each team has averaged.
Interesting note: From 1969-79 and 1984-90 the Washington Redskins didn’t own a first round pick.
| Team | 1st Rnd Picks | Picks Per Yr |
| Bengals | 54 | 1.23 |
| Patriots | 53 | 1.18 |
| Packers | 52 | 1.16 |
| Colts | 51 | 1.13 |
| Jaguars | 19 | 1.12 |
| 49ers | 50 | 1.11 |
| Rams | 50 | 1.11 |
| Texans | 11 | 1.10 |
| Bills | 49 | 1.09 |
| Lions | 49 | 1.09 |
| Jets | 48 | 1.07 |
| Ravens | 17 | 1.06 |
| Cardinals | 47 | 1.04 |
| Seahawks | 37 | 1.03 |
| Bears | 46 | 1.02 |
| Panthers | 17 | 1.00 |
| Steelers | 45 | 1.00 |
| Chargers | 44 | 0.98 |
| Chiefs | 44 | 0.98 |
| Falcons | 44 | 0.98 |
| Raiders | 44 | 0.98 |
| Saints | 44 | 0.98 |
| Vikings | 44 | 0.98 |
| Cowboys | 43 | 0.96 |
| Browns | 41 | 0.91 |
| Giants | 41 | 0.91 |
| Buccaneers | 32 | 0.89 |
| Dolphins | 40 | 0.89 |
| Titans | 40 | 0.89 |
| Broncos | 38 | 0.84 |
| Eagles | 38 | 0.84 |
| Redskins | 24 | 0.53 |
Listed below is the order of selection each team has averaged in the first round since 1967 or their inaugural season. Because the number of first round picks in the NFL draft hasn’t always been a static number of 32 picks, I calculated an adjusted value, in which each team’s order of selection was divided by the number of picks in that year’s first round. The value is an average of that calculated figure multiplied by 32.
| Team | Adj Pick | Avg Pick |
| Buccaneers | 12.440 | 11.6 |
| Texans | 12.804 | 12.7 |
| Cardinals | 13.331 | 12.0 |
| Falcons | 13.824 | 12.6 |
| Bengals | 13.926 | 12.4 |
| Titans | 14.330 | 13.0 |
| Redskins | 14.352 | 13.3 |
| Lions | 14.622 | 13.2 |
| Saints | 14.735 | 13.4 |
| Seahawks | 14.766 | 13.9 |
| Jets | 14.851 | 13.5 |
| Jaguars | 14.908 | 14.6 |
| Bears | 15.759 | 14.1 |
| Browns | 15.794 | 14.1 |
| Eagles | 16.199 | 14.7 |
| Chargers | 16.300 | 14.5 |
| Colts | 16.381 | 14.8 |
| Panthers | 16.553 | 16.2 |
| Rams | 16.772 | 14.9 |
| Ravens | 17.019 | 16.7 |
| Bills | 17.042 | 15.3 |
| Chiefs | 17.616 | 15.8 |
| Patriots | 17.752 | 16.1 |
| Vikings | 18.003 | 16.2 |
| Giants | 18.042 | 16.3 |
| Packers | 18.130 | 16.3 |
| Broncos | 18.858 | 17.2 |
| Raiders | 19.157 | 17.0 |
| 49ers | 19.314 | 17.4 |
| Cowboys | 19.907 | 17.6 |
| Dolphins | 20.021 | 17.9 |
| Steelers | 21.060 | 19.1 |
Below is a percentage figure which indicates what positions each NFL team has spent their first round selections on. Bold marks the position (doesn’t include special teams players) each team has spent the most first round picks on.
| Team | QB | RB | WR | TE | T | C | G | DE | DT | LB | DB |
| 49ers | 6% | 8% | 12% | 6% | 10% | 2% | 2% | 10% | 14% | 12% | 16% |
| Bears | 9% | 17% | 9% | 2% | 22% | 0% | 0% | 17% | 7% | 9% | 9% |
| Bengals | 9% | 7% | 13% | 4% | 11% | 6% | 0% | 17% | 7% | 19% | 7% |
| Bills | 4% | 18% | 12% | 6% | 6% | 2% | 6% | 10% | 6% | 6% | 22% |
| Broncos | 8% | 16% | 11% | 3% | 13% | 0% | 5% | 8% | 8% | 16% | 13% |
| Browns | 7% | 15% | 10% | 5% | 5% | 7% | 2% | 10% | 5% | 17% | 17% |
| Buccaneers | 13% | 13% | 6% | 0% | 9% | 0% | 9% | 25% | 9% | 9% | 6% |
| Cardinals | 6% | 13% | 13% | 2% | 13% | 0% | 0% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 19% |
| Chargers | 7% | 18% | 11% | 2% | 7% | 2% | 0% | 9% | 7% | 14% | 23% |
| Chiefs | 5% | 14% | 11% | 7% | 9% | 2% | 14% | 14% | 7% | 7% | 11% |
| Colts | 10% | 18% | 16% | 4% | 8% | 0% | 4% | 12% | 8% | 14% | 8% |
| Cowboys | 2% | 16% | 12% | 5% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 19% | 14% | 12% | 14% |
| Dolphins | 5% | 15% | 10% | 0% | 18% | 3% | 3% | 15% | 10% | 8% | 15% |
| Eagles | 5% | 8% | 11% | 5% | 16% | 0% | 11% | 13% | 13% | 8% | 11% |
| Falcons | 9% | 14% | 11% | 2% | 14% | 0% | 2% | 9% | 14% | 9% | 16% |
| Giants | 5% | 15% | 10% | 5% | 5% | 2% | 7% | 15% | 7% | 7% | 20% |
| Jaguars | 11% | 11% | 16% | 5% | 11% | 0% | 0% | 11% | 16% | 5% | 16% |
| Jets | 8% | 10% | 8% | 10% | 8% | 4% | 4% | 19% | 4% | 10% | 13% |
| Lions | 10% | 14% | 16% | 4% | 12% | 2% | 2% | 6% | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| Packers | 8% | 10% | 8% | 4% | 14% | 2% | 6% | 14% | 8% | 14% | 15% |
| Panthers | 12% | 18% | 6% | 0% | 18% | 0% | 0% | 12% | 0% | 18% | 18% |
| Patriots | 6% | 13% | 11% | 6% | 9% | 6% | 6% | 9% | 8% | 6% | 21% |
| Raiders | 7% | 7% | 11% | 5% | 7% | 2% | 9% | 7% | 9% | 7% | 25% |
| Rams | 2% | 22% | 8% | 2% | 10% | 2% | 6% | 14% | 10% | 14% | 10% |
| Ravens | 12% | 6% | 12% | 6% | 12% | 0% | 6% | 0% | 6% | 18% | 24% |
| Redskins | 13% | 4% | 17% | 0% | 13% | 0% | 4% | 8% | 4% | 8% | 29% |
| Saints | 2% | 18% | 14% | 2% | 9% | 0% | 11% | 18% | 7% | 9% | 7% |
| Seahawks | 5% | 5% | 5% | 3% | 16% | 3% | 8% | 14% | 14% | 5% | 19% |
| Steelers | 7% | 11% | 16% | 9% | 7% | 2% | 9% | 11% | 7% | 7% | 16% |
| Texans | 9% | 0% | 9% | 0% | 9% | 0% | 0% | 18% | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| Titans | 13% | 18% | 8% | 0% | 13% | 0% | 10% | 10% | 8% | 13% | 10% |
| Vikings | 7% | 21% | 9% | 0% | 11% | 0% | 5% | 21% | 14% | 9% | 5% |
| Totals | 8% | 13% | 11% | 4% | 11% | 2% | 5% | 13% | 9% | 11% | 15% |
Reference: Pro-Football-Reference Draft Finder
