2018 NFL Draft: By the Numbers

Well, that was certainly an interesting draft full of drama and intrigue in Big D, wasn’t it? Dallas were gracious hosts and had a very well planned out event for everyone to enjoy.

The funniest moment had to have been former Eagles kicker David Akers going after the Cowboys fans before the Eagles pick in the second round. The best moment had to have been when Shaquem Griffin was drafted by the Seahawks to play with his twin brother.

Which conference had the most draft picks? (hint: it’s a familiar face) Which program dominated the minds of front offices everywhere? Which conferences and programs struggled? Who and where did the Titans picks come from?

Which conference is the king?

The new king of the mountain is the old one. Nothing to see here, folks. Here are the numbers broken down by conference amongst the Power 5 and the others. Note: The number in the parentheses reflect the change in totals from the 2017 draft.

SEC: 53 ( = )

ACC: 45 ( +2)

Big Ten: 33 (-2)

Pac-12: 30 (-6)

Big 12: 20 (+6)

Group of 5: 51

FCS and below: 23

Who are the most bountiful divisions in all of college football?

Which schools had the most drafted?

Analysis

The SEC is the top conference once again. The ACC continues to assert its stranglehold on second place. The Big Ten lost a couple but still maintained its grip on a respectable third place. Struggling mightily both on the field and in the draft boards is the Pac-12. It was a down year for the conference with its heavyweights knocked out of the playoff chase by October. It will be interesting to watch how the conference fares with all those coaching change out West. The Big 12 gained several prospects thanks to a resurgent Oklahoma being helped by a Heisman winner and Texas slowly recovering its place among the blue bloods.

Needless to say, Alabama is just a machine churning out pick after pick every year. They topped everyone with 12 picks. The list is scattered with the usual suspects but a surprise emerged with NC State putting seven guys into the NFL, including all four of its defensive line.

The SEC West has made jokes out of the SEC East both on and off the field until Georgia rediscovered its form under Kirby Smart. The West is probably the hardest division to win out of all of the power conferences. As expected, the talent in the ACC Atlantic still outweighs the Coastal division (thanks, Florida State and Clemson). The Atlantic has beaten the Coastal a whopping seven years in a row in the conference title game.

Titans related numbers

Pac-12: 2

SEC: 1

ACC: 1

Total distance from Nashville: 4,972 miles

Offense: 1

Defense: 3

Avg. number of HS recruiting stars: 3.25

5 Stars (Rashaan Evans)

3 Stars (Harold Landry, Dane Cruikshank)

2 Stars (Luke Falk)

Analysis

Rashaan Evans joins the long list of former five star recruits populating the ranks of the NFL. GM Jon Robinson has proven that he will go for the bigger game early while looking for the smaller brand names later on during his brief tenure. The 2018 draft for the Titans held true to that mantra for the most part. Over the past two years, the Titans have shown a love for the Pac-12 conference with a total of five of 13 picks coming from that conference.

What’s interesting is that the offensive prospects barely edge out the defensive ones 7 to 6. It seems like the former Patriots lieutenants in the NFL have dipped in the Bama well far more frequently as of late compared to other GMs. This could be primarily due to the fact that Nick Saban and Bill Belichick have a tight relationship and those working under Belichick soak it up by proxy.

Due to the small size of the draft class, not many tendencies can be parsed for the Titans this year.