The draft has been discussed in many articles, but so far the positional strength has not been something that was looked at in detail. Let's take a look at where certain positions have gone and what that means for the league as a whole.
Quarterbacks:
49th Shawn Brady
50th Christian Adams
87th Torque Lewith
Average draft position: 62
With the league already secure in their starting quarterbacks, the need to draft one very high was not really there. Three quarterbacks were drafted, all in later rounds, leading to an average draft position of 62.
Running Backs:
14th Ardie Savea
36th Darlane Farlane
41st Kyle Cobb
57th Denzel Diaz
77th Domantas Sabonis
83rd John Goose
93rd Eric Kennedy
96th Teez Tobin
Average draft position: 62
Running back faces a similar issue to Quarterback. The main spots are already filled in this league and while some teams were looking for a backup or versatile 3rd down-back, the need was not there. With Ardie Savea, Running Back has at least one elite talent in this draft, but compared to Quarterbacks, there was also much more filler towards the end of the draft, with teams drafting a third running back for their bench. In the end, Quarterback and Runningback end up with the exact same average draft position, 62.
Wide Receiver:
7th Fox North
16th Dustin Evans
32nd CA Chess
47th John Ross
51st Damien Kroetch
52nd Matthew Vincent
53rd Darren Smallwood
56th Johnny Rocket
60th John Baker
81st Hunter Mason
82nd Ryan Lecavelier
95th Santana Moss
Average draft position: 53
There are a lot more roster spots available for wide receivers than running backs and quarterbacks, with teams often needing 5 or more wide receiver on game day. With two elite players in Fox North and Dustin Evans in the first two rounds, Wide Receiver should add some quality talent to the league. Even a few other guys should see time on the field, at least in 4-wide-receiver sets. While there were also some later gambles made on wide receiver, the position was filled with more talent than quarterback and running back and ends up at an average draft position of 53.
Tight Ends:
21st Perry Tucker
23rd Paul DiMirio
55th Rich Gucci
58th Carmel Gibson
84th Jesse Sanderson
Average draft position: 48
Tight End is a very tough position. You need to be versatile, both a good blocker and a good receiver. At the same time, tight ends tend to be very important in the red zone and short yardage situations but rarely deep threats. There are also only a limited number of spots, but at the same time you can have two-tight-end sets as well. With Perry Tucker and Paul DiMirio, you have two guys who were drafted early and should find ways on the field, maybe even as starters. Tight end was a very solid position in this draft and while only five guys were drafted, four of those could end up seeing time on the field, with two solid starter potential type players added. The average draft position of 48 is so far the highest.
Offensive Line:
3rd Tim Pest
4th Vincent Sharpei
6th Gregor Clegane
8th Micah Hendrix
10th Brokk Lee
11th Jordan Yates
24th Scotty Timlin
26th Alonzo Charles
27th Dieter Koch
28th Avon Blocksade
29th Tyron Smith
42nd Matt James
44th Brett Dodggy
62nd Shjom Finkenlarkin
63rd Gadget Tech
64th Connor MacManus
67th Braden Sharp
68th Pat Pancake
69th Jazzy J
72nd Buster Brownce
74th Bradley T. MadLad
79th Bernard Forthward
88th Gui Worthy
Average draft position: 42
Offensive line proved to be the most important and deepest position of this draft. With a lack of elite offensive linemen in the league, it was bound to happen that teams focused hard on the offensive line. With six offensive linemen taken in the first eleven picks, the league sent a big neon sign towards college players to show how important the linemen were. If you want to be drafted early, offensive line is the way to go. Even beyond those six, another five more were drafted before pick 29. You can assume that all of these players are potential starters and even the sleeper picks towards the end of the draft could end up solid back ups or end up on the field. Offensive line was THE position during this draft and the average draft position of 42, as well as the six early draft picks among the first eleven picks show how important the offensive line is to teams.
Defensive Tackle:
5th Bork Bjornsson
38th Ben Green
89th Typical Newenglander
92nd Frederick Smith
Average draft position: 56
Defensive Tackle was a bit of a disappointing draft position this season. With many defensive linemen choosing the edge rather than the interior line, only four traditional defensive tackles were drafted. With one star player in Bork Bjornsson, there was one defensive tackle drafted in the first round, but there were also two incredibly late picks that ruined the average draft position which ended up at 56.
Defensive End:
2nd Blaster Blade
17th Drew Davidson
18th Owen Taylor
19th Enchilada Charlton
33rd Ottokar Von Gerhardt
39th Big Bot
43rd Chidubem Okonkwo
66th Thaddeus Bullard
90th Mac Donald
Average draft position: 36
With the huge importance of offensive line, teams also focused on something else: To get after the quarterback against improved lines. Of course one of the main goals of any defense is to attack the quarterback and with offensive lines vastly improving in this draft, teams also looked for new players to get behind this new problem. With Blaster Blade, the 2nd overall pick, as well as three more players drafted 17th to 19th, defensive end is a very top heavy draft group and all four of those players will find their way into a starting position in this league very quickly. Compared to other position, defensive end did not have many late draft picks, making it an incredible position in this draft and the average draft position is a stunning 36, making it the lowest in this draft so far, even lower than offensive line.
Linebacker:
13th Kevin Cushing
34th Luke Washington
40th Luke Luechly
45th James Wright
59th Noah Parker
61st Luke Chunk
65th Donovan Maric
71st Steve Austin
75th Manny Paz
80th Hingle Mcringleberry
Average draft position: 54
Linebacker is a very crucial position in football, but often overlooked in the first rounds of the draft. It was very similar in this draft, with Kevin Cushing being the only Linebacker drafted early and a majority of linebackers being drafted in the middle rounds. Linebacker ended up with an average draft position of 54.
Cornerback:
1st Dermot Lavelle
9th Darnell Turner
12th Tyler Oles
30th Marc Spector
31st Kristoffer Sullivan
37th Xavier Newman
73rd Leon Morgan
85th Rafael Reyes
Average draft position: 35
With the number one overall pick, Dermot Lavelle, cornerback was already a strong contender for the most crucial position in the draft. Adding Turner and Oles within the first twelve picks also helped further. Only two late picks helped keep the average draft position down and three more cornerbacks being drafted in the early stages of the draft helped make cornerback so far the strongest position in terms of average draft position at 35.
Safety:
15th Roman Thomas
20th Jorge Masdival
22nd Ragner Kronen
25th Marcus Kane
35th Allen Davis
46th Isaiah McGinn
76th James Lillico
Average draft position: 34
Despite not having a top draft pick in the first round, safety ends up having the lowest draft position in the entire draft. With Thomas, Masdival, Kronen and Kane all picked in the top 25 and only one late pick in the draft, safety ends up with an average draft position of 34 and should add some solid starters into the league.
Kicker/Punter:
48th Christiano Ronaldo
54th Joey Langdon
101st Jason Jerek
104th Jack Vanderjagt
Average draft position: 77
Kicker and punter are people too! With Ronaldo and Langdon we could see two new starters in the league, but with the two last picks in the draft, punter/kicker ends up with the highest average draft position at 77.
Conclusion:
Various positions had many impressive players in this draft and the league was definitely filled with a lot of new talent, so despite the expansion, teams should have a great time adding impressive players. While some positions struggled, others shined. Here is a list with the positions ranked by average draft positions:
1st: Safety 34
2nd: Cornerback 35
3rd: Defensive End 36
4th: Offensive Line 42
5th: Tight End 48
6th: Wide Receiver 53
7th: Line Backer 54
8th: Defensive Tackle 56
9th: Quarterback 62
9th: Running Back 62
11th: Kicker/Punter 77
It is interesting to note that based on average draft position, the top three positions are all on the defensive end. Perhaps team did want to focus on their defense first and foremost. However, despite the ranking here, I would still argue that Offensive Line has seen the biggest push in this draft, with many of the top spots going to Offensive Linemen. I do think that in the end, the top four positions ranked here will be the most impressive ones from this draft, safety, cornerback, defensive end and offensive line.
Quarterbacks:
49th Shawn Brady
50th Christian Adams
87th Torque Lewith
Average draft position: 62
With the league already secure in their starting quarterbacks, the need to draft one very high was not really there. Three quarterbacks were drafted, all in later rounds, leading to an average draft position of 62.
Running Backs:
14th Ardie Savea
36th Darlane Farlane
41st Kyle Cobb
57th Denzel Diaz
77th Domantas Sabonis
83rd John Goose
93rd Eric Kennedy
96th Teez Tobin
Average draft position: 62
Running back faces a similar issue to Quarterback. The main spots are already filled in this league and while some teams were looking for a backup or versatile 3rd down-back, the need was not there. With Ardie Savea, Running Back has at least one elite talent in this draft, but compared to Quarterbacks, there was also much more filler towards the end of the draft, with teams drafting a third running back for their bench. In the end, Quarterback and Runningback end up with the exact same average draft position, 62.
Wide Receiver:
7th Fox North
16th Dustin Evans
32nd CA Chess
47th John Ross
51st Damien Kroetch
52nd Matthew Vincent
53rd Darren Smallwood
56th Johnny Rocket
60th John Baker
81st Hunter Mason
82nd Ryan Lecavelier
95th Santana Moss
Average draft position: 53
There are a lot more roster spots available for wide receivers than running backs and quarterbacks, with teams often needing 5 or more wide receiver on game day. With two elite players in Fox North and Dustin Evans in the first two rounds, Wide Receiver should add some quality talent to the league. Even a few other guys should see time on the field, at least in 4-wide-receiver sets. While there were also some later gambles made on wide receiver, the position was filled with more talent than quarterback and running back and ends up at an average draft position of 53.
Tight Ends:
21st Perry Tucker
23rd Paul DiMirio
55th Rich Gucci
58th Carmel Gibson
84th Jesse Sanderson
Average draft position: 48
Tight End is a very tough position. You need to be versatile, both a good blocker and a good receiver. At the same time, tight ends tend to be very important in the red zone and short yardage situations but rarely deep threats. There are also only a limited number of spots, but at the same time you can have two-tight-end sets as well. With Perry Tucker and Paul DiMirio, you have two guys who were drafted early and should find ways on the field, maybe even as starters. Tight end was a very solid position in this draft and while only five guys were drafted, four of those could end up seeing time on the field, with two solid starter potential type players added. The average draft position of 48 is so far the highest.
Offensive Line:
3rd Tim Pest
4th Vincent Sharpei
6th Gregor Clegane
8th Micah Hendrix
10th Brokk Lee
11th Jordan Yates
24th Scotty Timlin
26th Alonzo Charles
27th Dieter Koch
28th Avon Blocksade
29th Tyron Smith
42nd Matt James
44th Brett Dodggy
62nd Shjom Finkenlarkin
63rd Gadget Tech
64th Connor MacManus
67th Braden Sharp
68th Pat Pancake
69th Jazzy J
72nd Buster Brownce
74th Bradley T. MadLad
79th Bernard Forthward
88th Gui Worthy
Average draft position: 42
Offensive line proved to be the most important and deepest position of this draft. With a lack of elite offensive linemen in the league, it was bound to happen that teams focused hard on the offensive line. With six offensive linemen taken in the first eleven picks, the league sent a big neon sign towards college players to show how important the linemen were. If you want to be drafted early, offensive line is the way to go. Even beyond those six, another five more were drafted before pick 29. You can assume that all of these players are potential starters and even the sleeper picks towards the end of the draft could end up solid back ups or end up on the field. Offensive line was THE position during this draft and the average draft position of 42, as well as the six early draft picks among the first eleven picks show how important the offensive line is to teams.
Defensive Tackle:
5th Bork Bjornsson
38th Ben Green
89th Typical Newenglander
92nd Frederick Smith
Average draft position: 56
Defensive Tackle was a bit of a disappointing draft position this season. With many defensive linemen choosing the edge rather than the interior line, only four traditional defensive tackles were drafted. With one star player in Bork Bjornsson, there was one defensive tackle drafted in the first round, but there were also two incredibly late picks that ruined the average draft position which ended up at 56.
Defensive End:
2nd Blaster Blade
17th Drew Davidson
18th Owen Taylor
19th Enchilada Charlton
33rd Ottokar Von Gerhardt
39th Big Bot
43rd Chidubem Okonkwo
66th Thaddeus Bullard
90th Mac Donald
Average draft position: 36
With the huge importance of offensive line, teams also focused on something else: To get after the quarterback against improved lines. Of course one of the main goals of any defense is to attack the quarterback and with offensive lines vastly improving in this draft, teams also looked for new players to get behind this new problem. With Blaster Blade, the 2nd overall pick, as well as three more players drafted 17th to 19th, defensive end is a very top heavy draft group and all four of those players will find their way into a starting position in this league very quickly. Compared to other position, defensive end did not have many late draft picks, making it an incredible position in this draft and the average draft position is a stunning 36, making it the lowest in this draft so far, even lower than offensive line.
Linebacker:
13th Kevin Cushing
34th Luke Washington
40th Luke Luechly
45th James Wright
59th Noah Parker
61st Luke Chunk
65th Donovan Maric
71st Steve Austin
75th Manny Paz
80th Hingle Mcringleberry
Average draft position: 54
Linebacker is a very crucial position in football, but often overlooked in the first rounds of the draft. It was very similar in this draft, with Kevin Cushing being the only Linebacker drafted early and a majority of linebackers being drafted in the middle rounds. Linebacker ended up with an average draft position of 54.
Cornerback:
1st Dermot Lavelle
9th Darnell Turner
12th Tyler Oles
30th Marc Spector
31st Kristoffer Sullivan
37th Xavier Newman
73rd Leon Morgan
85th Rafael Reyes
Average draft position: 35
With the number one overall pick, Dermot Lavelle, cornerback was already a strong contender for the most crucial position in the draft. Adding Turner and Oles within the first twelve picks also helped further. Only two late picks helped keep the average draft position down and three more cornerbacks being drafted in the early stages of the draft helped make cornerback so far the strongest position in terms of average draft position at 35.
Safety:
15th Roman Thomas
20th Jorge Masdival
22nd Ragner Kronen
25th Marcus Kane
35th Allen Davis
46th Isaiah McGinn
76th James Lillico
Average draft position: 34
Despite not having a top draft pick in the first round, safety ends up having the lowest draft position in the entire draft. With Thomas, Masdival, Kronen and Kane all picked in the top 25 and only one late pick in the draft, safety ends up with an average draft position of 34 and should add some solid starters into the league.
Kicker/Punter:
48th Christiano Ronaldo
54th Joey Langdon
101st Jason Jerek
104th Jack Vanderjagt
Average draft position: 77
Kicker and punter are people too! With Ronaldo and Langdon we could see two new starters in the league, but with the two last picks in the draft, punter/kicker ends up with the highest average draft position at 77.
Conclusion:
Various positions had many impressive players in this draft and the league was definitely filled with a lot of new talent, so despite the expansion, teams should have a great time adding impressive players. While some positions struggled, others shined. Here is a list with the positions ranked by average draft positions:
1st: Safety 34
2nd: Cornerback 35
3rd: Defensive End 36
4th: Offensive Line 42
5th: Tight End 48
6th: Wide Receiver 53
7th: Line Backer 54
8th: Defensive Tackle 56
9th: Quarterback 62
9th: Running Back 62
11th: Kicker/Punter 77
It is interesting to note that based on average draft position, the top three positions are all on the defensive end. Perhaps team did want to focus on their defense first and foremost. However, despite the ranking here, I would still argue that Offensive Line has seen the biggest push in this draft, with many of the top spots going to Offensive Linemen. I do think that in the end, the top four positions ranked here will be the most impressive ones from this draft, safety, cornerback, defensive end and offensive line.
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