*Is season 16 the smallest draft class ever?

Jonny2x · (This post was last modified: 06-27-2019, 10:53 AM by Fordhammer.)

There has been quite a bit of talk about how small the season 16 draft class is so I decided to take a look. I heard it said the season 15 class was the largest ever and was due to recruitment in the /rNFL subreddit on reddit. The season 17 is shaping up very nicely as another large class due to recruitment on the /rMadden subreddit. I have begun to call my season 16 class, the sandwich class due to the phenomenon of being between two huge draft classes!

Quick Visual
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Just over 2 years ago, the NSFL kicked off with its season 1 inaugural draft class. With just 6 teams the draft went 23 rounds and there were 138 total selections made.
The second season brought with it an immediate expansion to 8 teams. Now at 8 teams the second NSFL draft went a total of 13 rounds and 93 players total were drafted. Season 3 saw 9 rounds and 66 players total. Season 4 went a measly 3 rounds and only 18 players total were drafted. The 5th season had 5 rounds total and saw 33 players drafted onto teams. Season 6 was exactly the same as season 5 interestingly. There were again 5 rounds and 33 players. Season 7 fell off a bit as there were only 4 rounds and 26 players drafted. Season 8 again saw 4 rounds and 26 players. An odd trend seeing draft classes duplicating back to back seasons. Season 9 returns to our 5 rounds and 33 players draft format. Season 10 saw the arrival of some real superstars amongst the 5 rounds and 37 players taken. Season 11 brought us 39 players taken over 5 rounds of drafting. Season 12 saw the first sizable jump in since league creation. My hunch is this is where Reddit recruiting began. Season 12 went 7 rounds and had 50 players drafted. The draft of season 13 fell short of the high expectations created during season 12. There were only 4 rounds and 25 players drafted. Season 14 again went 4 rounds though only 24 players were actually drafted due to a passes by San Jose and Orange County. Lucky for me both are two word city names, ka-ching!

So all these very simple draft recaps leads us to what got me thinking about draft class size in the first place. The vaunted season 15 class. Does it live up to the hype? In a word, yes. The draft numbers actually come in at a giant 14 rounds and 120 players! Technically not the largest class of all time but the largest since the inaugural season 1 class and larger than the 3 previous classes combined!

Season 16 draft has not happened yet but by my research there are 31 draft eligible season 16 players. Actually this seems to be way higher than I expected it to be. Season 16 looks to end up right in line with previous classes, outside of the super season 15 class.
It is really early yet but the season 17 class has already felt way more active than my season 16 class. The class is already at 38 and still has a lot of time to grow. However, this does not really fit to my point of season 16 being caught between two huge classes. As of right now, 16 and 17 classes are still very close to the median class size of 33.

Well assumptions and expectations can really get a person in trouble and after looking at the hard and true numbers it is easy to see I was wrong in my perception of the season 16 class. Season 15 was a true standout class numbers wise and season 17 looks to be a good sized class. Yet, season 15 was technically not the largest class in NSFL history and season 17 is just starting to approach large class status.