In the last post, I calculated the value that NFL teams place on each position during the draft. The analysis accounted for the number of players required at each position in terms of players on the field (1 QB, 2 WRs, etc.) and in terms of roster composition (3 QBs, 6 WRs). I considered all 7 rounds of the draft from '99-'06. But "impact" players, those who are most likely to become starters and help win games, typically come from the first 3 rounds, rare exceptions excluded. So I performed the same analysis, but this time only considered players taken on "Day 1" of the draft.
The first table ranks each position by 1st-day draft points per player on the field. For comparison, I also list the relative ranking of each position per player on the field from all 7 rounds.
The first table ranks each position by 1st-day draft points per player on the field. For comparison, I also list the relative ranking of each position per player on the field from all 7 rounds.
The second table ranks each position by 1st-day draft points per roster composition. Again, I also list the relative ranking per roster composition from all 7 rounds.
There is no difference in the relative rankings of the positions between day 1 and day 2. That should have been obvious to me from the outset because the value of picks drops off so sharply from the first round.
