Today was a special day in the lives of 32 young men. The beginning of the rest of their lives. The realization of a childhood dream. The NFL draft. Each of their names were called and they are eager to start this next chapter of their journey. While these kids look ahead to their professional career, it is important to remember the past. Some of these ex-college athletes started their journey at the top and some had their work cut out for them. However, they all made it.
Because of the controversy of whether or not “star” ratings are accurate, we would like to take a second to look at where each of these kids started. While we think that “stars” are not always the most accurate, we believe that fans may have a reason to be excited when they receive a commitment from a 5 or 4 star recruit. Let us take a look at the first round of the NFL Draft, and the rankings of the people selected…
1. Cleveland Browns
Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma – 2013 Class
3-star prospect – #1029 recruit
2. New York Giants
Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State – 2015 Class
4-star prospect – #119 recruit
3. New York Jets
Sam Darnold, QB, USC – 2015 Class
4-star prospect – #148 recruit
4. Cleveland Browns
Denzel Ward, CB, Ohio State – 2015 Class
4-star prospect – #270 recruit
5. Denver Broncos
Bradley Chubb, DE, NC State – 2014 Class
3-star prospect – #734 recruit
6. Indianapolis Colts
Quenton Nelson, G, Notre Dame – 2014 Class
4-star prospect – #61 recruit
7. Buffalo Bills (from Tampa Bay)
Josh Allen, QB, Wyoming – 2013 Class
NR prospect – Not Ranked
8. Chicago Bears
Roquan Smith, LB, UGA – 2015 Class
4-star prospect – #48 recruit
9. San Francisco 49ers
Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame – 2013 Class
4-star prospect – #172 recruit
10. Arizona Cardinals (from Raiders)
Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA – 2015 Class
5-star prospect – #11 recruit
11. Miami Dolphins
Minkah Fitzpatrick, CB, Alabama – 2015 Class
5-star prospect – #30 recruit
12. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (from Bills)
Vita Vea, DT, Washington – 2013 Class
3-star prospect – #587 recruit
13. Washington Redskins
Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama – 2015 Class
5-star prospect – #29 recruit
14. New Orleans Saints (from Packers)
Marcus Davenport, DE, UT-San Antonio – 2014 Class
2-star prospect – #2613 recruit
15. Oakland Raiders
Kolton Miller, OT, UCLA – 2014 Class
3-star prospect – #371 recruit
16. Buffalo Bills (from Ravens)
Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Va Tech – 2015 Class
3-star prospect – #441 recruit
17. Los Angeles Chargers
Derwin James, S, Florida State – 2015 Class
5-star prospect – #5 recruit
18. Green Bay Packers (from Seahawks)
Jaire Alexander, CB, Louisville – 2015 Class
3-star prospect – #941 recruit
19. Dallas Cowboys
Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Boise State – 2014 Class
NR prospect – Not Ranked
20. Detriot Lions
Frank Ragnow, C, Arkansas – 2014 Class
4-star prospect – #324 recruit
21. Cincinnati Bengals
Billy Price, C, Ohio State – 2013 Class
4-star prospect – #211 recruit
22. Tennessee Titans
Rashaan Evans, LB, Alabama – 2014 Class
5-star prospect – #14 recruit
23. New England Patriots
Isaiah Wynn, G, UGA – 2014 Class
4-star prospect – #110 recruit
24. Carolina Panthers
DJ Moore, WR, Maryland – 2015 Class
3-star prospect – #354 recruit
25. Baltimore Ravens
Hayden Hurst, TE, South Carolina – 2012 Class
NR prospect – Not Ranked
26. Atlanta Falcons
Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama – 2015 Class
5-star prospect – #12 recruit
27. Seattle Seahawks (from Packers)
Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State – 2014 Class
3-star prospect – #944 recruit
28. Pittsburgh Steelers
Terrell Edmunds, S, Va Tech – 2014 Class
3-star prospect – #1109 recruit
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
Taven Bryan, DT, Florida – 2014 Class
3-star prospect – #533 recruit
30. Minnesota Vikings
Mike Hughes, CB, UCF – 2015 Class
3-star prospect – #421 recruit
31. New England Patriots
Sony Michel, RB, UGA – 2014 Class
5-star prospect – #20 recruit
32. Baltimore Ravens (from Eagles)
Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville – 2015 Class
3-star prospect – #409 recruit
16 of the 32 players taken in the 1st round of the 2018 Draft were rated a 3-star prospect or lower. To any recruit out there that feels that they are ranked too low, remember to keep grinding. You may just end up in the first round of the NFL draft.
That being said, fans have reason to be optimistic when they receive a commitment from a 4 or 5-star prospect. Although higher rated prospects only take up half of the first round, there are a much smaller pool of recruits to choose from. There is an abundance of 3-star prospects and below, so on average a recruit that is ranked higher has a better chance of landing in the 1st round per the numbers of this year. We will continue to monitor this throughout the draft. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the draft and best of luck to you and your team.
