NFL Draft: 5 Year Draft Averages by Position (2019-2015)

By Justin VanFulpen

With the 2019 NFL Draft in the books here is the average amount of players drafted at each position over the past 5 years (2015-2019) and the highs and lows.

QB – Average amount drafted – 11.2 – High amount drafted 15 (2016) Low amount drafted 7 (2015)

RB– Average amount drafted – 22.0 – High amount drafted 26 (2017) Low amount drafted 20 (2015)

FB – Average amount drafted – 2.2 – High amount drafted 3 (2016,2015) Low amount drafted 1 (2019)

WR – Average amount drafted – 32.0 – High amount drafted 34 (2015) Low amount drafted 28 (2019)

TE – Average amount drafted – 13.0 – High amount drafted 18 (2015) Low amount drafted 9 (2016)

OT – Average amount drafted – 20.6 – High amount drafted 26 (2015) Low amount drafted 16 (2017)

OG – Average amount drafted – 14.2 – High amount drafted 18 (2015) Low amount drafted 10 (2018)

C – Average amount drafted – 6.2 – High amount drafted 8 (2018, 2016) Low amount drafted 5 (2015,2017, 2019)

DE – Average amount drafted – 23– High amount drafted 26 (2017, 2019) Low amount drafted 17 (2016)

DT – Average amount drafted – 20.4 – High amount drafted 22 (2016) Low amount drafted 18 (2015)

 LB – Average amount drafted – 34.2 – High amount drafted 39 (2018) Low amount drafted 28 (2017)

CB – Average amount drafted – 31.8 – High amount drafted 34 (2017) Low amount drafted 29 (2018)

S – Average amount drafted – 19.0 – High amount drafted 23 (2017) Low amount drafted 15 (2015)

K – Average amount drafted – 1.6 – High amount drafted 3 (2017) Low amount drafted 0 (2015)

P – Average amount drafted – 2 – High amount drafted 4 (2018) Low amount drafted 0 (2017)

2019 NFL Draft: NFL Scouting Combine Results

By Justin VanFulpen

In the football business one of the closely guarded secrets before the official list is released is who is getting invited to the NFL Combine.  The NFL Combine is run by National Scouting and has become a televised event by the NFL Network.  For more information about how the NFL Combine invites work you can check out my article from a year ago: NFL Draft: NFL Combine just part of the process.

Now that the 2019 NFL Draft is in the books we can look at the results.  This year there were 337 players invited to the NFL Combine and their where 34 players that were drafted that did NOT go to the NFL Combine.  Break down as far as rounds go:

1st round – 1 player
2nd round – 0
3rd round – 2 players
4th round – 1 player
5th round – 2 players
6th round – 12 players
7th round – 16 players

So 117 players that were invited to this year’s NFL Combine were not drafted.  So the percentage of players that were drafted that were invited to the NFL Combine was 65%, so it is far from a guarantee if you are invited that you will get selected in the NFL Draft.  Last year it was 64% of the players that were at the NFL Combine where drafted.

2019 NFL Draft: All-Star Game Report

By Justin VanFulpen

College Football All-Star games are part of the pre-draft process that is more important then the NFL Combine and Pro Days because it is football and scouts can evaluate good on good players.  The Senior Bowl is the best all-star game and one that all Senior prospects want to get invited to. Here is the amount of draft picks per all-star games.

Senior Bowl – 93
East-West Shrine Game – 31
NFLPA Bowl – 2
Tropical Bowl – 1

Getting invite to an all-star can help out a NFL Draft prospect rise his draft status if he takes advantage.

Why “Spring Grades” are Important to NFL Prospects

By Justin VanFulpen

When NFL scouts from the two scouting services BLETSO and National go into a school to do their junior evaluation they are looking to grade the NFL draft prospects for the next year’s draft but also to eliminate players as guys who can’t play in the NFL.  The scouts give those players “reject” grades so scout in the fall don’t have to spend time on players who are deemed not NFL players.

The scouting services grade over 13,000 senior college football players each year at all levels of football and normally there are around 600 with draft able or free-agent grades.  True do players with “reject” grades get draft? Yes but it is few and far between.

BLETSO and National have their spring meeting to go over grades around Labor Day time in May to be able to help set the scouts schedule for training camps visits in the summer.  Prospects are not told what their spring grade is by the two scouting services, but normally in the summer the grades get out and agents, financial advisors, media members and all-star games get their hands on them.

What goes into a spring grade:

  1. Junior Film
  2. Height/Weight/Speed – The scouts either get that information when on campus when the measure and weigh the prospect as well as get hand size and arm length. Some school will allow the prospects to run the 40 for the scouts but that is very few and mainly smaller schools. Some schools don’t allow scouts to do height/weight so the scout will just have to estimate the prospect height/weight/40 time.
  3. Background – Scouts will try to get information on prospect past both off the field and medical.

Spring grades are important for a number of reasons:

1. It is a road map for NFL scouts in the fall to where they should spend their most time.

2. National Scouting runs the NFL Combine so if a player has a good spring grade he is more likely to get invited then if he doesn’t.

3. All-Star games try to get their hands on these grades and use them when they start to invite players to their games.

True as a Senior what you do on the field is most import to your final NFL draft grade, but it doesn’t hurt to start with a good spring grade going into your Senior season.

Task of an NFL Agent pre-Draft

By Justin VanFulpen

All-Games: Even before an agent signing a prospect he/she is most likely contacting the director of the all-star games but especially after a client has signed with an agent are they contacting the directors to see if they can get their client in a game. With the All-Star games being the last time football is practice or played it is the last time the NFL scouts will have a chance to evaluate the prospect in person, and as we always see players rise and sliding because of all-star game practice and game performances.

Film: Agents should be contacting scouts and coaches to sell and promote their clients best game film against their best level of competition that they played. With the game films agents can sell to scouts and coaches how their prospect fits into the team’s schemes and how they would be an upgrade to their roster.

NFL Scouts:  Scouts make their own judgement and are paid to give their opinion on a prospects ability to play in the NFL.  Agents are contacting scouts to give them information about their prospect and sell their prospects ability to play football.

Promotion of Prospect: An agent is looking to use the media as a form of getting their prospects story out there also to make sure other teams know that there is more than just one team interested in the prospect. Also an agent is looking to see what deals that they can make in with different companies to make their prospect additional money off the field.  Some agent or agency might outsource these two jobs.  Also each prospects ability to make money off the field will be different based on how high they are projected to be drafted as well as what position that they play.

Knowledge of the NFL Landscape:  Each prospect is in competition with every player in their position as well as the current players at their position in the NFL, so an agent needs to have a working knowledge base to properly advise their client. They need to know what they of offense and defense scheme a team runs.  It would be embarrassing if an agent was promoting a 3-4 defense end (5 tech) to a team that runs a 4-3 defense. Also if a prospect is not drafted where he is advising his client to sign is a big deal as if this prospect is just a “camp body” or has an actually shot at making the 53-man roster. What is the agent using to make a determination, what they are offer as a signing bonus or what the team currently has on their roster at their client position and the scheme the team runs? So knowledge of the NFL is an important thing.

These are just some of the tasks that an agent performs per draft there are many additional ones after the draft is over.

2019 NFL Rookie Dollars & Cents

2018 NFL Draft Analysis – Average Guaranteed Dollars by Round
1st Round – $15,704,128
2nd Round – $3,553,595
3rd Round – $893,636
4th Round – $636,680
5th Round – $275,805
6th Round – $148,767
7th Round – $82,937

(These numbers include base salary, signing, roster and option bonuses)

Undrafted Free Agents
$5,000 (Average Signing Bonus)

2019 Rookie Minimum Salary: $495,000
So weekly pay if on 53 man roster: $29,117.64

2019 Practice Squad Weekly Pay: $8,000.00 ($136,000 if on all 17 weeks)
Players that are drafted sign 4 year contracts
Players that are not drafted sign 3 year contracts

So an undrafted contact done in 2019 would be 3 years with no signing bonus with be 3 years $1,755,000 (nothing guaranteed)

Base Salaries:
2019: $495,000
2020: $585,000
2021: $675,000

Training Camp/Pre-Season Pay: $1,150.00

Off-Season Pay (OTA’s/Mini Camp): $235 per workout – 3 to 4 per week depending

Post Season Pay:
Division Winner: $31,000
Wild Card: $28,000

Division Playoff $31,000

Conference Championship: $56,000

Super Bowl Winner: $124,000
Super Bowl Loser: $62,000

Performance Based Pool:  If a player plays one down in a regular season game he is eligible. This is a lump sum of money paid out after the season based on each player playtime percentage.

 

What NFL Draft Grades are made up of per NFL Scouts

By Justin VanFulpen

Film (80%) – Your level of competition and how you played against the best level of competition you faced that year.  Each NFL team will view around 3 full games of your current season normally against who is the best competition. This also includes if a prospect plays in any of the college football all-star games.

Athletic Numbers (10%) – Height, Weight, Speed.  Teams are looking at the film first and then see if the prospect checks off the box in the athletic numbers per the position.  But still the film comes first. 

Injury History/Off Field/Football IQ (10%) –  Any major injuries, anything major off the field, love of the game, film study.  Scouts are check social media, talking to high school coaches, strength coaches, academic advisors, current coaches as they try to find out as much information on the prospect on and off the field. Teams will reject players fully for injury and off the field issues no matter how good a player is on the field.

Reason why some NFL prospects make and others do not

By Justin VanFulpen

When the NFL regular season started around 40% of NFL rosters were made up of undrafted players. Every year when it comes to who makes the 53 man roster you will see teams that cut draft picks and keep undrafted players. Being around the NFL business for almost 20 years if different aspects from covering it, to doing player personal to representing players, there is one thing that is hard to measure. That is the player’s true motivation. True there can be many factors on why a NFL draft pick doesn’t make it but to me one big factor is that it comes down to do two different types of prospects – Players who goal is to make it to the NFL and players who goal is to play in the NFL.

For NFL scouts and coaches this is hardest thing to figure out. Because people can say and do all the right thing but the really questions is what is the true motivation. All NFL prospects have good film and are good athletes or wouldn’t be considered a prospect.

Player who goal is to make it to the NFL – Their ending goal in football is that they have reached the highest level and it is a finishing point not a starting point in their football career. Maybe they are doing it because it seems to be the cool thing to do, it will make their parents, family and friends proud. They like the attention that it gets them on social media. But it is where the goal stops. This prospect is less likely to do the extra things to maintain his career or roster spot.

Player who goal is to play in the NFL – Getting drafted or signed is start part of the goal and not the end of the goal, true they are excited to see a dream fulfilled but know that now the work beings to reaching their goal of a long NFL career. This prospect is more likely to be willing to do the extra things to maintain his career or roster spot.

In terms of the extra things, it means does the prospect/player treat this as a business 365 days a year, does extra film work, taking practice seriously, make sure he is getting into the building early and staying late, taking care of his body with extra treatment, rest, recovery, a good diet and hydration.

The NFL is hard week to week business that if a player doesn’t have the correct motivation to make it in the NFL it will be come clear early.    Only a player truly knows what type of prospects he is and at the end of the day it is his career but the job of the people drafting and signing players is to try to figure out what they players true motivation is.