The 2022 NFL Draft kicks off tonight, Thursday, April 28 at 8 p.m., and runs through Saturday, April 30. There’s usually a consensus by now on who will be the first pick in the draft. However, that is not the case this year.
The Jaguars own the No. 1 overall pick and are among four players (Georgia running back Travon Walker, Michigan running back Aidan Hutchinson, North Carolina State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu and Alabama offensive lineman Evan Neal). The latest consensus is that it will be Walker, but who will Jacksonville really pick with the top pick? At the end of Thursday night, that question will finally be answered.
But for now we are still left guessing. Do the historical writing habits of head coach Doug Pederson and the Jaguars general manager give us any clues? Are there any noticeable trends? Obviously, each year will be different for a franchise based on the needs of the team, the best player available, etc. But with that in mind, let’s examine the data and see if there is any particular position that decision makers have favored not just in the first. round, but through the previous seven rounds of drafts.
Of course, with every franchise, there are multiple people with input on a draft pick, and Pederson and Baalke probably weren’t the only people in their respective rooms to make the pick in any given year. The same is true this year, but since they are the two main decision makers in the Jaguars’ power structure, and they want to have a “collaboration” process between the two of them and owner Shad Khan, Pederson and Baalke are obviously the two most influential in the Jacksonville war room.
Let’s take a look at his past draft pick positions by round. This exercise only includes drafts in which Pederson was in the role of head coach and Baalke was in the role of general manager.
Head coach Doug Pederson (all with philadelphia eagles):
Note: Throughout this article, the positions for each team are listed below, but not the names of the individual players. For a complete look at every player the Eagles drafted while Pederson was the head coach in Philadelphia, visit Pro Football Reference.
Pederson’s positional draft picks as head coach are as follows:
2016: first round: quarterback (No. 1); third round: offensive guard (No. 79); fifth round: running back (No. 153) and offensive tackle (No. 164); sixth round: cornerback (No. 196); seventh round: safety (No. 233), defensive end (No. 240) and linebacker (No. 251)
2017: first round: defensive end (No. 14); Second round: cornerback (No. 43); third round: cornerback (No. 99); fourth round: wide receiver (No. 118) and running back (No. 132); fifth round: wide receiver (No. 166) and safety (No. 184); sixth round: defensive tackle (No. 214)
2018: Second round: tight end (No. 49); fourth round: cornerback (no. 125) and defensive end (no. 130); sixth round: offensive tackle (No. 206); seventh round: offensive tackle (No. 233)
2019: first round: offensive tackle (No. 22); Second round: running back (No. 53) and wide receiver (No. 57); fourth round: defensive end (No. 138); fifth round: quarterback (No. 167)
2020: first round: wide receiver (No. 21); Second round: quarterback (No. 53); third round: linebacker (No. 103); fourth round: security (No. 127) and offensive guard (No. 145); fifth round: wide receiver (No. 168); sixth round— linebacker (No. 196), wide receiver (No. 200) and offensive tackle (No. 210); seventh round: defensive end (No. 233)
Position per round:
First round: quarterback (1), defensive end (1), tackle (1), wide receiver (1)
Second round– cornerback (1), tight end (1), running back (1), wide receiver (1), quarterback (1)
third round: guard (1), cornerback (1), linebacker (1)
fourth round: wide receiver (1), running back (1), cornerback (1), defensive end (2), safety (1), guard (1)
fifth round: running back (1), tackle (1), wide receiver (2), safety (1), quarterback (1)
sixth round: cornerback (1), defensive tackle (1), tackle (2), linebacker (1), wide receiver (1)
round seven: safety (1), defensive end (2), linebacker (1), tackle (1)
Trends/Observations:
- The Eagles chose a different first-round position each year under Pederson (quarterback, defensive end, offensive tackle and wide receiver), but three of the four picks were on the offensive side of the ball (Philadelphia didn’t have a first-round pick). . elected in 2018).
- Pederson’s Eagles teams also had five different positions selected in the second round in five separate drafts, but again favored offense with four of the five picks on that side of the ball.
- Much has been made of Pederson’s affinity for drafting offensive linemen, but the Eagles drafted only one offensive lineman in the first round (Andre Dillard in 2019) and only two combined in the first three rounds during Pederson’s tenure in Philly.
- Additionally, Pederson drafted only two interior offensive linemen in total during his time with the Eagles. However, he did draft five offensive tackles in total.
- Pederson likes to pick a defensive lineman on the third day of the draft. The Eagles drafted a total of five defensive linemen in rounds four through seven from 2016 through 2020 (only one defensive lineman in the first three rounds).
- Out of a total of 36 picks, Pederson’s most commonly drafted position is wide receiver (six picks).
- Out of 36 total picks, Pederson selected 20 offensive players and 16 defensive players.
General Manager Trent Baalke (San Francisco 49ers/jacksonville jaguars)
Note: For a complete list of names selected by Baalke’s teams while he was general manager, Head over to Pro Football Reference.
Baalke’s positional draft picks as general manager are as follows:
San Francisco 49ers:
2011: first round: defensive end (No. 7); Second round: quarterback (No. 36 overall); third round: cornerback (No. 80); fourth round: corridor (No. 115); fifth round: offensive guard (No. 163); sixth round: wide receiver (No. 182) and safety (No. 190); seventh round– defensive end (#211), offensive guard (#239) and cornerback (#250)
2012: first round: wide receiver (No. 30); Second round: corridor (No. 61); fourth round: offensive guard (No. 117); fifth round: linebacker (No. 166); sixth round: security (nº 180) and center (nº 199); seventh round: defensive end (No. 237)
2013: first round: security (No. 18); Second round: defensive end (No. 40) and tight end (No. 55); third round: defensive end (No. 88); fourth round: wide receiver (No. 128) and running back (No. 131); fifth round: defensive end (No. 157); sixth round: linebacker (No. 180); seventh round– quarterback (No. 237), offensive tackle (No. 246) and cornerback (No. 252)
2014: first round: security (No. 30); Second round: runner (No. 57); third round: offensive guard/center (70th), linebacker (77th) and offensive tackle (100th); fourth round: wide receiver (No. 106) and cornerback (No. 129); fifth round: defensive end (no. 150) and cornerback (no. 170); sixth round: cornerback (No. 180); seventh round– defensive end (No. 243) and fullback (No. 245)
2015: first round: defensive end/defensive tackle (No. 17); Second round: security (No. 46); third round: defensive end/outside linebacker (No. 79); fourth round— tight end (No. 117), running back (No. 126) and wide receiver (No. 132); fifth round: gambler (No. 165); sixth round: offensive guard (No. 190); seventh round– offensive guard (No. 244) and tight end (No. 254)
2016: first round: defensive end/defensive tackle (No. 7) and offensive guard (No. 28); third round: cornerback (No. 68); fourth round: corner (No. 133); fifth round: defensive end (no. 142), offensive tackle (no. 145) and offensive tackle (no. 174); sixth round: quarterback (No. 207), running back (No. 211) and wide receiver (No. 213); seventh round: cornerback (No. 249)
Jacksonville Jaguars:
The complete Jacksonville draft history can also be seen on Pro Football Reference.
2021: first round: quarterback (No. 1); and corridor (No. 25); Second round: cornerback (No. 33) and offensive tackle (No. 45); third round: security (No. 65); fourth round: defensive tackle (No. 106) and defensive end/outside linebacker (No. 121); fifth round: tight end (No. 145); sixth round: wide receiver (No. 209)
Position per round:
First round: defensive line (3), wide receiver (1), safety (2), guard (1), quarterback (1), running back (1)
Second round: quarterback (1), running back (2), defensive end (1), tight end (1), safety (1), cornerback (1), tackle (1)
third round: cornerback (2), defensive end, (2), center (1), linebacker (1), offensive tackle (1), safety (1)
fourth round: running back (3), guard (1), wide receiver (3), cornerback (2), tight end (1), defensive end (1), defensive tackle (1)
fifth round: guard (1), linebacker (1), defensive end (3), cornerback (1), kicker (1), tackle (2), tight end (1)
sixth round: wide receiver (3), safety (2), center (1), linebacker (1), cornerback (1), guard (1), quarterback (1), running back (1),
round seven: defensive end (3), guard (2), cornerback (3), quarterback (1), tackle (1), fullback (1), tight end (1),
Trends/Observations:
- Unlike Pederson, Baalke has a clear first-round bias: defensive linemen. Baalke has drafted three defensive linemen in the first round, more than any other position.
- Baalke’s love affair with big, athletic defensive linemen is why many project Georgia’s Travon Walker as the Jaguars’ No. 1 pick overall.
- Baalke also seems to appreciate the safety position early. He has drafted two safeties in the first round and three safeties total in the first two rounds.
- Like Pederson, Baalke also likes to draft defensive linemen late. Baalke has drafted eight defensive linemen on the third day of the draft, including three in the seventh round. While Jacksonville is expected to select a running back at No. 1 overall, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Jaguars draft another defensive lineman with one of the team’s latest picks.
- Of the seven riders Baalke has drafted, three have come in the fourth round. Baalke recently said “there’s some quality depth (at running back) in the middle of the draft.” He expects the Jaguars to draft a running back in the fourth or fifth round.
- In seven drafts as GM, Baalke has drafted just one first-round offensive lineman (guard Joshua Garnett). Also, Baalke has only drafted one offensive lineman in the second round (tackling Waker Little in 2021).
- Of a total of 70 picks, Baalke’s most commonly drafted position is defensive linemen (14 total, counting defensive ends, defensive tackles, and running backs; some of the drafted defensive linemen played multiple spots).
- Baalke’s second most selected position is cornerback (10).
- Out of a total of 70 picks, Baalke has drafted 36 offensive players, 33 defensive players and one special teams player (scoring).
Looking at the data, are there any other trends you notice? Let us know in the comments section.
Reference-www.bigcatcountry.com