By KEEGAN ABDOO
It was a fascinating and exciting NFL Draft, with twists, turns and plenty of interesting selections.
What numbers were most telling to us about some of the top players selected?
On Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield ranked first with a Passing Success Rate of 61% (out of 113 FBS Quarterbacks with 200+ attempts), which is 4.7% better than second and a margin that represents the gap between 2nd and 14th best.
Mayfield also excelled when plays broke down. He had an 82 percent on-target percentage on 44 throws in those instances.
On New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley
There were only eight RBs with at least 100 carries and 50 receptions in 2017. Among them, Barkley’s 7.0 yards/touch, 5.9 yards/attempt and 11.7 yards/reception each ranked first.
On Denver Broncos Pass Rusher Bradley Chubb
Bradley Chubb’s 111 pressures were the most in FBS over the last two seasons and 14 more than the second best total, which represents the gap between #2-#10.
On Browns CB Denzel Ward
Denzel Ward’s 3.9 Yards Allowed per Target were the best in the nation among CBs with at least 40 targets.
He was even better in Man Coverage, where he allowed 2.8 Yards Per Target.
On Bills QB Josh Allen’s escapability
Josh Allen broke 16 tackles in the pocket last season, which was second only to Lamar Jackson (20). However, he did this on 174 fewer dropbacks.
Of the 103 QB’s with at least 300 dropbacks last season, Allen’s 4.8% Broken Tackle/Dropback rate led the FBS by a significant amount.
On a successful Bears LB
Bears LB Roquan Smith was excellent in man coverage last season:
Out of 44 LBs with at least 10 man targets, Smith ranked 2nd in Success Rate (83.3%) and Yards/Touch (2.55).
Success Rate, per Football Outsiders, is how often a defensive player that prevent a successful play by the offense, defined as 45% of needed yards on first down, 60% of needed yards on second down, and 100% of needed yards on third or fourth down.
On a disruptive CB
Packers CB Josh Jackson has great ball skills. In 2017, he led the nation with 8 interceptions and ranked 4th among the 100 most targeted cornerbacks with a 31% Pass Disruption Rate.
On surehanded receivers
Arizona Cardinals WR Christian Kirk and Jacksonville Jaguars WR D.J. Chark ranked 1-2 in on-target catch percentage among receivers last season. Each caught 84 percent of on-target throws to them.
On Mason Rudolph being first-round caliber
When compared to Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen and Lamar Jackson, new Steelers QB Mason Rudolph had the second-highest Independent Quarterback Rating (IQR). IQR is a stat that measures QB effectiveness, taking into account the factors that he most controls.
Rudolph also had the highest IQR among himself and the first-round quarterbacks when playing against a man defense.
