The NFL Draft "hit rate" on first-round quarterbacks and wide receivers is ... interesting

Who will Patriots take with third overall pick in NFL Draft -- and who has final say on that selecti

BOSTON -- Draft day, draft day, draft day. It's almost here. Hard to believe it, after what seems like just 97 months of anticipation and buildup, but the day is indeed coming.

And while there have been plenty of reports and rumors and everything else associated with this time of year flying all over the place, the real, actual picks will at long last be made on Thursday night.

With that in mind, ESPN's Adam Schefter shared an interesting bit of data on social media, compiled by ESPN producer Paul Hembekides. He looked at first-round picks at every position between 2000-19 to determine a success rate -- or hit rate -- at each position to get an idea of what the surest and riskiest bets are for teams looking to nail their top pick.

According to the research, first-round quarterbacks hit at a rate of 46 percent, with 26 being hits and 30 being misses.

An interesting aspect in a year like this with so many high-profile wide receiver prospects can be found at the shockingly low hit rate at that position. Wide receivers were the riskiest of the first-round positions with a hit rate of just 27 percent -- 21 hits and 56 misses.

Of course, there would be some room for debate on some of the "hits" and "misses," as the table doesn't explain what qualifies as a hit or a miss. But looking at the information generally, it's at the very least an eyebrow-raising presentation on the relative "safe" options for teams on Thursday night.

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