Which Positions Teams Valued Most in the 2014 NFL Draft

[planetdoc]

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/w...014-nfl-draft/

(highlights)

Over the last 10 years’ worth of drafts, the average NFL team spent 50.3 percent of its draft points on offense, 49.3 on defense and 0.3 percent on special teamers. Here’s what that looks like graphically:

overall, defensive linemen received only 17.7 percent of all draft points, 3 percent below the position’s overall 2004 to 2014 average of 20.7 percent. (Meanwhile, their counterparts on the offensive line were up 3.4 percentage points to 20.5 percent.) Quarterbacks were also down 1.8 percent compared to their long-term average, and running backs had a 3.9 percent shortfall. The big winners of this year’s draft, then, appear to be pass-catchers: Teams spent 3.5 percent more on wide receivers and 1.3 percent more on tight ends than those positions’ usual distribution.

Here’s the summary of the percentage of draft points spent on each position over the last 10 years of drafts:

...“index” of how important teams seem to consider a given position (given the amount of draft investment in it) relative to the average player on the same side of the ball.