Steelers 2016 Draft vs Recent Draft Trends

If you've been following me for awhile then you know I love analyzing data. This offseason, I've done studies analyzing how pre-draft visits correlate with players drafted by the Steelers, as well as recording the number of offensive & defensive players drafted each year during the Tomlin-era. Now that the 2016 draft has concluded, it's time to see if the Steelers followed these recent trends.

If you want to check out these studies you can follow the link by clicking the titles of the studies. 

Pre-Draft Visits vs Drafted Players

This study addressed if there is a correlation between the players brought in for pre-draft visits and players drafted.

Since 2010, 45% of the Steelers draft picks have been brought in for pre-draft visits. In addition, 60% of the top 4 picks during this same span have been brought in for visits.

The Steelers followed this trend in 2016. 43% of the Steelers draft picks were pre-draft visits & 75% of the Steelers top 4 picks were brought in for visits.

Pre-Draft Positions vs Drafted Players

This study addressed if the amount of visiting players at a certain position correlates with the players drafted - including whether this effects the first round selection. In this study I don't have a particular graph that encompasses the stats, but I do have key notes based on the past 3 drafts prior to 2016:

Over the past 3 drafts (prior to 2016), the top draft selection was either the first or second most visited position. 

This was trend was followed for the 2016 draft. The top two most visited positions were safety & cornerback. As you all know, Artie Burns (CB) was our first round selection this year. 

Over the past 3 drafts (prior to 2016) 2013 was the only year a player was drafted at a position that wasn't brought in for a visits. 

This trend was followed for the 2016 draft. The positions drafted - CB, S, DL, OL, LB - were all included in pre-draft visits. 

Offense vs Defense Drafted During Tomlin-Era

For this study I recorded the amount of offensive and defensive players drafted in each draft during the Tomlin-era. 

The Steelers have had a mostly balanced approach while drafting with Tomlin, drafting 35 offensive players and 40 defensive players. 

It's also noteworthy that they have never drafted less than 2 players on offense/defense. 

Although the 2016 draft differed from the majority by drafting 5 defensive players and 2 offensive players, it followed the trend of not drafting less 2 players at either offense or defense. This deviance was expected though considering the Steelers needs were mostly on defense. 

Final Thoughts 

Although these trends aren't set in stone, the 2016 draft shows that they have some significance. These trends help us predict who the Steelers will draft by narrowing down the pool of potential players as well as hint at what positions they will be targeting in the draft. 

For more information on all of these studies and trends, please go check out the original articles. You can also look forward to new editions of these studies in 2017. 

Thanks for reading.