Stephen Vilardo’s 2023 NFL Draft Notes

Jordan Addison could be the second straight USC wide receiver to go in the First Round

Posted on April 26, 2023


  By Stephen Vilardo, SuperWest Sports

The NFL Draft gets underway Thursday with the First Round followed by rounds Two and Three on Friday and the final three rounds on Saturday.

Gonzalez

We most likely will not have to wait long to hear the names of some SuperWest players.

Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez could be the first to go. Should he hear his name among the first 10 selections Thursday, it would give the Ducks a Top 10 selection in four consecutive drafts.

The only other schools that can lay claim to a current three-year streak of selections in the first 10 picks are Alabama and LSU.

A defensive back from the Pac-12 has not been selected in the Top 10 since the Ravens took Chris McAlister of Arizona 10th in 1999. The Ducks have had four DBs selected in the last two seasons.

Should Gonzalez be joined in the Top 10 by another DB, it would mark the fourth consecutive season that multiple DBs went in the first 10 picks. That would be the longest such streak in NFL history.

Oregon Ducks Logo Pac-12Where Oregon has had a run on DBs recently, USC has held steady with offensive linemen getting drafted.

Since 1967 and the start of the modern NFL draft, the Trojans have had 24 offensive linemen selected in the first round, the most of any school in the nation.

usc logoThe next closest is Ohio State with 13 offensive linemen taken in the opening round.

The Trojans have also put together an impressive list of pass catchers in recent years.

Should Jordan Addison hear his name in the First Round it would be back-to-back seasons a USC wide receiver went that high, joining Drake London last season.

Kincaid

Addison would be the fifth Trojan receiver to go in the First Round since 2000.

Addison will not be the only pass catcher to go early. Dalton Kincaid has a chance to be just the fifth offensive player from Utah, and first tight end, to go in the draft’s opening round since 1967.

The other four were tackles Garett Boles and Jordan Gross in 2017 and 2003. Alex Smith went first in 2005 and WR Kevin Dyson went 16th to Tennessee in 1998.

Kincaid could be joined in the first round by a few other tight ends. If three go in the opening round, it would be the fourth draft since 1967 to see three from the position go in round one.


Most First-Round picks since 1967
SchoolPicks
Ohio State74
USC73
Alabama67
Miami 64
Florida54
Florida State46
Notre Dame45
Tennessee40
Michigan42
Oklahoma38
Georgia38
LSU37
Penn State37
Texas33
Clemson33
Texas A&M31
Nebraska28
UCLA28
Michigan State25
Arizona State25
Cal24
Auburn24
Washington25
Pittsburgh24
North Carolina23
Wisconsin23
Colorado22
Stanford20

Mountain West NFL Draft Picks since 1967
Boise State25
San Diego State22
Utah State12
Fresno State11
Wyoming10
Nevada10
Colorado State9
San Jose State8
Hawaii5
Air Force2
New Mexico1
UNLV0

During the Pac-12 era, the Conference has had 345 players selected in the draft. The During that same time period, since 2012, the Mountain West has produced 115 total draft picks.

That breakdown is as follows.


SuperWest Players Drafted since 2012
SchoolPicks
Stanford43
USC43
UCLA42
Washington39
Oregon36
Utah32
California27
Boise State25
Arizona State24
San Diego State22
Oregon State19
Colorado15
Washington State13
Arizona12
BYU12
Utah State12
Fresno State11
Nevada10
Wyoming10
Colorado State9
San Jose State8
Hawaii5
Air Force2
New Mexico1
UNLV0



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