What are the most popular positions in the top 10 picks in the NFL draft?

Looking at the top 10 picks in the first round over the past decade the breakdown is as set out in the table below.

Not surprisingly the most popular position is the QB - out of 100 picks 22 of them have been spent on the man under centre. See our separate article for details as to how first round QBs have tended to fare. Overall the premium positions seem to be as follows: (ii joint) Offensive Tackles - having invested so much in the QB you need to help keep him upright; (ii joint) the counter to the offensive tackle, the best way to beat a team with a quality QB is to make sure he does not have time to make plays and so pass rushers are at a premium; (iv) staying with defensive, a quality linebacker can make an enormous difference to a defense and can also bring pressure against the QB; and (v) wide recievers - again having got your QB and invested in ensuring that he stays on his feet you then need to give him someone to throw to.

QB - 22 picks 

OT - 14 picks

DE - 14 picks

LB - 12 picks

WR - 11 picks

These 5 most popular positions between them account for about 75% of all picks during this period.

Interesting that for all the talk by experts about never drafting a RB in the first round (which actually does seem pretty good advice) there have still been 6 running backs taken as top 10 picks in the last decade - however given the number of injuries that backs can suffer and how quickly performance can decline, query how many of those teams would make the same picks if they had a do-over.