2015 NFL Draft results by position: Just 7 QBs drafted, fewest in common era

After Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota went No. 1 and No. 2 in Thursday’s first round, it wasn’t until midway through the third round on Friday that another quarterback -- Colorado State’s Garrett Grayson, selected by the Saints with the 75th pick -- would be picked, though Oregon State’s Sean Mannion would be selected by the Rams before the night was out.

Only three more would go during the final four rounds on Saturday, though, with only the Jets’ selection of Baylor’s Bryce Petty likely to produce a potential 2015 starter; the Packers (who drafted UCLA’s Brett Hundley) and Broncos (who snagged Northwestern QB Trevor Siemian) would seem to be set at the position.

The seven quarterbacks taken sets a new record for fewest drafted in the NFL Draft’s “common era,” which dates to the 1967 AFL-NFL merger.

At wide receiver, however, there was no such scarcity. Six wide receivers were drafted in the first round, more than 2014’s purportedly deep receiver class produced, and every round thereafter saw at least three wide receivers come off the board. The 35 total receivers drafted led all positions, and West Virginia nearly provided the bookends at wideout: Kevin White was the first WR taken, at No. 4, while Mario Alford was next-to-last, going 238th.

47 defensive backs were selected, leading all positions, while 37 linebackers were taken, ranking second. And depth was clearly the order of the day for both positions; neither one had a player taken in the draft’s first seven picks.

The least popular positions? No kickers were drafted, and long snapper and punter each yielded just one selection. Among non-specialists, just three fullbacks were drafted.

Here’s a breakdown of the numbers of players drafted at each position in the 2015 NFL Draft: