This year’s NFL draft is on the verge of achieving a groundbreaking milestone.
Barring any unexpected last-minute trades, every team is poised to enter the draft holding on to their original first-round pick, an unprecedented event since the inception of the common draft era in 1967.
In recent drafts, teams frequently exchanged or relinquished their first-round picks, with an average of more than seven teams not retaining their original selections over the past five years.
The height of such activity occurred in 2022, when 11 teams entered draft day without their own first-round pick due to previous transactions involving star players like Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, Trey Lance, Tyreek Hill, and Davante Adams.
Historically, the closest the league has come to this scenario was in 1993, when Kansas City traded its first-rounder to San Francisco for Joe Montana just five days before the draft, according to ESPN’s research.
However, the current static situation with team picks is not expected to last throughout the first round on Thursday night.
As teams weigh their options and available talent, there is potential for strategic movement up or down the draft board.
Just last year, five draft-day trades occurred involving first-round selections, leading to a series of pick exchanges.
Expectations are high for another quarterback to go first in the draft, with betting odds strongly favoring Cam Ward being selected by Tennessee at the top spot.
This would result in a quarterback being chosen first for the seventh time in eight years, with Jacksonville’s selection of Travon Walker in 2022 being the only exception.
The NFL’s emphasis on the passing game has driven this trend, with quarterbacks picked first overall in 20 of the past 27 drafts.
Nonetheless, this wasn’t always the norm. During the period from 1991 to 1997, only one quarterback, Drew Bledsoe to New England in 1993, was selected first.
Additionally, from 1972 to 1982, only Steve Bartkowski went first overall to Atlanta in 1975.
Recently, nearly all teams have attempted to draft a first-round quarterback.
However, the New Orleans Saints have a significant gap since they last did so in 1971 with Archie Manning.
This year, with uncertainty surrounding Derek Carr’s status, that longstanding streak could potentially end.
The Cowboys (1989), Seahawks (1993), Raiders (2007), and Lions (2009) are among the few other teams that haven’t opted for a first-round quarterback in the last 15 drafts.
The Tennessee Titans have the distinction of picking first this year for the first time since choosing Earl Campbell in 1978, back when they were the Houston Oilers.
In recent history, the team traded away the top pick in 2016 to the Rams, making this their first opportunity to choose at the top in quite some time.
This marks the seventh instance an AFC South team has held the No. 1 pick since 2002, which was the beginning of the eight-division era.
The AFC South stands out as the first division to have every team make the No. 1 pick, with Houston doing so three times since 2002, Jacksonville twice, and Indianapolis once.
In comparison, the AFC North, with Cleveland and Cincinnati each picking first twice, and the NFC West, with the Rams selecting first twice and Arizona and San Francisco once, follow closely.
The NFC South and AFC West have each claimed the top pick three times, while the NFC North and AFC East have done so twice and once, respectively.
The NFC East is the only division that hasn’t enjoyed a No. 1 pick since 2002, though an asterisk may apply due to the 2004 draft when the Chargers picked Eli Manning first, only to trade him during the draft to the New York Giants.
The last time an NFC East team made the top selection was in 1991 when Dallas picked Russell Maryland.