By the looks of things, all 32 NFL teams appear to have settled on their initial 53 man rosters for the 2015 season and with that now down, I was able to play with those results in order to show you a few numbers.
For starters, as of Tuesday night, 217 of the 256 players drafted this year were kept in some form or fashion by the teams that selected them. That does not include practice squads, however. Of those 39 players who were waived, three of them belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, two of those three players, cornerback Doran Grant and outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo, were signed to the team’s practice squad.
By my count, 10 teams kept all of their draft picks this year either on their initial 53 man roster, Reserve/PUP, or Reserve/Injured.
I also did a quick study to find out which teams have retained the highest percentage of their draft picks dating back to 2011. You might be surprised to learn that the Cincinnati Bengals currently lead the way in that category as they still have 32 of the 45 picks (71.1%) they made since 2011 still under contract.
The Steelers, as you can see in the table below, are right in the middle of the pack as 25 of the 42 draft picks that they have made since 2011 are still under contract. Had they kept Grant and Chicckillo on their 53, they would’ve been in fourth place on the list.
I also wanted to look at how many former draft picks remain on the team that originally drafted them and once again, the Bengals lead the way as 42 players that they originally selected are still under contract. The Steelers, however, currently have 32 of their former draft picks still under contract and that includes cornerback William Gay and tight end Matt Spaeth, who both left via free agency a few years ago to play for other teams.
2015 NFL DRAFT PICKS
| TEAM | PICKS STILL ON TEAM | TOTAL PICKS MADE | % RETAINED |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | 9 | 9 | 100.0% |
| CHI | 6 | 6 | 100.0% |
| NYG | 6 | 6 | 100.0% |
| DET | 7 | 7 | 100.0% |
| NYJ | 6 | 6 | 100.0% |
| CAR | 5 | 5 | 100.0% |
| ARZ | 7 | 7 | 100.0% |
| SD | 5 | 5 | 100.0% |
| SF | 10 | 10 | 100.0% |
| NO | 9 | 9 | 100.0% |
| MIN | 9 | 10 | 90.0% |
| OAK | 9 | 10 | 90.0% |
| TEN | 8 | 9 | 88.9% |
| BAL | 8 | 9 | 88.9% |
| KC | 8 | 9 | 88.9% |
| DAL | 7 | 8 | 87.5% |
| GB | 7 | 8 | 87.5% |
| IND | 7 | 8 | 87.5% |
| HOU | 6 | 7 | 85.7% |
| MIA | 6 | 7 | 85.7% |
| CLE | 10 | 12 | 83.3% |
| NE | 9 | 11 | 81.8% |
| WAS | 8 | 10 | 80.0% |
| SL | 7 | 9 | 77.8% |
| DEN | 7 | 9 | 77.8% |
| JAX | 6 | 8 | 75.0% |
| TB | 5 | 7 | 71.4% |
| ATL | 5 | 7 | 71.4% |
| BUF | 4 | 6 | 66.7% |
| PHI | 4 | 6 | 66.7% |
| PIT | 5 | 8 | 62.5% |
| SEA | 5 | 8 | 62.5% |
DRAFT PICK RETENTION 2011-2015
| TEAM | ON ROSTER | TOTAL PICKS | % RETAINED |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIN | 32 | 45 | 71.1% |
| CHI | 21 | 31 | 67.7% |
| TEN | 26 | 39 | 66.7% |
| JAX | 23 | 36 | 63.9% |
| MIN | 31 | 49 | 63.3% |
| NYG | 22 | 35 | 62.9% |
| DET | 23 | 37 | 62.2% |
| HOU | 26 | 42 | 61.9% |
| NYJ | 24 | 39 | 61.5% |
| BAL | 27 | 44 | 61.4% |
| CAR | 19 | 31 | 61.3% |
| ARZ | 23 | 38 | 60.5% |
| SL | 27 | 45 | 60.0% |
| PIT | 25 | 42 | 59.5% |
| SD | 19 | 32 | 59.4% |
| MIA | 23 | 39 | 59.0% |
| SF | 29 | 50 | 58.0% |
| DEN | 22 | 38 | 57.9% |
| KC | 23 | 40 | 57.5% |
| DAL | 22 | 39 | 56.4% |
| TB | 19 | 34 | 55.9% |
| OAK | 24 | 43 | 55.8% |
| GB | 25 | 46 | 54.3% |
| IND | 19 | 35 | 54.3% |
| NE | 23 | 43 | 53.5% |
| ATL | 19 | 36 | 52.8% |
| WAS | 24 | 46 | 52.2% |
| NO | 16 | 31 | 51.6% |
| BUF | 20 | 39 | 51.3% |
| CLE | 22 | 43 | 51.2% |
| SEA | 21 | 47 | 44.7% |
| PHI | 17 | 41 | 41.5% |
ORIGINAL DRAFT PICKS STILL ON TEAM
| TEAM | FORMER PICKS STILL UNDER CONTRACT |
|---|---|
| CIN | 42 |
| MIN | 37 |
| GB | 37 |
| BAL | 33 |
| PIT | 32 |
| SF | 32 |
| NE | 32 |
| SL | 31 |
| TEN | 30 |
| HOU | 30 |
| DET | 29 |
| NYJ | 28 |
| KC | 28 |
| ARZ | 27 |
| DAL | 27 |
| WAS | 27 |
| DEN | 26 |
| JAX | 25 |
| NYG | 25 |
| MIA | 25 |
| OAK | 25 |
| BUF | 25 |
| CLE | 25 |
| SEA | 25 |
| ATL | 24 |
| CAR | 23 |
| SD | 23 |
| CHI | 22 |
| IND | 21 |
| TB | 20 |
| NO | 20 |
| PHI | 20 |
