Stat of the Jay: Which Draft Slot Has Produced the Most Sacks in Last 25 Years?

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals used the No. 17 pick on Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart with the idea of boosting their pass rush.

So it got us thinking about which draft slot has accounted for the most sacks in the last quarter century.

The runaway winner is somewhat of a surprise:

Pick 13.

Players selected 13th in the draft have combined for 742 sacks since 2000.

That’s 150.5 sacks more than the next productive draft slot – No. 2 (591.5).

Rounding out the Top 5 are Pick 12 (569.5), Pick 16 (462) and Pick 11 (459).

Among the leaders at Pick 13 are:

John Abraham 133.5

Aaron Donald 111

Brandon Graham 76.5

Brian Orakpo 66

Haason Reddick 59

Former Bengal Takeo Spikes also contributed with 24.

Stewart will have a chance to boost the profile of the No. 17 pick, which ranks 21st on the list.

There are four draft slots outside of the first round that have produced more sacks than the 257.5 recorded by No. 17 picks.

The top performers at Pick 17 are:

Jonathan Allen 42

Kenard Lang 35.5

Arik Armstead 35.5

Dexter Lawrence 30

D.J. Williams 22.5

Brian Simmons 18

Simmons was the No. 17 pick in 1998, the same year Spikes was No. 13, with the Bengals selecting both players.

Of course, many of their early sacks for the Bengals are not included on this list, which begins with the year 2000.

The most surprising draft spot on the list is No. 126, which comes in 13th with 327.5 sacks.

That’s due primarily to Jared Allen’s 136 and Elvis Dumervil’s 105.5

Here is a list of the Top 25 draft slots in combined sacks since 2000:

No. 13: 742

No. 2: 591.5

No. 12: 569.5

No. 16: 462

No. 11: 459

No. 3: 455.5

No. 26: 369

No. 15: 360

No. 7: 355

No. 1: 344

No. 46: 334.5

No. 30: 331.5

No. 126: 327.5

No. 14: 326

No. 18: 320

No. 73: 313

No. 5: 311

No. 9:305

No. 6: 296

No. 28: 263.5

No. 17: 257.5

No. 20: 254.5

No. 40: 250

No. 31: 249.5

No. 4: 249