Wall of navy
DL is one of the densest columns on the chart in any era. Every team, every year, every round, somebody takes a defensive lineman. The white spots here are accidents, temporary.
DT·pick 1
Bubba Smith
Drafted by IND · Michigan State
1967 · earliest year in the data window
3
DTs drafted at #1 in NFL history
most recent: Dan Wilkinson (CIN, 1994)
Editor's note
Historic territory
Defensive tackles almost never go #1 overall. Three times in 60 drafts: Bubba Smith (Colts, 1967), Russell Maryland (Cowboys, 1991), Dan Wilkinson (Bengals, 1994). Suh slipped to #2 in 2010. Aaron Donald slid to #13 in 2014. The interior of the defensive line is where the value picks live — and where teams get talked out of premium investment by positional convention.
How rare was this draftigami?
No rarity score — the model compares each pick to its predictions for earlier seasons, and drafts from 1967–1969 sit before that runway is long enough.
Defensive tackle at #1, year by year
Each year's estimate uses only that year's draft and the years before it — no peeking ahead. The line smooths across neighboring picks and seasons so a single oddball draft doesn't dominate. The shaded band is the model's 90% uncertainty range.
Peak: 57.2% · 2027 model: 0.5%
Surrounding picks · 1967 draft
- #2RBClint Jones
- #3QBSteve Spurrier
- #4QBBob Griese
- #5LBGeorge Webster
- #6RBFloyd Little
Drafted at this same coordinate later · 2 picks
- 1994Dan Wilkinson
- 1991Russell Maryland