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NFL Draft: By the numbers

Jeff Reynolds, The Sports Xchange

The Class of 1983 it is not, but just how will the 2013 draft's quarterbacks be remembered?

Not since 1997, when Jim Druckenmiller was the first quarterback drafted -- 27th overall by the 49ers -- has this level of uncertainty accompanied a crop of quarterbacks.

The five seniors rated as potential first-round picks by NFLDraftScout.com -- Geno Smith (West Virginia), EJ Manuel (Florida State), Matt Barkley (Southern Cal), Tyler Wilson (Arkansas) and Ryan Nassib (Syracuse) -- are just as likely to be drafted in the second round.

The first decision-maker on the clock, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who shares personnel responsibility with general manager John Dorsey, said the 2012 draft class could be the best ever. And the 2013 class?

"There is no quarterback where personnel guys can definitely say, 'He's a first-round pick," Dorsey said. "... There are so many different variables, that there are a lot of people all over the place on naming the top four or five guys and who those guys would be."

In 1983, a draft-record six quarterbacks were selected in the first round.

This year, the number to watch might total offensive linemen drafted in the first round. The record is 10, set in 1968, one of the three times in modern draft history an offensive tackle went first overall.

Six of the top 12 players in the 2013 draft, according to NFLDraftScout.com, are offensive linemen.

Roll call Tide: It might not come as a surprise that back-to-back defending national champion Alabama has a chance to dominate the NFL draft, too.

The Crimson Tide has five players ranked in NFLDraftScout.com's top 39, including cornerback Dee Milliner (sixth), offensive guard Chance Warmack (eighth) and right tackle D.J. Fluker (12th).

If four players are drafted in the first round -- running back Eddie Lacy and defensive tackle Jesse Williams are ranked 32 and 39 overall, respectively -- Alabama would be the second program since 1967 to produce four first-rounders in three straight drafts. Miami (Fla.) did it four years in a row from 2001-2004. In 2004, five Hurricanes were drafted in the top 20 (Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Williams and Vernon Carey).

Alabama has 36 all-time first-round picks, 30 behind USC, which holds the record.

Foreign flavor: Williams is from Brisbane, Australia, and is one of eight players born outside the United States expected to be drafted this weekend.

At least three are considered likely first-round picks: Florida State defensive end Bjoern Werner and teammate Menelik Wilson, an offensive tackle, and BYU defensive end Ziggy Ansah. SMU defensive end Margus Hunt and Williams are rated as top-50 picks by NFLDraftScout.com.

Ansah (Ghana), Hunt (Estonia) and Werner (Germany) all picked up football in the past seven years. Ansah and Hunt had never played football before college.

Lawrence Okoye, a 2012 Olympian from England, has never played organized football by drew attention of scouts at the Super Regional Combine in Dallas. At 6-6, 300, he ran a 4.84 40-yard dash. If the NFL doesn't work out, the discus record-holder in Great Britian has deferred admission to Oxford Law to fall back on.

Underclassmen on the rise: A record number of underclassmen entered the draft for the third straight year. In 2012, 44 of the 65 underclassmen who declared for the draft were selected. The record for underclassmen drafted in the top 10 is eight, which has occurred two consecutive years.

Nine of the top 20 players ranked by NFLDraftscout.com are underclassmen.

Since 1990, there have been 14 underclassmen drafted first overall, including each of the past four drafts: Luck (2012), Cam Newton (2011), Sam Bradford (2010) and Matthew Stafford (2009).

Here's the deal: In 2011, only four first-round trades were completed, tied for the lowest since 1970. Last year, a record-setting 19 first-round trades were completed but the event was still the shortest seven-round draft (effective, 1994), completed in a time of 14 hours, five minutes over three days.

The longest first round ever was six hours, eight minutes in 2007.

Irrelevant fact: The Indianapolis Colts enter the draft with the final pick for the second consecutive year. The Colts drafted Northern Illinois quarterback Chandler Harnish as Mr. Irrelevant with the last pick in the 2012 draft after using the first overall pick on quarterback Andrew Luck.