The NFL Draft: Utah Edition
National Football League revenue was $12 billion in 2020, which made last week’s NFL Draft a big deal in Utah, as BYU had its greatest success in the draft in 20 years. But not so for UofU & USU.
The excitement in Happy Valley built to a near fever pitch last Wednesday as the 6pm MT deadline approached.
Egged on by sportswriters, talk show hosts, and prognosticators both near and far, Cougar Nation fanatics and bandwagon-jumpers alike pondered if it was actually possible:
“Would one of their own actually be selected as the Number Two player in the 2021 NFL Draft, the babyfaced-killah who when rejected by his tribe had joined the enemy camp (their camp) and led them to glory on the gridiron in 2020?”
Well … unless you’ve been in a cave for the past week or happen to be a pro-sports hater, chances are you already know that quarterback, Zach Wilson, was (in fact) the second player selected this past Wednesday in the extravaganza that has become known as the NFL Draft.
And although National Football League revenues dropped by 25% to $12 billion in the Covid-slammed 2020 season, the reality is that $12 billion is still a truckload of money and makes the NFL the biggest professional sports business in all of America, revenue-wise. And that includes Utah, one of 29 states without an NFL franchise.
But not only is the NFL the largest money-generating professional sport in America, it attracts the most fans for in-person attendance at an average of over 67,000 per game. This also happens to swamp the next closest attendance numbers globally for professional sports leagues, with Bundesliga in Germany attracting an average of close to 43,500 fans to its soccer matches.
The Business State of the NFL in Utah
From Merlin Olsen to Alex Smith and from Jim McMahon to Steve Young, it’s clear that scores of football players who played college ball in Utah have had an impact in professional football, the American brand of football, especially.
Since the NFL began drafting players in 1936, just over 475 players from Utah-based universities and colleges have been selected in the NFL Draft — 477 to be exact.
Of these draftees,
168 played for the University of Utah Utes,
116 played for the Utah State Aggies, and
38 played for the Weber State Wildcats.
For a list of all 477 student athletes picked by NFL teams over the years from Utah-based schools, you’ll find a breakdown by team in the list below:
Both the Utes and the Cougs have had former players selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft:
Utah’s Alex Smith in 2005, and
BYU’s Steve Young in 1984.
And each of the four Utah-based universities / colleges listed above have had players selected in the First Round of the NFL Draft, as shown below:
BYU: 12 First Round picks,
Utah: 7 First Round picks,
Utah State: 5 First Round picks, and
Weber State: 1 First Round pick.
Utes Dominate the NFL Draft of Late
Although BYU has a clear historical lead in First Round picks over the other college teams in the State of Deseret since the NFL Draft began some 85 years ago, the Running Utes have clearly dominated of late.
How so? Well … not counting the 2021 draft, the breakdown of NFL draftees from Utah colleges/universities during the past decade looks like this:
Utah Utes: 33 players selected in the NFL Draft,
Utah State Aggies: 13 players selected in the NFL Draft,
BYU Cougars: 6 players selected in the NFL Draft, and
Weber State Wildcats: 1 player selected in the NFL Draft.
SERIOUSLY?!?!?!
33—13 (Utah vs. USU),
33—6 (Utah vs. BYU), and
33—1 (Utah vs. Weber State).
In sports, such scores are not only considered victories, that’s called Crushing the Competition!
So unless you’re a Hardcore Hometown Homer from USU or BYU, simply raise your hands and give a “polite clap” to your instate rivals for doing so well in prepping their players for the pinnacle of professional football from 2020 thru 2011.
The Importance of the 2021 NFL Draft to BYU
In case you were not aware of this huge NFL Draft selection disparity over the past decade, now you know.
And although none of the D-1 schools* from the State of Deseret have won a conference championship over the past decade, the reality is that UofU fanatics do have something to point to over the past 10 years. That is that the Utes simply have more players playing on Sundays than the Cougs or Aggies. And that’s a fact.
{NOTE: Kudos to the Weber State Wildcats for winning the Big Sky Conference Football Championship the past four years running. Bravo!}
So … given some of the understandable and yet knuckle-headed decisions coming out of both the Pac-12 and the Mountain West conferences last year, both Utah’s and Utah State’s football schedules were decimated.
Specifically, the Aggies only played six games last season and finished at 1—5. UGH! Conversely, the Utes played five games in 2020 and finished at 3—2.
Given the non-discriminatory nature of the Covid-19 virus during 2020, BYU also saw its initial gridiron schedule laid waste as 10 of its originally scheduled 12 games were cancelled during the off-season by cautious conferences and schools alike.
As sports fans know, BYU, Utah and Utah State were not alone.
In fact, this CBS Sports report explained that 139 total D-1 football games were cancelled during the 2020 regular season due to Covid-19 related circumstances. But that number was, in fact, much higher as virtually every conference and school cancelled their original schedules for 2020 during the pre-season.
At the end of the 2020 D-1 season, BYU stood with an 11—1 record, finishing at No. 11 in both the Associated Press and Coaches Top 25 Polls (and No. 16 in the College Football Playoff Rankings).
All of which brings us back to Zach and the 2021 NFL Draft.
Zach Wilson, BYU, and the NFL Draft
An amazing thing happens when your team finishes with only one loss and you have a quarterback that has a breakout season — people pay attention.
So although BYU obviously played a watered-down season when compared to the slate it had scheduled before Covid-19 ran rampant across the gridiron, the reality is that you can only play the teams and conferences that are willing to play you.
Yeah, I’m talking to you Pac-12, Big-10, and Army; and Thank You, Mountain West Conference.
By the time the Cougars’ 2020 season drew to a close in December, Zach had
The 2nd highest completion rating among D-1 QBs at 73.5% (Alabama’sMac Jones was at 77.4% and played one more game),
Had the 3rd highest amount of passing yards among D-1 QBs at 3,692 (Alabama’sMac Jones had 4,500 yards over 13 games; Florida’sKyle Trask had 4,283 yards, also over 13 games),
Had the 2nd highest yardage per catch at 11.0 among D-1 QBs (Alabama’sMac Jones was at 11.2 yards/catch), and
Zach also had the 2nd highest Quarterback Rating, QBR, among at D-1 QBs at 196.4 (Alabama’sMac Jones came in with a QBR of 201.1 for the season.
So why did Mac end up being selected at No. 15 in the First Round of the NFL Draft instead of No. 2 overall like Zach was?
Based upon my research, part of the reason was the intangibles of both pro scouts and prognosticators when evaluating Zach:
“ … when it comes to just pure talent throwing the football, to me, Zach Wilson is the top thrower in this draft.” (former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, now an analyst for NBC Sports, quoted by USA TODAY)
“… (Zach) consistently demonstrates the ability to create plays with both his legs and arm outside of structure when the pocket breaks down, which is more important in the NFL now than maybe ever before.”CBS Sports
“… there’s no doubt about Wilson’s electrifying arm and how enamored teams are with his promising talent.”NBC Sports
On top of this, Mac over at Alabama only ran the ball 35 times in 2020, gained 14 yards carrying the ball in the process, and only scored one touchdown as a ballcarrier. In other words, Mac is NOT a threat as a ballcarrier.
Conversely, Zach carried the ball 70 times during the 2020 season for 254 yards gained (a 3.6 yards/carry average), and he scored 10 touchdowns as a runner. Yeah, not even close.
But when you watch Zach throw in game-time situations, dude is an absolute stud!
The bottom line, Zach Wilson got picked by the New York Jets as the No. 2 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
In addition, four other players from the 2020 Brigham Young University football squad were selected by NFL teams during the seven rounds of the three-day draft (the most BYU players tapped in the past two decades in any one draft), specifically
Offensive Tackle, Brady Christensen, drafted in the third round by the Carolina Panthers (No. 70 overall)
Defensive Tackle, Khyris Tonga, drafted in the seventh round by the Chicago Bears (No. 250 overall)
Cornerback, Chris Wilcox, drafted in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 251 overall)
Wide Receiver, Dax Milne, drafted in the seventh round by the Washington Football Team (No. 258 overall, one slot above being honorifically named “Mr. Irrelevant”)
A Contextual Read of the 2021 NFL Draft vis-à-vis the State of Utah
According to an analysis by CBS Sports, with five players selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, BYU’s draft results ranked the Cougs as tied for No. 11th in the country among all universities with players drafted.
Put in context, no school west of the Mississippi River had more draftees than BYU.
Conversely, not a single University of Utah player was signed in the 2021 NFL Draft. Same with Utah State and Weber State.
That said, my Ute friends are quick to point out every Ute player eligible to return for the 2021 season opted to forego the NFL Draft and return for the season this coming fall.
As a result, the Utes will return 9 starters on offense and all 11 starters on defense, which could lead to a blockbuster 2021 season for the Running Utes.
In addition to BYU’s successful 2021 NFL Draft, however, seven other BYU players have signed Unrestricted Free Agent contracts with NFL teams, including
Chandon Herring, Offensive Lineman, Tennessee Titans
Isaiah Kaufusi, Linebacker, Indianapolis Colts
Matt Bushman, Tight End, Las Vegas Raiders
Tristen Hoge, Offensive Lineman, New York Jets
Troy Warner, Safety, Los Angeles Rams
Zac Dawe, Defensive Lineman, Atlanta Falcons
Zane Anderson, Linebacker Kansas City Chiefs
Each of which will get minimal contracts initially, with future financial opportunities tied specifically to how well they do during mini and summer camps and pre-season play.
Last of all, what does the business side of this year’s NFL Draft look like for BYU’s players. For most, it’s too early to tell.
But 247Sports outlines the payday predictions this way:
Zach Wilson: 4-year deal, $35.1 million, 5th year team option ($22.9 million guaranteed)
Brady Christensen: 4-year deal, $5.1 million ($1.11 million signing bonus)
Khyris Tonga: 4-year deal, $3.5 million (only $83,000 guaranteed)
Chris Wilcox: 4-year deal, $3.5 million (only $82,770 guaranteed)
Dax Milne: 4-year deal, $3.5 million (only $77,268 guaranteed)
From a business standpoint, the 2021 NFL Draft was clearly a success for BYU and these players named above.
Will such success be leverageable by Head Coach Kalani Sitake and the Cougs in recruiting and in future NFL drafts?
For that, we’ll have to check back at the end of the 2021 season and roughly one year from now.
ICYMI: If you haven’t read last Friday’s Week-in-Review report from Deseret Business Watch — Recursion IPO, Sera Raises $100MM, Wasatch Invests $100MM, and More (The Week-in-Review, April 24—30, 2021 — I hope you’ll do so now.
This particular issue looks at 15 separate news stories from the business community of Utah, and I think you’ll find the entire edition of DBW worth your time. Thanks.
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About the Author
David Politis is a Marketing Mercenary, which is a fancy way of saying that organizations and individuals hire him to solve their marketing problems. To learn more, please feel free to visit David’s LinkedIn Profile or the website for his business: The David Politis Company. Additionally, if you have a story idea for him (or would just like to connect), you can reach him at me@davidpolitis.com.