2023 NFL Draft by the numbers: Overview of historic first round

Updated Apr 28, 2023 5:07 pm ET

The first round of the 2023 NFL Draft is over and it was one for the ages. Thursday's action featured seven trades, lots of surprises, and tons of eye-opening moves across the league in the first NFL draft ever held in Kansas City. Maybe the biggest surprise of the night was Kentucky Wildcat quarterback Will Levis not going in the first round, despite a plethora of chatter around him entering the week.

Additionally, we saw two running backs go in the first round and four wide receivers selected as well. FOX Sports Research provided an overview of how historic this first round was, listing several nuggets below that we thought were noteworthy. 

  • With Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud going back-to-back to the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans respectively, this was the first time ever that the first two picks of the draft were both African-American quarterbacks
  • Young became the first Alabama Crimson Tide player selected first overall in the common draft era (since 1967); the only Alabama player selected first overall in the history of the NFL Draft was Harry Gilmer in 1948
  • Stroud also became the highest-drafted Ohio State Buckeye quarterback in the common draft era (since 1967)
  • With the Texans, Arizona Cardinals, and Philadelphia Eagles all trading up in the top 10, this was the first time that has happened on draft day since 2012
  • With Paris Johnson Jr. going sixth overall to the Cardinals, he became the highest drafted Ohio State offensive lineman since Orlando Pace went first overall in 1997
  • With Bijan Robinson going eighth overall, this was the first time a running back has been drafted in the top 20 since Saquon Barkley in 2018
  • Robinson also became the first Texas Longhorn to be drafted in the top 10 since Vince Young and Michael Huff in 2006
  • With Darnell Wright going 10th overall to the Chicago Bears, this marked the first time the Bears have drafted an offensive lineman in the top 10 since 1983 — when they drafted Hall of Famer Jim Covert with the sixth pick
  • With Peter Skoronski going 11th overall to the Tennessee Titans, he became the highest drafted Northwestern Wildcat since 1983 — when Chris Hinton went fourth overall
  • With Jahmyr Gibbs going 12th overall to the Detroit Lions, this marked the first time two running backs were drafted in the top 12 since 2017 — when Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette both went in the top 10
  • Gibbs also became the highest-drafted Lions running back since Barry Sanders, who went third overall in 1989
  • With the Green Bay Packers taking Lukas Van Ness, this is the 21st straight draft the Packers have not selected a running back, wide receiver, or tight-end in the first round; that's the longest drought in the common draft era
  • With Will McDonald IV going 15th overall to the New York Jets, he became the first Iowa State Cyclone to be selected in the first round since 1973- when George Amundson was taken 14th overall
  • This was first draft in NFL history where three conferences represented each of the top 15 picks (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12)
  • With Jaxon Smith-Njigba going 20th overall to the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle snapped a 22-year streak of not picking a receiver in the first round — the longest streak in franchise history
  • For the first time in the common draft era, a receiver was taken in four consecutive picks — with Smith-Njigba going 20th, Quentin Johnston going 21st (Los Angeles Chargers), Zay Flowers going 22nd (Baltimore Ravens), and Jordan Addison going 23rd (Minnesota Vikings)
  • Dalton Kincaid became the ninth Utah Ute to be selected in the first round in the common draft era, and the first Utah tight-end to be selected in the first round as well
  • With Felix Anudike-Uzomah going 32nd overall to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas State Wildcats had a player selected in the first round for the first time since 2009; he's also just the fifth Kansas State player to be selected in the first round in the common draft era
  • For the fourth time in the common draft era, three quarterbacks were taken in the top four picks; it was also the second time in the last three drafts this has happened
  • For the 15th straight draft, Nick Saban had a player selected in the first round; the last time he did not have a player selected in the first round was 2008
  • The SEC and the Big Ten led the way for most players selected in the first round, with nine each
  • This was the first time in the common draft era that every first round pick was from a major conference (based on the conference the school was in when they were drafted).