Broncos own one of highest draft pick retention rates in NFL

A really interesting team came out yesterday that highlighted teams that draft well and teams that don’t draft well. The proof is in how teams retain their “homegrown talent” year after year.

Since 2011, the Denver Broncos are fifth best in the NFL at retaining draft picks with exactly 50% of their draft picks still on the roster heading into the 2017 season. If you look at just 2014-16, the Broncos improve third best.

Not bad, John Elway.

If we dig a bit deeper into the other teams around the Broncos on the list you will find playoff rosters. The Cincinnati Bengals (59.6%) are at least competitive, as are the Houston Texans (51.1%). The Atlanta Falcons (52.4%) just came off a Super Bowl appearance and the Detroit Lions (53.2%) are a team that should be good, but usually finds a way to lose.

One team possibly on the rise is the Jacksonville Jaguars. They have exactly zero draft picks remaining on the roster from 2011-2013, but have retained 87.5% of their picks since. Essentially the same with the Oakland Raiders on that mark.

Probably the thing that popped out the most on this chart is the 2012 and 2013 draft classes. That is a whole lot of 0.0% there. What do you find most interesting with this data?