The NFL Draft is one of the most watched events in American sports — and one of the most consequential. A single pick can define a franchise for a decade. And for Pickem Trivia players, draft history is a goldmine of category clues. When a category says "First-round pick," "Picked in the top 5," or "Drafted by the Cleveland Browns," you need draft knowledge to find the right answer.
Here's a tour through some of the most important, interesting, and useful NFL draft facts — with notes on how each one connects to Pickem Trivia gameplay.
The 1998 NFL Draft is the most discussed in history because of what happened at picks 1 and 2. The Indianapolis Colts took Peyton Manning first overall. The San Diego Chargers took Ryan Leaf second. Manning went on to become arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, posting multiple MVP seasons and a peak 2013 campaign worth over 400 fantasy points. Leaf's NFL career lasted three seasons and has become shorthand for draft busts.
This draft also produced a loaded class: Fred Taylor (RB, #9, Jaguars), Randy Moss (WR, #21, Vikings), and Charles Woodson (CB) were all in this class. Moss was passed on 20 times before Minnesota took him, which is one of the all-time draft blunders by the teams who passed.
Tom Brady was selected 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft — the sixth round, pick 33. At the time, six quarterbacks had already been drafted. Brady went on to win seven Super Bowl championships, throw 649 touchdown passes, and accumulate more fantasy points than almost any quarterback in NFL history. His 2007 season with the New England Patriots (50 touchdowns, 4,806 passing yards) is still one of the greatest individual QB campaigns ever.
Brady's draft position — often called "The Pick That Changed Everything" — is a common category clue. He was a Michigan Wolverine before going undrafted in spirit (sixth round is practically undrafted at the time for a QB competing with Drew Bledsoe).
The 2004 NFL Draft produced one of the best wide receiver hauls in league history. Larry Fitzgerald (#3, Cardinals), Reggie Williams (#9, Jaguars), Roy Williams (#7, Lions), Lee Evans (#13, Bills), and Michael Clayton (#15, Buccaneers) all went in the first round. But it was Fitzgerald who became a Hall-of-Famer, posting elite season after season in Arizona.
This draft also included an unheralded receiver who slipped to the fourth round: Pittsburgh's Plaxico Burress had been drafted in 2000, but 2004 saw another wave of talent. Understanding class years helps when categories reference "Players drafted in the same year as Larry Fitzgerald."
Ezekiel Elliott (#4, Cowboys, 2016) and Saquon Barkley (#2, Giants, 2018) were both taken in the top five of their respective drafts — a sign of how highly their teams valued them. Elliott rewarded Dallas immediately, winning two rushing titles in his first four seasons. Barkley had a spectacular 2018 rookie season (2,028 yards from scrimmage) before injuries plagued his career.
On the flip side, undrafted running backs have sometimes outperformed their drafted peers. Arian Foster went undrafted in 2009 and rushed for 1,616 yards in 2010, winning the NFL rushing title. He's one of the most valuable undrafted players in Pickem Trivia's database for RB categories involving the Houston Texans.
Undrafted free agents (UDFAs) are players who weren't selected in any of the seven rounds of the draft but signed as free agents afterward. Some of the best players in league history were UDFAs. This matters in Pickem Trivia because "Undrafted" is a legitimate category that comes up, and knowing the high-value UDFAs gives you a major edge.
When Pickem Trivia shows a category like "First-round draft pick" or "Drafted after the 3rd round," it's telling you to filter the player database by draft position. Here's a quick mental model:
Some draft years produced such concentrated talent that knowing the class year is equivalent to knowing a massive player list. The classes most useful for Pickem Trivia:
One of the most powerful mental models for Pickem Trivia is connecting college programs to draft classes to NFL teams. Here's how it works in practice: if you see a category like "Wide Receiver who attended LSU," you can immediately cross-reference the great LSU WRs and their NFL teams — Ja'Marr Chase (Bengals), Justin Jefferson (Vikings), Odell Beckham Jr. (Browns/Rams), Jarvis Landry (Browns/Saints). Knowing this chain helps you pick the highest-scoring option.
Similarly, knowing that Nick Saban's Alabama pipeline has sent players to the NFL in every round for the past 15 years means Alabama categories always have a deep pool of valid answers. The challenge is finding the best-scoring one, not finding a valid one.
Play today's Daily Challenge and see if your draft history knowledge translates to a high score.
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