Breaking this down by five year increments
Total players taken:
2016-2020: 8 so far
2011-2015: 16
2006-10: 12
2001-05: 6
1994-2000 (this is a seven year period, the draft went to 7 rounds in 1994): 6
Players taken in the first three rounds:
2016-2020: 3
2011-2015: 11
2006-10: 5
2001-05: 2
1994-2000: 0
Players taken in the first round:
2016-2020: 1
2011-2015: 4
2006-10: 3
2001-05:1
1994-2000: 0
If you use this measure--and it's only one measure, so it's not the be all and end all, but it's a decent measure--the program currently is probably about on a par with what Gary Pinkel took over. There will be a few more total draft picks than there were in Pinkel's first five years (probably 3 or 4 more, so a little less than one a year). But there is only one more player taken in the first three rounds (which is what I consider kind of a cutoff point. Three rounds gives you approximately 100 players. Players taken in the first three rounds almost always make the roster. After that, it's much more of a question mark).
Each period has only one first rounder. The first rounder is in the first two years of both time periods (Justin Smith in 2001, Charles Harris in 2017). That makes some sense because it indicates the previous coach didn't leave behind a wealth of talent. Larry Smith was fired in 2000 and he didn't leave a lot. Pinkel retired in 2015 and he didn't leave a ton either. The difference is that Pinkel brought in a lot, which rebuilt the program over the next few years, setting up two five-year stretches which approximately double the number of NFL draft picks of the other periods we're looking at. Barry Odom didn't bring in nearly as much, as indicated not only by this year's draft, but also the fact that I'm hard pressed to find a first rounder in next year's draft. I think Nick Bolton and Tyree Gillespie would both have a chance to go in the first three rounds, but I'm not sure either would be a lock.
Pinkel's decade from 2006-2015 saw seven first rounders. The other 74 years of the draft combined for 13 first rounders. Six of those were before 1977, so if you're talking the last 44 years Missouri had seven first rounders between 2006 and 2015 and seven in the other 34 years combined. That decade also had 16 players taken in the first three rounds. Again going back to 1977, the other 34 draft classes combined to have 17 players taken in the first three rounds.
These numbers point out two things: 2006-2015 (which really means the 2005 to 2014 seasons) were the high point for Missouri football. Anyone with a brain already knew this, but these numbers really illustrate it and put it in no uncertain terms. The program reached a point it had not been at from a talent perspective since at least the late 1970s and arguably ever. The second thing it shows is how sharply Mizzou has fallen off in the last five years. The last five drafts (after this one ends today) will feature just over half as many total draft picks as the five before. The number of players in the first three rounds dropped from 11 to 3 and the first-rounders dropped from 4 to 1.
Maybe more than anything else this indicates why Missouri probably made the right move in changing coaches. This is the first year in which an Odom recruiting class is fully draft eligible. Albert O and DeMarkus Acy committed prior to Pinkel's retirement. If Cale Garrett goes undrafted (which I believe is likely), there will be no players that committed to Odom from that class drafted. Obviously, he gets credit for Jordan Elliott and Yasir Durant, but those players came to Mizzou as a transfer and a junior college prospect. In terms of signing high school players that get drafted, it's quite possible we'll have to wait until next year for the first.
Total players taken:
2016-2020: 8 so far
2011-2015: 16
2006-10: 12
2001-05: 6
1994-2000 (this is a seven year period, the draft went to 7 rounds in 1994): 6
Players taken in the first three rounds:
2016-2020: 3
2011-2015: 11
2006-10: 5
2001-05: 2
1994-2000: 0
Players taken in the first round:
2016-2020: 1
2011-2015: 4
2006-10: 3
2001-05:1
1994-2000: 0
If you use this measure--and it's only one measure, so it's not the be all and end all, but it's a decent measure--the program currently is probably about on a par with what Gary Pinkel took over. There will be a few more total draft picks than there were in Pinkel's first five years (probably 3 or 4 more, so a little less than one a year). But there is only one more player taken in the first three rounds (which is what I consider kind of a cutoff point. Three rounds gives you approximately 100 players. Players taken in the first three rounds almost always make the roster. After that, it's much more of a question mark).
Each period has only one first rounder. The first rounder is in the first two years of both time periods (Justin Smith in 2001, Charles Harris in 2017). That makes some sense because it indicates the previous coach didn't leave behind a wealth of talent. Larry Smith was fired in 2000 and he didn't leave a lot. Pinkel retired in 2015 and he didn't leave a ton either. The difference is that Pinkel brought in a lot, which rebuilt the program over the next few years, setting up two five-year stretches which approximately double the number of NFL draft picks of the other periods we're looking at. Barry Odom didn't bring in nearly as much, as indicated not only by this year's draft, but also the fact that I'm hard pressed to find a first rounder in next year's draft. I think Nick Bolton and Tyree Gillespie would both have a chance to go in the first three rounds, but I'm not sure either would be a lock.
Pinkel's decade from 2006-2015 saw seven first rounders. The other 74 years of the draft combined for 13 first rounders. Six of those were before 1977, so if you're talking the last 44 years Missouri had seven first rounders between 2006 and 2015 and seven in the other 34 years combined. That decade also had 16 players taken in the first three rounds. Again going back to 1977, the other 34 draft classes combined to have 17 players taken in the first three rounds.
These numbers point out two things: 2006-2015 (which really means the 2005 to 2014 seasons) were the high point for Missouri football. Anyone with a brain already knew this, but these numbers really illustrate it and put it in no uncertain terms. The program reached a point it had not been at from a talent perspective since at least the late 1970s and arguably ever. The second thing it shows is how sharply Mizzou has fallen off in the last five years. The last five drafts (after this one ends today) will feature just over half as many total draft picks as the five before. The number of players in the first three rounds dropped from 11 to 3 and the first-rounders dropped from 4 to 1.
Maybe more than anything else this indicates why Missouri probably made the right move in changing coaches. This is the first year in which an Odom recruiting class is fully draft eligible. Albert O and DeMarkus Acy committed prior to Pinkel's retirement. If Cale Garrett goes undrafted (which I believe is likely), there will be no players that committed to Odom from that class drafted. Obviously, he gets credit for Jordan Elliott and Yasir Durant, but those players came to Mizzou as a transfer and a junior college prospect. In terms of signing high school players that get drafted, it's quite possible we'll have to wait until next year for the first.
