NFL Draft 2018: Here's how the first-round picks were rated as high school recruits

Do recruiting rankings matter?

That’s the question we ask ourselves each and every year at National Signing Day and the NFL Draft. I think we’ve come to realize they certainly do matter, as SEC programs have proven that time and time again.

Interestingly, the 2018 NFL Draft first round was slightly different than last year’s. More 3-star prospects were drafted (12) than last year (6), and there are few reasons for that. Mainly, the elite players in the recruiting class of 2015 didn’t show up. Former Auburn (now Maryland) 5-star DE Byron Cowart was a complete bust (so far), and former UGA 5-star DL Trenton Thompson also never blossomed into a dynamic talent. Thompson is currently waiting to get drafted, and his best years are ahead of him. Former Tennessee DT Kahlil McKenzie also never blew into the player everyone thought at Tennessee, and he, like Thompson, is still waiting to get drafted. Former top 10 Florida signees Martez Ivey and CeCe Jefferson returned for another season in 2018, too.

RELATED: The SEC dominated the NFL Draft … again

Here’s the breakdown of all 32 picks in the first round of Thursday night’s draft (247Sports Composite):

• 5-stars: 7
• 4-stars: 10
• 3-stars: 12
• 2-stars: 1
• NR: 2

Of the SEC’s leading 10 first-round draft picks, five of them were 5-star prospects, three were 4-star prospects and one was a 3-star prospect. Former South Carolina TE Hayden Hurst was the only SEC player unranked exiting high school, mainly because he signed a pro baseball contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates before walking on with the Gamecocks.

The NFL Draft’s only 2-star player was Texas-San Antonio’s Marcus Davenport. The Saints drafted Davenport with the No. 14 overall pick. The only other unranked player aside from Hurst was Boise State LB Leighton Vander Esch, who was drafted by the Cowboys at No. 19 overall.

Here’s the full first round and star ranking: