Do recruiting rankings matter?

That’s the question that gets debated every single recruiting cycle, and yet, the NFL Draft  and college football as a whole continue to prove they do matter.

It’s always fun to look back at the first-round draft picks to see how they were rated as high school recruits. Every year, we see several 5-stars, 4-stars, 3-stars and unranked recruits become first-round picks.

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

  • 5-stars: 8
  • 4-stars: 10
  • 3-stars: 11
  • 2-stars: 1
  • UR: 2

Those compare very favorably to last year’s numbers — 7 5-stars, 10 4-stars, 12 3-stars, 1 2-star and 2 UR.

RELATED: SEC stars who were 1st round picks are very rich

Of the SEC’s nine first-round picks, Alabama’s Jonah Williams and Mississippi State’s Jeffery Simmons were rated 5-star prospects. Alabama’s Quinnen Williams and LSU’s Devin White were rated 4-stars. Alabama’s Josh Jacobs, Mississippi State’s Montez Sweat and Johnathan Abram and Georgia’s Deandre Baker were all 3-star prospects. Kentucky’s Josh Allen was the SEC’s lone 2-star prospect to be a first-round pick at No. 7 overall to the Jaguars.

Two first-round picks were unranked by evaluators — Duke QB Daniel Jones and Alabama State OT Tytus Howard. Jones was developed by David Cutcliffe, while Howard was a walk-on at Alabama State who wanted to play QB. Really. Thankfully for him, he gained a bunch of weight and blew into a first-round pick at tackle.

Here’s the full first round and star ranking:

Pick Team Player School Stars
1 Cardinals QB Kyler Murray Oklahoma 5
2 49ers DE Nick Bosa Ohio State 5
3 Jets DT Quinnen Williams Alabama 4
4 Raiders DE Clelin Ferrell Clemson 4
5 Buccaneers LB Devin White LSU 4
6 Giants QB Daniel Jones Duke UR
7 Jaguars EDGE Josh Allen Kentucky 2
8 Lions TE TJ Hockerson Iowa 3
9 Bills DT Ed Oliver Houston 5
10 Steelers LB Devin Bush Michigan 4
11 Bengals OT Jonah Williams Alabama 5
12 Packers DE Rashan Gary Michigan 5
13 Dolphins DT Christian Wilkins Clemson 5
14 Falcons OG Chris Lindstrom Boston College 3
15 Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins Ohio State 4
16 Panthers EDGE Brian Burns FSU 4
17 Giants DT Dexter Lawrence Clemson 5
18 Vikings C Garrett Bradbury NC State 3
19 Titans DT Jeffery Simmons Miss State 5
20 Broncos TE Noah Fant Iowa 3
21 Packers DB Darnell Savage Maryland 3
22 Eagles OT Andre Dillard Washington State 3
23 Texans OT Tytus Howard Alabama State UR
24 Raiders RB Josh Jacobs Alabama 3
25 Ravens WR Marquise Brown Oklahoma 4
26 Redskins EDGE Montez Sweat Miss State 3
27 Raiders S Johnathan Abram Miss State 3
28 Chargers DT Jerry Tillery Notre Dame 4
29 Seahawks DE LJ Collier TCU 3
30 Giants CB Deandre Baker Georgia 3
31 Falcons OT Kaleb McGary Washington 4
32 Patriots WR N’Keal Harry Arizona State 4