Super Bowls aren’t won in free agency. They’re also seldom won with trades.
In the NFL, Lombardi trophies are won in the draft.
Throughout the league’s history, the best teams have always been built with young talent coming through the collegiate pipeline. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1970s are the last team that ever won a title solely with homegrown players, but dynasties such as the ‘80s San Francisco 49ers, ‘90s Dallas Cowboys, 2000s New England Patriots and ‘20s Kansas City Chiefs have all followed the same course to an extent.
In 2023, in an effort to quantify how draft success ties into a team’s success, looked at the previous five draft classes and awarded teams points based on a variety of factors. We used the same factors and scale this year, which you can see below:
Points SystemEach first-team All-Pro season: 5 pointsEach second-team All-Pro season: 3 pointsEach season as primary starter (per PFR: 1 point)Each regular-season win: 1 pointEach wild-card win or bye week: 2 pointsEach divisional round win: 3 pointsEach conference title: 4 pointsEach Super Bowl victory: 5 points
1) Kansas City Chiefs
Last year’s ranking: 1
152 total points, 33 draft points
Starting seasons: 22First-team All-Pro: 1Second-team All-Pro: 2Regular-season wins: 63Wild-card wins or bye: 5Divisional wins: 5Conference titles: 4Super Bowl wins: 3
Best picks: C Creed Humphrey, LB Nick Bolton, CB Trent McDuffie
Kansas City has done a nice job drafting in recent years, but its score is largely driven by immense team success. The main reason has been prolonged draft vision, landing Travis Kelce (2013), Chris Jones (2016) and Patrick Mahomes (2017) in past years, along with bringing in quality free agents.






