(This might be a familiar topic but it is new to me.) I counted the number of 3 stars and less in the 2018 NFL draft's first 3 rounds (32 in the first and second rounds, and the first 32 in the 3rd round of the 36) - 96 draft selections, sorted by position. Here are the counts:
3 Stars and Less, 2018 NFL Draft - first 96 players:
qb 3
rb 1
og 2
ot 9
te 2
wr 6
de 6
dt 8
lb 4
db 13 13.54% 24.07%
total 54 56.25%
Selections with 3 Stars or less were over 1/2 (56.25%) of the first 96 selections.
5 stars in the first 96 selections were 12 or 1/8 (12.5%) of the selections.
4 Stars were 30 or nearly 1/3 (31.25%) of the first 96.
What stands out is the number of DBs that had 3 or less Stars. They make up nearly 1/4 (24.07%) of those with 3 Stars or less and were over 10% (13.54%) of the 96 selections.
A more rigorous study is needed to take this much further, but it is clear to me that evaluation of DB talent in high school must be difficult. It is likely that the same applies for OTs and DTs. So, D'Andre Baker's status as a top player who was rated a 3 Star is not unusual.
It might be valid also to suggest that lower rated recruits (and their teams), can very good defensive players with the exception of LBs +/-.
