Fantasy Football Diehards look forward to the NFL Draft for two reasons foremost: it marks the mid-point of the long off-season, and they finally learn where the top rookie playmakers land. Afterwards, fantasy fanatics endeavor to forecast the roles of the rookies on their respective clubs and project fantasy statistical totals in 2016. Analyzing the talent in this year’s draft, it is evident that the top prospects are on the defensive side of the football.

The NFL is often referred to as a copycat league, and examining the last three Super Bowl Champions, defense led each franchise to the mountaintop. Listed below are team defensive rankings among the recent Lombardi Trophy winners.

Super Bowl Champion (Year): PTs/G. (NFL Rank) and Yds/G. (NFL Rank)

Denver Broncos (2015): 18.5 PTs/G. (4) and 283.1 Yds/G. (1)

New England Patriots (2014): 19.6 PTs/G. (8) and 344.1 Yds/G. (13)

Seattle Seahawks (2013): 14.4 PTs/G. (1) and 273.6 Yds/G. (1)

Therefore, there will be at least 17 defensive players drafted as clubs seek to slow down the high-flying, offensive minded teams in the league and punch a ticket to Super Bowl LI in Houston.

Updated April 27, 2016 

2016 First-round selection. Team: Position, Player and College  

1. St. Louis Rams: QB Jared Goff, California 

2. Philadelphia Eagles: QB Carson Wentz, North Dakota State

3. San Diego Chargers: DE Deforest Buckner, Oregon

4. Dallas Cowboys: RB Ezekiel Elliot, Ohio State

CB Jalen Ramsey

5. Jacksonville Jaguars: CB Jalen Ramsey, Florida State     

6. Baltimore Ravens: OT Laremy Tunsil, Mississippi

7. San Francisco 49ers: QB Paxton Lynch, Memphis

8. Cleveland Browns: DE Joey Bosa, Ohio State  

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: OT Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame 

LB Leonard Floyd

10. New York Giants: LB Leonard Floyd, Georgia

11. Chicago Bears: DT Sheldon Rankins, Louisville 

12. New Orleans Saints: DE Shaq Lawson, Clemson

13. Miami Dolphins: CB Vernon Hargreaves, III, Florida  

14. Oakland Raiders: LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama 

OT Jack Conklin

15. Tennessee Titans: OT Jack Conklin, Michigan State 

16. Detroit Lions: DE Kevin Dodd, Clemson

17. Atlanta Falcons: LB Myles Jack, UCLA

18. Indianapolis Colts: OT Taylor Decker, Ohio State   

19. Buffalo Bills: DT Chris Jones, Mississippi State

20. New York Jets: LB Kamalei Correa, Boise State

21. Washington Redskins: DT Andrew Billings, Baylor

WR Corey Coleman

22. Houston Texans: WR Corey Coleman, Baylor

23. Minnesota Vikings: WR Josh Doctson, TCU

24. Cincinnati Bengals: WR Laquon Treadwell, Mississippi

25. Pittsburgh Steelers: CB William Jackson, Houston

26. Seattle Seahawks: C Ryan Kelly, Alabama 

27. Green Bay Packers: DT A'Shawn Robinson, Alamama

28. Kansas City Chiefs: DT Jarran Reed, Alabama 

29. Arizona Cardinals: OG Cody Whitehair, Kansas State

30. Carolina Panthers: DT Vernon Butler, Louisiana Tech

31. Denver Broncos: OT Germain Ifedi, Texas A&M

Best Remaining:

OLB Shilique Calhoun, Michigan State

S Vonn Bell, Ohio State

DE Emmanuel Ogbah, Oklahoma State

TE Hunter Henry, Arkansas

OT Jason Spriggs, Indiana

CB Mackensie Alexander, Clemson

CB Eli Apple, Ohio State 

S T.J. Green, Clemson

WR Leonte Carroo, Rutgers

S Karl Joseph, West Virginia

DT Jarran Reed, Alabama 

With his Masters in history and professional experience as an educator, John Laub is uniquely qualified to research, analyze and discover new insights and trends in college and professional fantasy football. Laub has played fantasy football for over 25 years and provided FootballDiehards.com with weekly player rankings for nearly two decades. He won $10,000 in 1993, defeating nearly 15,000 owners, and published Audibles: Winning is Everything in the 1990s. He truly is The Gridiron Scholar.

Twitter: @GridironSchol91 or e-mail: Audibles@aol.com