Nearly 90 percent of NFL Draft selections played multiple sports in high school

By Joe Frollo | Posted 5/4/2015

With sports specialization becoming the norm for more athletes at younger ages, the NFL Draft is a reminder that limiting options is not often beneficial.

According to Tracking Football, 224 of the 256 players selected in the 2015 NFL Draft played two or more sports in high school. 

Among the findings:

  • 63 percent of the players selected also competed in track and field
  • 48 percent of the athletes played basketball
  • 10 percent of the athletes played baseball

USA Football encourages young athletes to play multiple sports. According to medical experts, taking part in a variety of activities –structured or not – leads to greater skill and muscle development.

The lateral movement that basketball players use to stay in front of defenders is the same skill shortstops develop to field ground balls and offensive linemen work on to better pass protect.

For these world-class athletes, it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg question. Did they become great athletes because they played multiple sports or did they play multiple sports because they were already great athletes?

For most of us who will never play beyond high school, let alone professionally, playing a variety of sports holds other benefits, including fewer overuse injuries, less chance of mental burnout and building healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Even within football, it’s important for players to try different positions in order to develop a variety of skills and muscle strength. This is a value flag football offers, where tackle football players can expand their skill sets during the offseason while continuing to enjoy the fun and benefits of the sport.

“Football lends itself to sub-specialization, where a young player starts playing a position early on and stays there his entire career,” said Dr. John Bergfeld, a sports medicine physician and member of the USA Football Medical Advisory Committee. “But youngsters should have a try at every position, offensive and defensive. Mix it up. As kids mature, they will move toward what they like and are good at. That happens naturally.

“If you don’t give them the chance to try different positions early, they could get bored and drop out.”

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