A historic look at NFL players selected 54th overall

In just a couple of weeks, general managers around the National Football League will set up in their own homes, or some other place, separately from one another and not at their own team facilities to begin the annual college draft. Given the COVID-19 pandemic and how the league has chosen to handle this year's draft, it will certainly be different.

It will also be a bit different for Buffalo Bills fans, knowing their team won't have a first round pick for the first time since 2015. General manager Brandon Beane will, no doubt, be monitoring how the first round goes and could always try to swing a deal to get back into it. After dealing the 22nd overall selection to the Minnesota Vikings for wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the Bills aren't scheduled to be on the clock now until pick No. 54 overall, which will come in the second round on Day 2 of the draft.

Of course, past selections have no actual bearing on how anyone selected this year will perform in the league. Just for perspective, since the AFL-NFL merger back in 1970, there have been 50 players selected with the 54th overall pick in the draft.

The Bills have only chosen a player there one time, but according to the website Pro Football Reference and their "weighted career approximate value," of all No. 54 picks, that player the Bills took wound up having the (tied for) second-best NFL career. 

Defensive end Phil Hansen in 1991. 

Hansen's "career AV" is 62, which is tied with former Denver Broncos linebacker Simon Fletcher and behind only wide receiver Anquan Boldin's career AV of 86.  

Hansen played 11 NFL seasons, all with the Bills, piling up 634 total tackles and 61.5 sacks, which ranks third in team history behind Bruce Smith (171) and Aaron Schobel (78). He played in three Super Bowls with the club, and is on the team's Wall of Fame. Bills fans can hope their team finds a player this year that winds up having a similar career as Hansen, but history suggests that will be tough.

Here are some interesting facts about past No. 54 overall selections:

• Only one quarterback has ever been selected 54th overall - UNLV's Glenn Carano by the Dallas Cowboys in 1977. However, three players selected 54th have attempted passes in the NFL - Carano, Boldin, and running back Eddie Hill. As far as Carano, he went 21-for-57 for 304 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He played in 36 NFL games, starting one for Dallas in 1981. 
• Of the seven running backs selected at No. 54, only Ameer Abdullah, who currently plays for the Vikings, and Maurice Morris, who played for the Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions, rushed for at least 1,000 total yards in their career. Morris is clearly the best running back of the lot, rushing for 3,648 yards over a 10-year career. Other notable running back names include Bishop Sankey and Mike Cloud. 
• No surprise that Boldin is, by far, the best receiver of the group. Boldin ranks ninth in NFL history in catches (1,076) and 14th in receiving yards (13,779). After him, the Vikings' Sammy White had a solid career, catching 393 passes for 6,400 yards and 50 touchdowns. Running back Maurice Morris and wideouts Ron Morris and George Farmer are the only other players to catch at least 100 passes or have over 1,000 receiving yards throughout their careers. 
• Want a lineman? The highest career AVs on the site are tackle Scott Gragg (selected in 1995 by the Giants), guard Paul Howard (1973 - Broncos), and Phil Loadholdt (2009 - Vikings).  
• On defense, there's actually a healthy amount of sacks amongst the No. 54 overall picks. Fletcher leads the way with 97.5, then it's defensive end Carlos Dunlap, who currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals, with 81.5. Hansen is next on the list with 61.5, followed by former Los Angeles Raiders and New York Jets nose tackle Bill Pickel with 56.0 and former Broncos and Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Shane Dronett with 44.0. Dunlop is currently sitting at 61 career AV, only one point behind Hansen. One more season and I expect him to pass the former Bills defensive end. 
• The group hasn't had as much success with interceptions. Only one player, Vencie Glenn, had more than 18 in his career. Glenn had 35 total picks playing with five teams over a 10-year career.   
• Boldin is the only player to be named a First-Team All-Pro. 
• Of the 50 players taken 54th overall, there have been only eight total Pro Bowls, all coming from only four players - Boldin (3), Dunlop (2), White (2), and linebacker Jim LeClair (1). 

Happy hunting, Brandon Beane.