With the 2023 AFL Draft complete, we’ve taken a look at how all 18 clubs have picked in previous years.
Taking a microscope to the squads of each club, we’ve figured out how many top 20 picks are on every list ahead of the 2024 season.
While some players have been recruited onto lists via trade and free agency, it still offers an insight into how much top-end talent each club is working with.
Early picks aren’t always a guarantee for success, but there’s no doubt that most of the competition’s elite stars have already been identified as quality options by the time they’re drafted.
Check out how many top 20 picks each club has on their list below.
Total top-20 picks: 11
Riley Thilthorpe (Pick 2, 2020)
Izak Rankine (Pick 3, 2018)
Josh Rachele (Pick 6, 2021)
Daniel Curtin (Pick 8, 2023)
Chayce Jones (Pick 9, 2018)
Wayne Milera (Pick 11, 2015)
Luke Pedlar (Pick 11, 2020)
Darcy Fogarty (Pick 12, 2017)
Brodie Smith (Pick 14, 2010)
Ned McHenry (Pick 16, 2018)
Max Michalanney (Pick 17, 2022)
Of the Crows’ 11 top-20 picks, 10 of those were drafted to the club with only Izak Rankine the outlier. Rankine included, seven of those have been selected in the last six years.
Total top-20 picks: 13
Cam Rayner (Pick 1, 2017)
Will Ashcroft (Pick 2, 2022)
Hugh McCluggage (Pick 3, 2016)
Callum Ah Chee (Pick 8, 2015)
Joe Daniher (Pick 10, 2012)
Jaspa Fletcher (Pick 12, 2022)
Eric Hipwood (Pick 14, 2015)
Zac Bailey (Pick 15, 2017)
Darcy Wilmot (Pick 16, 2021)
Tom Doedee (Pick 17, 2015)
Jarrod Berry (Pick 17, 2016)
Brandon Starcevich (Pick 18, 2017)
Kai Lohmann (Pick 20, 2021)
The Lions have 13 top-20 picks, three of which were initially selected by other clubs - Callum Ah Chee (Gold Coast), Joe Daniher (Essendon) and Tom Doedee (Adelaide). Only four of their picks inside 20 have come in the last six drafts.
Total top-20 picks: 14
Jacob Weitering (Pick 1, 2015)
Sam Walsh (Pick 1, 2018)
Adam Cerra (Pick 5, 2017)
Caleb Marchbank (Pick 6, 2014)
Elijah Hollands (Pick 7, 2020)
Harry McKay (Pick 10, 2015)
Ollie Hollands (Pick 11, 2022)
Sam Docherty (Pick 12, 2011)
Charlie Curnow (Pick 12, 2015)
Patrick Cripps (Pick 13, 2013)
Matthew Kennedy (Pick 13, 2015)
Sam Durdin (Pick 16, 2014) - rookie list
Brodie Kemp (Pick 17, 2019)
Blake Acres (Pick 19, 2013)
Six of Carlton’s top-20 draft picks started at other clubs, including rookie-listed Sam Durdin who was taken at 16 by North Melbourne in 2014. On the current Blues list there is just one top-20 selection taken by the club in the last four drafts.
Total top-20 picks: 9
Will Hoskin-Elliott (Pick 4, 2011)
Nick Daicos (Pick 4, 2021)
Scott Pendlebury (Pick 5, 2005)
Jordan De Goey (Pick 5, 2014)
Darcy Moore (Pick 9, 2014)
Steele Sidebottom (Pick 11, 2008)
Isaac Quaynor (Pick 13, 2018)
Finlay Macrae (Pick 19, 2020)
Ed Allan (Pick 19, 2022)
The Magpies only have nine top-20 players, eight of whom were selected by the club. Will Hoskin-Elliott (GWS) is the outlier. Over the last few years they have traded out Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson, Taylor Adams, Brodie Grundy and Ollie Henry who were all top-20 picks.
Total top-20 picks: 18
Andrew McGrath (Pick 1, 2016)
Jake Stringer (Pick 5, 2012)
Darcy Parish (Pick 5, 2015)
Will Setterfield (Pick 5, 2016)
Elijah Tsatas (Pick 5, 2022)
Dyson Heppell (Pick 8, 2010)
Peter Wright (Pick 8, 2014)
Nik Cox (Pick 8, 2020)
Sam Weideman (Pick 9, 2015)
Archie Perkins (Pick 9, 2020)
Zach Reid (Pick 10, 2020)
Nate Caddy (Pick 10, 2023)
Jye Caldwell (Pick 11, 2018)
Ben Hobbs (Pick 13, 2021)
Kyle Langford (Pick 17, 2014)
Jade Gresham (Pick 18, 2015)
Xavier Duursma (Pick 18, 2018)
Jayden Laverde (Pick 20, 2014)
The Bombers have a lengthy list of picks inside the top 20, with 18. A dozen of those are top-10 picks including a remarkable four taken with Pick 5 specifically. Of the 18, seven were initially drafted by other clubs.
Total top-20 picks: 12
Andrew Brayshaw (Pick 2, 2017)
Luke Jackson (Pick 3, 2019)
James Aish (Pick 7, 2013)
Hayden Young (Pick 7, 2019)
Caleb Serong (Pick 8, 2019)
Jye Amiss (Pick 8, 2021)
Will Brodie (Pick 9, 2016)
Neil Erasmus (Pick 10, 2021)
Heath Chapman (Pick 14, 2020)
Jordan Clark (Pick 15, 2018)
Sam Sturt (Pick 17, 2018)
Nat Fyfe (Pick 20, 2009)
Four of Freo’s top-20 picks were selected by other clubs - Luke Jackson (Melbourne), James Aish (Brisbane), Will Brodie (Gold Coast) and Jordan Clark (Geelong). Eight of the 12 were taken inside the top 10.
Total top-20 picks: 9
Gary Rohan (Pick 6, 2009)
Jhye Clark (Pick 8, 2022)
Patrick Dangerfield (Pick 10, 2007)
Jack Bowes (Pick 10, 2016)
Connor O’Sullivan (Pick 11, 2023)
Tanner Bruhn (Pick 12, 2020)
Ollie Henry (Pick 17, 2020)
Sam De Koning (Pick 19, 2019)
Max Holmes (Pick 20, 2020)
Remarkably, only four of Geelong’s nine top-20 draft picks were actually selected by the club. Gary Rohan (Sydney), Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide), Jack Bowes (Gold Coast), Tanner Bruhn (GWS) and Ollie Henry (Collingwood) all started elsewhere.
Total top-20 picks: 17
David Swallow (Pick 1, 2010)
Matt Rowell (Pick 1, 2019)
Jack Lukosius (Pick 2, 2018)
Noah Anderson (Pick 2, 2019)
Sam Day (Pick 3, 2010)
Jed Walter (Pick 3, 2023)
Ben Ainsworth (Pick 4, 2016)
Mac Andrew (Pick 5, 2021)
Ben King (Pick 6, 2018)
Bailey Humphrey (Pick 6, 2022)
Ethan Read (Pick 9, 2023)
Sam Flanders (Pick 11, 2019)
Lachie Weller (Pick 3, 2014)
Jake Rogers (Pick 14, 2023)
Brandon Ellis (Pick 15, 2011)
Wil Powell (Pick 19, 2017)
Brayden Fiorini (Pick 20, 2015)
The Suns boast a remarkable eight top-5 and 11 top-10 picks within their 16 top-20 selections, for of which have been added in the last three drafts. Just two of their 17 started at other clubs - Lachie Weller (Fremantle) and Brandon Ellis (Richmond).
Note: Sam Day was delisted but is expected to be taken in the Pre-Season Draft on Wednesday.
Total top-20 picks: 19
Lachie Whitfield (Pick 1, 2012)
Aaron Cadman (Pick 1, 2022)
Stephen Coniglio (Pick 2, 2011)
Josh Kelly (Pick 2, 2013)
Finn Callaghan (Pick 3, 2021)
Lachie Ash (Pick 4, 2019)
Nick Haynes (Pick 7, 2011)
Tom Green (Pick 10, 2019)
Toby Greene (Pick 11, 2011)
Phoenix Gothard (Pick 12, 2023)
Harry Perryman (Pick 14, 2016)
Conor Stone (Pick 15, 2020)
Leek Aleer (Pick 15, 2021)
Harry Himmelberg (Pick 16, 2015)
Harry Rowston (Pick 16, 2022)
James Leake (Pick 17, 2023)
Ryan Angwin (Pick 18, 2020)
Callan Ward (Pick 19, 2007)
Isaac Cumming (Pick 20, 2016)
Of the Giants’ 19 top-20 picks, six are top-5 selections. Just one player taken in side the top 20 who wears orange and charcoal was selected by another club and that is veteran Cal Ward (Western Bulldogs).
Total top-20 picks: 8
Nick Watson (Pick 5, 2023)
Denver Grainger-Barras (Pick 6, 2020)
Jack Scrimshaw (Pick 7, 2016)
Josh Ward (Pick 7, 2021)
Cam Mackenzie (Pick 7, 2022)
Will Day (Pick 13, 2019)
Joshua Weddle (Pick 18, 2022)
Will McCabe (Pick 19, 2023)
Like West Coast, the Hawks have a stunningly low number of top 20 picks for a side that’s struggled in recent campaigns. Seven of their eight top-20 selections were drafted by the club, with Jack Scrimshaw the outlier.
Total top-20 picks: 14
Christian Petracca (Pick 2, 2014)
Josh Schache (Pick 2, 2015)
Jack Billings (Pick 3, 2013)
Angus Brayshaw (Pick 3, 2014)
Clayton Oliver (Pick 4, 2015)
Caleb Windsor (Pick 7, 2023)
Adam Tomlinson (Pick 9, 2011)
Christian Salem (Pick 9, 2013)
Jake Melksham (Pick 10, 2009)
Kysaiah Pickett (Pick 12, 2019)
Koltyn Tholstrup (Pick 13, 2023)
Jake Lever (Pick 14, 2014)
Matthew Jefferson (Pick 15, 2022)
Jacob Van Rooyen (Pick 19, 2021)
A club that’s done well at the top of the draft, the Demons made the most of their selections when they were struggling in the early part of the 2010s.
Nine of their top-20 picks were drafted by the club. Josh Schache (Brisbane), Jack Billings (St Kilda), Adam Tomlinson (GWS), Jake Melksham (Essendon) and Jake Lever (Adelaide) were recruited from rivals as ready-made options.
Total top-20 picks: 16
Colby McKercher (Pick 2, 2023)
Will Phillips (Pick 3, 2020)
Harry Sheezel (Pick 3, 2022)
Luke Davies-Uniacke (Pick 4, 2017)
George Wardlaw (Pick 4, 2022)
Zane Duursma (Pick 4, 2023)
Dylan Stephens (Pick 5, 2019)
Jaidyn Stephenson (Pick 6, 2017)
Luke McDonald (Pick 8, 2013)
Griffin Logue (Pick 8, 2016)
Tarryn Thomas (Pick 8, 2018)
Jy Simpkin (Pick 12, 2016)
Tom Powell (Pick 13, 2020)
Aidan Corr (Pick 14, 2012)
Callum Coleman-Jones (Pick 20, 2017)
Taylor Goad (Pick 20, 2023)
Looking at this list, North Melbourne just have to come good in a few years’ time. 11 of their 16 top-20 picks have come in the top 10, while they’ve absolutely loaded up in recent years exactly where you want to be selecting players.
11 of the 16 were also selected by the club, with Stephens, Stephenson, Logue, Corr and Coleman-Jones coming from rivals.
Total top-20 picks: 12
Jason Horne-Francis (Pick 1, 2021)
Travis Boak (Pick 5, 2006)
Connor Rozee (Pick 5, 2018)
Ollie Wines (Pick 7, 2012)
Zak Butters (Pick 12, 2018)
Josh Sinn (Pick 12, 2021)
Miles Bergman (Pick 14, 2019)
Todd Marshall (Pick 16, 2016)
Lachie Jones (Pick 16, 2020)
Sam Powell-Pepper (Pick 18, 2016)
Mitch Georgiades (Pick 18, 2019)
Ryan Burton (Pick 19, 2015)
Apart from Horne-Francis and Burton, the Power selected 10 of the 12 in this group. Nine of those have come since 2016 and will enter their prime in the coming years.
Total top-20 picks: 9
Tim Taranto (Pick 2, 2016)
Dustin Martin (Pick 3, 2009)
Jacob Hopper (Pick 7, 2015)
Dion Prestia (Pick 9, 2010)
Nick Vlaustin (Pick 9, 2012)
Josh Gibcus (Pick 9, 2021)
Tom Lynch (Pick 11, 2010)
Daniel Rioli (Pick 15, 2015)
Tom Brown (Pick 17, 2021)
The Tigers have done well bringing in quality talent from rivals, with four of their nine recruited to the club as big-name recruits.
The only issue with this group is that only Gibcus and Brown are yet to hit their respective primes. Seven were picked between 2009 and 2016.
Total top-20 picks: 10
Paddy Dow (Pick 3, 2017)
Max King (Pick 4, 2018)
Hunter Clark (Pick 7, 2017)
Liam Henry (Pick 9, 2019)
Mattaes Phillipou (Pick 10, 2022)
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera (Pick 11, 2021)
Zak Jones (Pick 15, 2013)
Jack Higgins (Pick 17, 2017)
Darcy Wilson (Pick 18, 2023)
Liam Stocker (Pick 19, 2018)
St Kilda have a few in with Dow, Henry, Jones, Higgins and Stocker coming from other clubs. The other five were selected by the club including King, Phillipou and Wanganeen-Milera.
Total top-20 picks: 12
Callum Mills (Pick 3, 2015)
Logan McDonald (Pick 4, 2020)
Braeden Campbell (Pick 5, 2020)
Aaron Francis (Pick 6, 2015)
Nick Blakey (Pick 10, 2018)
Oliver Florent (Pick 11, 2016)
Taylor Adams (Pick 13, 2011)
Will Green (Pick 16, 2023)
Brodie Grundy (Pick 18, 2012)
Isaac Heeney (Pick 18, 2014)
Angus Sheldrick (Pick 18, 2021)
Jacob Konstanty (Pick 20, 2022)
The Swans have started to pick early more in recent years than what they had been. This is shown as only three of their 12 top 20 picks have come from other clubs. All of their own top-20 picks have come since 2014.
Total top-20 picks: 7
Harley Reid (Pick 1, 2023)
Andrew Gaff (Pick 4, 2010)
Reuben Ginbey (Pick 9, 2022)
Dom Sheed (Pick 11, 2013)
Liam Duggan (Pick 11, 2014)
Campbell Chesser (Pick 14, 2021)
Elijah Hewett (Pick 14, 2022)
A shockingly low number of top-20 picks for a side that’s struggled so much in recent years. None have come from rival clubs.
Reid, Ginbey, Chesser and Hewett have all been picked in the last two drafts.
Total top-20 picks: 13
Jamarra Ugle Hagan (Pick 1, 2020)
Sam Darcy (Pick 2, 2021)
Marcus Bontempelli (Pick 4, 2013)
Jack Macrae (Pick 6, 2012)
Ryley Sanders (Pick 6, 2023)
Bailey Smith (Pick 7, 2018)
Nick Coffield (Pick 8, 2017)
Aaron Naughton (Pick 9, 2017)
Jedd Busslinger (Pick 13, 2022)
Cody Weightman (Pick 15, 2019)
Jordan Croft (Pick 15, 2023)
Ed Richards (Pick 16, 2017)
Tim English (Pick 19, 2016)
The Bulldogs have a suite of early picks on their list, and 12 have been picked by the club.
The one outlier is Nick Coffield, who joined the Dogs this off-season from St Kilda.