The Southeastern Conference still reins supreme in the first round of the NFL draft.
For the seventh time in eight years, the SEC led all conferences with the most selections in the first round. The 10 players taken last Thursday easily outpaced the ACC, which finished second with six.
Two of the six ACC choices were from the same family as Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds of Virginia Tech became the first two brothers selected in the first round of the same draft.
Among other strong performances: The Big Ten and Pac-12 each had four picks followed by the Mountain West with three.
Like last year, the Big 12 disappointed with just one first-rounder. Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman winner Baker Mayfield was the surprise No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. The league was shut out the rest of the night.
The SEC’s dominance of the draft is directly related to the top talent Alabama is turning out each year.
Ten consecutive first rounds have included at least one Alabama player, the second-longest streak in draft history. The record for the most consecutive drafts providing a first-round selection is 14 by Miami from 1995 through 2008.
Florida and Alabama had been tied for the SEC record of nine, with the Gators’ run occurring from 1983 through 1991.
It’s no surprise that the SEC was the show-stopper with 10 first-round picks and a total of 53 selections over the seven rounds from the 14 member schools. It marked the 12th straight year that the SEC has led all conferences with the most draft picks.
It’s no wonder why the conference is widely regarded as the best conference in college football and has been viewed that way for more than a decade.
The reigning national champions led all schools with 12 selections, setting a program and SEC record in the process. If you’re going to beat Alabama, good luck because it means you basically need half of your starting lineup to be made up of NFL players.
With the 2018 draft in the books, let’s look ahead to the next draft.
You can bet the SEC-NFL pipeline is showing no signs of declining any time soon. Per usual, college football’s premier conference is loaded with top-tier talent for the upcoming season. Ole Miss could have two guys — wide receiver A.J. Brown and offensive lineman Greg Little go early.
I would say they are in the top-5 among draft eligible SEC players entering the 2018 college season.
Brown, a 6-1, 225-pound junior, led the SEC in receiving yards (1,252) and touchdown receptions (11) last season. He’s poised to better those numbers in 2018 as a key component of Ole Miss’ high-octane passing attack. He is likely to be the first wideout to come off the board in 2019.
Little, a 6-6, 325-pound junior, graded out as one of the nation’s top pass blockers in 2017 to earn second-team All-SEC accolades. Little’s athleticism is off the charts for someone of his stature, which is exactly why he could be the first offensive lineman to have his name called next year.
Missouri quarterback Drew Lock and Alabama defensive tackle Raekwon Davis will also be highly sought after by NFL teams.
Mississippi State will also be high in the NFL draft mix with junior defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (6-4, 300).
Despite facing constant double teams, Simmons racked up 60 tackles, five sacks, 12 tackles for a loss and blocked three kicks to earn first-team All-SEC honors as a sophomore. According to Pro Football Focus, the former 5-star prospect received the highest grade (87.7) of any player in the SEC that will return for 2018.
Sweat. a former Michigan State transfer, took the SEC by storm in 2017. He was a first-team All-SEC selection after finishing his junior season tied for the conference lead in both sacks (10.5) and tackles for a loss (16).
Sweat will spend 2018 with his hand in the dirt, as he transitions from outside linebacker to defensive end in Bob Shoop’s 4-3 defense.
If he can back up last season’s numbers with another monster campaign, Sweat should hear his name called relatively early.
