Breakdown: SEC alums in the AFC and NFC Championship games

It’s very possible that the SEC will have a major role in determining the winner of Super Bowl 50. The conference, after all, is well represented among the four remaining teams taking the field this weekend for the AFC and NFC Conference championship games.

So much so, that SEC alumni represent roughly 24 percent of all remaining players in the NFL postseason. To put it in other terms, there are still 51 former SEC players that theoretically could take home Super Bowl rings.

But let’s not put the cart in front of the Bronco, quite yet.

Here are some takeaways after breaking down the SEC players still competing in the NFL playoffs:

If you don’t have a pony in the fight between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers, or the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, perhaps you can go by SEC loyalties. The Cardinals have the most SEC players at 14, followed tightly by Carolina (13) and Denver and the Pats at 12 apiece. That’s still fairly close.

All told, the 51 players representing the SEC have logged a combined 247 seasons in the NFL. The most-tenured of them is, not surprisingly, Denver Broncos quarterback and Tennessee-product Peyton Manning at 18 years in the league. The Cardinals have the most-seasoned of the SEC players, however, with 85 combined seasons (6.07 percent average years) in the NFL. The Patriots, conversely, have the fewest with 29 seasons (2.42 average) combined among its 12 SEC players. Of those young Pats, Bill Belichick has five of the 11 SEC rookies remaining in the playoffs under his employ.

How about divisional ties? That nod goes to the SEC East with 27 players to the West’s 24.

Both Alabama and Tennessee have seven former players still competing for a ring, followed by Florida with six. Auburn and Georgia each have five players in the postseason, while LSU, Ole Miss and Missouri have four; and Kentucky, South Carolina and Texas A&M have two. Vanderbilt, sadly, is the lone school without representation.

Position-wise, you ask? The four NFL playoff teams enlist the help of a dozen offensive linemen, the most at any position. Linebackers account for 10 of the SEC alums, as do nine defensive linemen and defensive backs, respectively. The SEC players remaining in the NFL playoffs are overwhelmingly defensive-minded, as only seven skills players list among the 51.

Half of the quarterbacks still going are SEC boys, as Manning could square off against Carolina’s (via Auburn) Cam Newton in the Super Bowl. To a lesser extent, two of the four punters — Drew Butler (Arizona/Georgia) and Britton Colquitt (Denver/Tennessee) — also could lock heads in the championship game.

Here’s how the 51 players on the playoff rosters breakdown. Note that some are out with injuries. Also note that Tim Tebow isn’t on the list, but the man the Broncos landed in lieu of the Heisman-winning Florida quarterback, Danny Trevathan of Kentucky, is in line to compete for a ring.

Chris Wuensch

Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.