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It has become an annual expectation for the SEC, which dominates college football recruiting, to have a loaded NFL Draft class. This year’s draft class, however, could stand out from the others.
If the SEC can get 13 picks in the first round, commissioner Greg Sankey sure won’t consider the number bad luck. Twelve first-round picks from a conference is the record, originally set by the ACC in 2006 and tied by the SEC in 2013. The SEC benefited from recent expansion, becoming a 14-team conference in 2012 with the additions of Texas A&M and Missouri. The record-tying 2013 class was headlined by former Aggies OT Luke Joeckel, who played one season in the conference.
Getting to 13
Roughly 11 players are consensus first-round or early second-round picks in a majority of mock drafts.
The most probable first-round picks (in alphabetical order, not projected draft order):
- LSU S Jamal Adams
- Alabama DE Jonathan Allen
- Tennessee DE Derek Barnett
- Florida LB Jarrad Davis
- Alabama LB Reuben Foster
- LSU RB Leonard Fournette
- Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett
- Missouri DE Charles Harris
- Alabama TE O.J. Howard
- Alabama CB Marlon Humphrey
- LSU CB Tre’Davious White
Many experts’ mock drafts have 10-12 players from the SEC going in the first round, and it’s mostly made up of that list above, with an occasional name out of left field. To get to 13, at least one bubble projection will have to get in.
Here are some names to keep in mind:
- Vanderbilt LB Zach Cunningham – Playing at Vanderbilt, Cunningham somewhat flew under the radar last year, but he’s getting some first-round projections.
- Alabama OT Cam Robinson – The mocks are relatively split on whether Robinson makes it into the second half of the first round.
- Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs – At the start of the offseason, the discussion around Dobbs was whether he could be a quarterback in the NFL. A lot has changed since January. Dobbs has done nothing but impress at the Senior Bowl, the NFL Scouting Combine, Tennessee’s pro day and Jon Gruden’s QB Camp. ESPN analyst Todd McShay recently opined that Dobbs could sneak into the first round.
- Tennessee RB Alvin Kamara – Another Vol with surging draft stock. Kamara’s size and pass-catching abilities could make UT’s former No. 2 back a first-round pick.
- Auburn DE Carl Lawson – It would likely be late in the first round, but the Auburn edge rusher could certainly appeal to the Pittsburgh Steelers (No. 30) or Atlanta Falcons (No. 31). Some projections, however, have him as low as a third-rounder.
- Florida CB Teez Tabor – He entered the 2016 season as a projected first-round pick, but slow 40-yard dash times at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and Florida’s pro day have hurt his stock. At the pro day, he tried to dismiss the low times by saying he’s not a track star and that teams needed to “press play” to see that he’s an elite cornerback. Earlier this month, he claimed that he’s been running on an injured hamstring.
- Florida CB Quincy Wilson – Wilson had better 40-yard dash times despite being the bigger of the two Gators corners in this year’s draft. For he and Tabor, it likely comes down to how many cornerbacks are taken in the first round.
- Alabama DE Tim Williams – Off-the-field issues could bump Williams, a first-round talent, to the second round. If teams need an edge rusher, however, he is hard to pass up. Pro Football Focus once had him going mid-first round to the Colts, but now shows him as going at No. 32 in a trade between New England and New Orleans.
SEC in the modern draft era
With the NFL-AFL merger, the year 1970 is considered the start of the NFL Draft’s modern era. Not surprisingly, expansion in both the NFL and SEC over time have helped produce some of the highest first-round numbers for the conference.
Here’s a history of the SEC’s 254 first-round picks in the modern era, from the Pro Football Reference database:
| Year | First-round picks | Highest pick |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | Georgia OLB Leonard Floyd (No. 9) |
| 2015 | 7 | Florida OLB Dante Fowler Jr. (No. 3) |
| 2014 | 11 | South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney (No.1) |
| 2013 | 12 | Texas A&M OT Luke Joeckel (No. 2) |
| 2012 | 9 | Alabama RB Trent Richardson (No. 3) |
| 2011 | 10 | Auburn QB Cam Newton (No. 1) |
| 2010 | 7 | Tennessee DB Eric Berry (No. 5) |
| 2009 | 8 | Georgia QB Matthew Stafford (No. 1) |
| 2008 | 6 | Arkansas RB Darren McFadden (No. 4) |
| 2007 | 11 | LSU QB JaMarcus Russell (No. 1) |
| 2006 | 4 | Vanderbilt QB Jay Cutler (No. 11) |
| 2005 | 10 | Auburn RB Ronnie Brown (No. 2) |
| 2004 | 6 | Ole Miss QB Eli Manning (No. 1) |
| 2003 | 4 | Kentucky DT Dewayne Robertson (No. 4) |
| 2002 | 6 | Tennessee DT John Henderson (No. 9) |
| 2001 | 5 | Florida DT Gerard Warren (No. 3) |
| 2000 | 6 | Alabama OT Chris Samuels (No. 3) |
| 1999 | 8 | Kentucky QB Tim Couch (No. 1) |
| 1998 | 10 | Tennessee QB Peyton Manning (No. 1) |
| 1997 | 4 | Florida WR Ike Hilliard (No. 7) |
| 1996 | 4 | Auburn OT Willie Anderson (No. 10) |
| 1995 | 3 | Florida DE Kevin Carter (No. 6) |
| 1994 | 6 | Tennessee QB Heath Shuler (No. 3) |
| 1993 | 6 | Georgia RB Garrison Hearst (No. 3) |
| 1992 | 2 | Tennessee DB Dale Carter (No. 20) |
| 1991 | 6 | Tennessee OT Charles McRae (No. 7) |
| 1990 | 5 | Alabama DE Keith McCants (No. 4) |
| 1989 | 7 | Alabama LB Derrick Thomas (No. 4) |
| 1988 | 5 | Auburn LB Aundray Bruce (No. 1) |
| 1987 | 3 | Alabama LB Cornelius Bennett (No. 2) |
| 1986 | 7 | Auburn RB Bo Jackson (No. 1) |
| 1985 | 6 | Florida OT Lomas Brown (No. 6) |
| 1984 | 3 | Vanderbilt DB Leonard Coleman (No. 8) |
| 1983 | 4 | Mississippi State RB Michael Haddix (No. 8) |
| 1982 | 4 | Mississippi State LB Johnie Cooks (No. 2) |
| 1981 | 2 | Alabama LB E.J. Junio (No. 5) |
| 1980 | 2 | Tennessee DB Roland James (No. 14) |
| 1979 | 4 | Alabama LB Barry Krauss (No. 6) |
| 1978 | 5 | Kentucky DE Art Still (No. 2) |
| 1977 | 4 | LSU LB A.J. Duhe (No. 13) |
| 1976 | 1 | Alabama QB Richard Todd (No. 6) |
| 1975 | 3 | Mississippi State DT Jimmy Webb (No. 10) |
| 1974 | 1 | Alabama RB Wilbur Jackson (No. 9) |
| 1973 | 2 | LSU QB Bert Jones (No. 2) |
| 1972 | 3 | UGA OG Royce Smith (No. 8) |
| 1971 | 2 | Ole Miss QB Archie Manning (No. 2) |
| 1970 | 2 | Florida DB Steve Tannen (No. 20) |
Timeline notes:
- 1970 – NFL-AFL merger creates 26-team league and what is considered the modern draft (SEC at 10 teams).
- 1976 – NFL expands to 28 with the additions of the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- 1992 – SEC expands from 10 teams to 12, adding South Carolina and Arkansas.
- 1995 – NFL expands to 30 teams with new franchises Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
- 1999 – Cleveland Browns, a franchise which had moved and become the Baltimore Ravens, returns to NFL as a new team (No. 31).
- 2002 – Houston Texans become NFL team No. 32.
- 2012 – SEC expands from 12 to 14 teams with the additions of Texas A&M and Missouri.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
