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Myles Garrett next month has a chance to unseat Luke Joeckel as the top draft pick to come out of Texas A&M.
If that happens, the Aggies would be the 10th SEC program to produce a No. 1 overall draft pick. It’s a trend Kevin Sumlin and company will no doubt use in recruiting as Joeckel and Von Miller were in the middle of a trend where the program had five players drafted No. 2 overall in their respective drafts.
If Garrett is drafted in either of the top two overall positions, Texas A&M would move past Auburn and Georgia with five players selected that high. (The Tigers and Bulldogs each have four No. 1 overall draft picks, however.)
Still, if we can learn anything Laremy Tunsil’s situation last year, it’s a cautionary tale of how projections compare to reality.
Here are the highest picks for all 14 SEC programs (including those who predated their team’s arrival in the conference):
| TEAM | POS./PLAYER | YEAR | PICK |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama* | HB Harry Gilmer | 1948 | No. 1 |
| Arkansas | QB Lamar McHan | 1954 | No. 2 |
| Auburn | QB Cam Newton | 2011 | No. 1 |
| LB Aundray Bruce | 1988 | No. 1 | |
| RB Bo Jackson | 1986 | No. 1 | |
| RB Tucker Frederickson | 1965 | No. 1 | |
| Florida | HB Paul Duhart | 1945 | No. 2 |
| Georgia | QB Matthew Stafford | 2009 | No. 1 |
| E Harry Babcock | 1953 | No. 1 | |
| HB Charley Trippi | 1945 | No. 1 | |
| RB Frank Sinkwich | 1943 | No. 1 | |
| Kentucky | QB Tim Couch | 1999 | No. 1 |
| LSU | QB Jamarcus Russell | 2007 | No. 1 |
| RB Billy Cannon | 1960 | No. 1 | |
| Mississippi State | OLB Johnie Cooks | 1982 | No. 2 |
| Missouri | DE Justin Smith | 2001 | No. 4 |
| OT Russ Washington | 1968 | No. 4 | |
| Ole Miss | QB Eli Manning | 2004 | No. 1 |
| South Carolina | DE Jadeveon Clowney | 2014 | No. 1 |
| RB George Rogers | 1981 | No. 1 | |
| Tennessee | QB Peyton Manning | 1998 | No. 1 |
| TB George Kafego | 1940 | No. 1 | |
| Texas A&M | OT Luke Joeckel | 2013 | No. 2 |
| OLB Von Miller | 2011 | No. 2 | |
| LB Quentin Coryatt | 1992 | No. 2 | |
| HB John David Crow | 1958 | No. 2 | |
| FB John Kimbrough | 1941 | No. 2 | |
| Vanderbilt | QB Bill Wade | 1952 | No. 1 |
* Former Alabama quarterback Joe Namath was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1965 American Football League Draft and No. 12 overall pick in the NFL Draft..
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
