O'Gara: 1 negative NFL Draft stat for each SEC team that won't make a brag graphic
If you don’t brag during NFL Draft weekend, you’re not doing it right.
Even the teams that don’t have a single player come off the board will churn out those graphics for their un-drafted free agents with some #DevelopedHere mantra. I mean, it’s better than silence, but not by much.
On a similar note, I decided that it’d be fun to have some material for negative NFL Draft stats. These are the ones that won’t make the graphic. They’ll instead make the negative recruiting graphic that rival fan bases will make.
And just so that I’m not picking on 1 school, let’s do 1 for every SEC program.
(Let’s keep Oklahoma and Texas out of this for today because none of these things happened while they were a member of the SEC.):
Alabama — The 17-year Nick Saban era ended with 3 QBs drafted in the first 4 rounds
Look, man. It’s Alabama. Nobody flexes more during the NFL Draft than the Tide. And obviously, those 3 QBs in the first 4 rounds were all first-round picks from 2020-23. But at the same time, it’s pretty wild to think about how much passing boomed during the Saban era, yet even with all that talent during that stretch, it had just 1 more QB come off the board in the first 4 rounds than FCS North Dakota State (2).
Arkansas — The last defensive player selected in the first 2 rounds was Jamaal Anderson in 2007
To be fair, Anderson was a great success story during some memorable Arkansas seasons, which were mostly headlined by the Wild Hog offense with Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. Also to be fair, Drew Sanders seemed like a Round 2 lock last year but then was the 4th pick of the third round. As it stands, though, that’s now 17 consecutive NFL Drafts without a defensive player getting the call in Rounds 1-2.
Auburn — The last first-round WR was in 1984 … and that was in the Supplemental Draft
Chris Woods was that guy all the way back in 1984. To find a standard NFL Draft in which Auburn had a first-round wide receiver, you’d have to go back to Terry Beasley in 1972. That’s half a century without a first-round receiver in the standard NFL Draft. Yikes.
There are some startling historical hurdles that Auburn receivers like Cam Coleman are trying to clear.
I admittedly didn’t know how drastic these droughts were before digging in for the latest @TheSDSPod: pic.twitter.com/JzYrC3e9q2
— Connor O’Gara (@cjogara) April 9, 2024
Florida — Of the 42 Gators drafted from 2017-23, Kyle Pitts is the lone Pro Bowl selection
To recap, the Gators’ lone Pro Bowl among players drafted dating back to post-Year 2 of the Jim McElwain era (after 2016) was Pitts. As in, a guy that has been more of a disappointment after he was the highest-drafted tight end in NFL history is the lone Pro Bowl selection who came out of Florida from 2017-23. That’s not to say there aren’t successful Gators like Jon Greenard (just signed a $78 million contract) and O’Cyrus Torrence already looks the part. But still, that’s just the Pro Bowl, not “All-Pro.”
Georgia — It’s been 15 years since UGA had a QB drafted in the first 3 rounds
And of course, that was Matthew Stafford at No. 1 overall in 2009. Carson Beck would’ve changed that had he decided to leave school after the 2023 season. Instead, he stuck around for another year. My guess? He’s a first-round QB in 2025 and that stat won’t play anymore. In other words, get your shots at UGA in while you can.
Kentucky — The last first-round offensive player was Tim Couch in 1999
A quarter-century without a first-round offensive player is tough. We thought Will Levis would be a lock to end that drought last year, but his well-documented fall ended that possibility. Instead, he was the first pick of the second round and the first-round drought continued. He and Wan’Dale Robinson are the only offensive guys who got drafted in the first 2 rounds during the Mark Stoops era, both of whom were transfers.
LSU — The last first-round OL was Alan Faneca in 1998
Think about Nick Saban, Les Miles and Ed Orgeron not developing a single first-round offensive lineman at LSU. That’s wild. The good news for LSU is that’s much more of a program stat than a Brian Kelly stat. At Notre Dame, he developed first-round OL Zack Martin, Ronnie Stanley, Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey. My guess? This ends in 2025 when Will Campbell and/or Emery Jones Jr. end the drought.
Mississippi State — Offensive tackle is the only offensive position to produce a first-rounder in the 21st century
Charles Cross (2022) and Derek Sherrod (2011) accomplished that feat. To find another non-OT offensive player from Mississippi State who came off the board in Round 1, you have to go back to Eric Moulds in 1996. With elite offensive minds like Dan Mullen and Mike Leach running the show for the majority of that time, that’s noteworthy.
Mizzou — In 5 seasons as a head coach, Eli Drinkwitz hasn’t had a pass-catcher (WR/TE) or pass-thrower (QB) drafted
That’s 1 season at Appalachian State and 4 at Mizzou, and we’re still waiting on the first QB/TE/WR to get drafted. Yes, we expect Luther Burden III and Theo Wease to end that next year, but still. He’s only had 2 other non-running backs drafted on the offensive side of the ball, both of which were offensive linemen.
Ole Miss — Lane Kiffin hasn’t produced a first-round pick as a head coach since 2012
So that’s pre-tarmac we’re talking about. It also omits Kiffin’s time as an assistant at Alabama. At Ole Miss, Kiffin has yet to have a first-round pick. It’s wild to think that in those 12 seasons as a head coach, Kiffin’s lone first-round picks on offense were offensive tackles Tyron Smith (2011) and Matt Kalil (2012). Surprisingly, Kiffin only had 3 quarterbacks get drafted during his 12 seasons as a head coach, none of whom were first- or second-rounders:
- Jonathan Crompton (Tennessee), 5th round
- Matt Barkley (USC), 4th round
- Matt Corral (Ole Miss), 3rd round
No rat poison there.
South Carolina — Spencer Rattler just became the program’s first QB drafted since the 7-round format began in 1994
Some might consider that a brag. For Rattler it is, but I can doubt that’s something that the Gamecocks would boast about. Yes, Connor Shaw was a wildly underrated college quarterback and Dylan Thompson was excellent in 2014. But it’ll never cease to amaze me that a decade of Steve Spurrier didn’t produce a single NFL Draft pick at quarterback.
Tennessee — In 6 seasons as a head coach, Josh Heupel produced 1 offensive player who was drafted in Rounds 1-2
Darnell Wright is that guy. Including the 3 seasons at UCF, here are the offensive players that Heupel had drafted as a head coach:
- 2020 (UCF) — WR Gabe Davis, 4th round
- 2021 (UCF) — WR Jacob Harris, 4th round
- WR Tre Nixon, 7th round
- 2022 (Tennessee) — WR Velus Jones Jr., 3rd round
- OL Cade Mays, 6th round
- 2023 (Tennessee) — OL Darnell Wright, 1st round
- QB Hendon Hooker, 3rd round
- WR Jalin Hyatt, 3rd round
- WR Cedric Tillman, 3rd round
- 2024 (Tennessee) — RB Jaylen Wright, 4th round
- QB Joe Milton, 6th round
It’s not that those are bad cumulative numbers, especially with what Heupel inherited at Tennessee. They’re certainly impressive. And while I completely disagree with the notion that Heupel runs a “Mickey Mouse offense,” keep in mind that 5 of Heupel’s first 6 offenses as a head coach finished in the top 8 in scoring. There’s still some “wait and see” at the top of the NFL Draft when it comes to Heupel’s top-end skill-players.
Texas A&M — The last first-round defensive player was Myles Garrett in 2017
That seems impossible. With all the talent that Mike Elko brought in and developed during his 4 years as A&M’s defensive coordinator under Jimbo Fisher, it’s hard to fathom that the Aggies didn’t get a defensive player off the board in Round 1. Also stunning? A&M’s only offensive players in Round 1 since Johnny Manziel were a trio of offensive linemen.
Vanderbilt — 3 consecutive years without a single player drafted
Yes, it’s Vandy. Still, though. That can’t just all be pinned on the COVID year, wherein that roster was gutted. It’s alarming when you consider that Vandy had at least 1 player selected in 6 consecutive years, and the last time it had a 3-year drought like this was 1993-95. The uphill climb for Clark Lea continues.
I get the Nick Saban/Kirby comparisons now. They both don’t know how to develop QBs.
TENNESSEE (3) – RB Jaylen Wright (Miami 4), QB Joe Milton (New England 6), DB Kamal Hadden (Kansas City 6).
Bless your heart…
“I get the Nick Saban/Kirby comparisons now. They both don’t know how to …”
I’ll tell you Kirby and Saban both know how to do – beat the sh!t out of Tennessee
Kirby vs Tennessee 7-1 .880 winning percentage
Saban at Bama vs Tennessee16-1 .941 winning percentage
Combined that’s 23-2 versus UT and the 2 UT wins were flukes. 25 years of getting dirt stomped by the Dawgs and Bama.
What is it will hillbilly nation always running their mouths and they haven’t done anything on the football field in 26 years?
Ouch… That’s gonna leave a mark. Lol
Maybe beat Florida with some regularity before you start talking smack to the big dogs lol.
Alabama and UGA have had so much talent around the QB position that they didn’t need a great one to win titles. That’s impressive.
That’s a little too simple and depends on how you define “great”. Both have had great College QBs. It just doesn’t mean they will be great NFL QBs. It’s a totally different scenario at the next level.
IMO, Aaron Murray, Jake Fromm, and Stetson Bennett were great college QBs, as were Jake Coker, Blake Sims, Greg McElroy, and AJ McCarron.
That’s a stretch to me. Your definition of great is definitely different than mine.
Seems so. I would take any of those on my team any day.
Aaron Murray is the SEC career passing leader with 13,166 yards. Murray is the only college QB to have passed for more than 3,000 yards a season for 4 seasons.
If Murray had QB’ed under Kirby at UGA or Saban at Bama he’d have at least 2 National Championships.
Murray is the textbook definition of a great college QB
Great college QB’s at major programs don’t start for four years. He did that because he knew his future football options were limited. This is only one guy anyway. The list included seven guys.
“Great college QB’s at major programs don’t start for four years”
By definition a guy who can start for 4 years at a major program probably is a GREAT COLLEGE QUARTERBACK, ESPCIALLY IN PRE-PORTAL AND PRE-NIL ERA. It means in 4 years nobody else could beat him out of his starting job, i.e. Zach Mettenberger who lost out to Murray and had to transfer to LSU in order to start.
“He did that because he knew his future football options were limited.”
The discussion is about “great college QB’s and for the starting QB of a major program it is nonsensical to say his “options are limited.” Murray could have transferred to just about any other college program (like Mettenberger.) Maybe playing college football, earning a college degree and enjoying the college experience was more important to Murray than getting to the NFL asap. That said, Murray played 3 years in the NFL with Kansas City before bouncing around 2 more seasons. Murray made a million or more dollars playing NFL football; that beat getting a real job.
“This is only one guy anyway. The list included seven guys” This is the one you and I are talking about. Murray is the definition of a great college QB and you denying that fact invalidates your whole argument.
Your logic is on par with some dem voter that emotes about the orange man being bad all the while Uncle Joe sheets in his depends while Rome burns
You always try and bring politics into your arguments. It’s dumb.
Lame attempt at deflection, one small statement at the end of my comment about Aaron Murray who is a textbook example of what a great college QB is.
I threw the politics in just for you, you’re a closeted dem voter, admit it. Your intuition tells you Uncle Joe is bad , your emoting tribalism demands you stay on the plantation and vote for The Man.
You’re getting dumber. That’s surprising, but true. I’ve still never voted for a dem in my life. I won’t vote for a lowlife like trump again. I did that twice. I won’t vote for Biden either. You aren’t smart enough to ever know what I’m thinking, but I expect you to keep spewing your nonsense. You getting upset because my opinion is different than yours is just funny. You have serious issues. Good luck with those.
Most of those only had to not screw up and let the talent around them win games. But I agree Aaron Murray was a great college QB.
Not screw up. And therein lies the rub.
While the point that they were surrounded by elite talent is valid, all were very good college quarterbacks, although I would put Fromm and Coker at the back of that group.
Certainly add Tim Tebow to the above list of great College QBs.
Heupel has done more with less when it comes to offensive talent. That too, is impressive. We will see how much he can accomplish as he gets more talented players onboard.
I like both of your above comments about uga & bama…and this one with tn. not really a spin either.
Heupel had 2 offensive players drafted this year, maybe a little spin
Heupel had offensive lightning in a bottle in 2022, much like Florida in 2020 and LSU in 2023. It was about a rare assembly of skill position talent. It wasn’t more with less, it was more with more on offense.
It wasn’t repeatable in 2023 and we’ll see how well he does moving forward.
Five times in the top 8 in scoring. One guy drafted in the first two rounds. We aren’t talking about one good year.
Fine. One great year. 35th in 2023.
UCF was a very opportunistic situation for offense — and both Heupel and Scott Frost — because they had access to a lot of not quite first tier State of Florida talent that didn’t get recruited by the major programs, but were much better than the opposition in the AAC and CUSA before that. They’ll probably fare pretty well in the depleted Big 12 too, even with Malzahn’s high school offense.
As for Heupel in the SEC, opponents seem to have figured out the gimmick of extreme WR splits, which really is the only unique feature of his offense.
“As for Heupel in the SEC, opponents seem to have figured out the gimmick of extreme WR splits, which really is the only unique feature of his offense.”
Said it two years ago that the SEC coaches were too good to be fooled by gimmicks very long…spot on Nash…Tenn will destroy any team they can create a significant mismatch in the gimmickery. When they can’t, they flounder…
Pitts NFL stats are pretty bad. Even his rookie season when he made the Pro Bowl with over 1000 receiving yards, he only had one TD. For his career, the QB completes less than 60% of the passes thrown to Pitts. Six receiving TD’s in three years. Not good.
that 60% stat really jumps off the page…particularly for a player which was a top 10 pick. i remember him catching everything at uf.
could be a healthy debate in whether or not one could classify him as a ‘bust’ yet….but he’s certainly underwhelmed.
In his defense, he’s never had a QB that was worth a diddle. But, he does take plays off and appears uninterested a lot of the time.
Come on, do a teensy-weensy bit of research before you make a comment like, “the QB completes less than 60% of the passes thrown to Pitts.” It can be a true statement yet still misleading.
I don’t pretend to follow the Falcons. And actually, Pitts’ NFL career CMP is just 58%. But for 2023, the Falcons’ average pass completion rate was only 61.7%. For 2022, it was only 61.9%. Interestingly, in Pitts’ rookie season when he was a 1,000 yard receiver — as a tight end — his quarterback was Matt Ryan and the team average CMP was 65.8%.
Maybe, just maybe, there’s some insight in those numbers.
Maybe, but the QB shouldn’t have a lower completion percentage to the TE than the rest of the team. No matter what, he clearly wasn’t much of a factor in the red zone with that one TD.
I really have no idea. I only know that in a very cursory look at numbers, he was substantially more productive when he had an elite quarterback throwing the ball during his first season.
But a deeper look shows he wasn’t substantially better his first year. He was targeted way more. His success rate and completion percentage weren’t much different. He only found the end zone once, with 68 catches and over 1k yards. That’s at the bottom of the league, even with the elite QB throwing him the ball. Pitts is a decent player. He hasn’t been any sort of difference maker during his first three seasons in the league.
Fair comments. But he ranks 14th in PFF receiving grade among NFL tight ends, which allegedly factors in poor throws, so the catch percentage remains a curiosity for me.
Incidentally, his PFF run blocking grade is abysmal. Only Hayden Hurst is worse.
And of course, that was Matthew Stafford at No. 1 overall in 2009…
No number 1 overall in the NFL, NBA or MLB.
That’s something you’ve never heard a Florida fan say…never, ever. Perhaps Cags breaks the MLB barrier, I’m pulling for him…
The scarring must be so deep.
I tried so hard to resist but alas, temptation owns me. Cags will break the drought. Book it.
I doubt it. He is a unique ncaa talent in that he can hit and pitch, but scouts are only looking at him as a fielder/hitter or a pitcher, not both so his draft status is capped at his ability to be most effective in one role.
If condon finishes strong he will either be 1st overall or the first non pitcher taken. 6-6, hits well, runs well and has started in 5 positions this year so you can move him around as needed.
Now I have to kinda become a Saints fan… Never would have imagined that…
I would’ve definitely lost the “the last LSU OL drafted 1st round” bet… sheesh that still seems wrong just rereading it.
A lot of fans of a number of these teams wont really care about those stats. As for heupel how many group of 5 HC’s had an offensive player drafted in rds 1 or 2 in their first 3 years on the job. I suspect that list is pretty short. I dont care what Heup did other than when he took over for pruitt. He inherited one of the barest rosters ever seen when he took over for pruitt. What he has done since then is pretty darn good. Kirby or saban would not have done any better. Milton was a roll of the dice last year that didnt quite work out but the season was still pretty good. I said from the start you have to grade heup starting on season 5 unless he proves it before then. A total rebuild takes at least 3 to 5 years to know if the HC is the right guy. you can call 2022 lightning in a bottle if you want but if you arent just trolling you have to give the HC some credit. That season proved a lot but he needs to show more this year and next year. I think he will but only time will tell.
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!! THE STATS ARE ALL THAT MATTER. CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE FLEETING BUT #THESTATS ARE FOREVER!!!
Why are you trolling as GWhite?
Because he’s a dumba ss.
Alabama — The 17-year Nick Saban era ended with 3 QBs drafted in the first 4 rounds
I like you, Conner – not to criticize, but this is misleading. Four were actually drafted in the first four rounds – Tua, Jones, Young, and Hurts. I am assuming we did not include Hurts because he was playing at OK when he was drafted. However, he occupied two of Saban’s 17 years. In sum total, the four above accounted for roughly seven years of football. AJ McCarron accounted for two more and was drafted in the fifth round. That is nine of seventeen with a drafted QB. Find another coach not named Riley who did that. So he won with Jake Coker and Blake Sims. Is that a negative?
Not being a homer. Just saying.
S
H
I
T
H
E
A
D
Typical Bulldog.
Must have been the officiating.
“Four were actually drafted in the first four rounds – Tua, Jones, Young, and Hurts.”
Hurts was drafted after playing for OK.
Tua is an injury machine. Mac Jones is awful and Young had quite the terrible first year.
McCarron is/was garbage in the NFL.
Dude, we are talking about the draft. Don’t hate just because they could all beat Auburn…
There’s a fine line between “doing less with more” and having a few good years sprinkled in between a bunch of mediocre ones. There are a number of coaches that are riding that fence pretty hard.
“Mississippi State — Offensive tackle is the only offensive position to produce a first-rounder in the 21st century”
Odd, indeed. MSU does have six first rounders currently playing defense in the NFL. So maybe Mullin and Leach didn’t produce any first rounders on offence but they apparently had some coaching talent on their defensive staffs. I do think a few QB-hungry NFL teams wish they had grabbed Dak Prescott.
You kinda ignored how for the first half of his tenure at Alabama, Saban was a defensive-minded coach who wanted QBs that were more game-managers that could run an offense and not lose the game with mistakes. He was perfectly content to win games 24-10 with long, ball-control drives and balance between the run and the pass. But by the time the Playoff era got going, he realized that he needed a potent offense to stay competitive, both because the rules were favoring the offense more and because offensive philosophy was changing. That was when he brought in Kiffin and Sarkesian to put in place a high-scoring offense at the expense of some defense (the quicker you score, the more your defense is going to be back out on the field) and that’s when he started producing those QBs that got lots of attention and became first-round picks. Kalen DeBoer looks to be continuing that trend.
You are connecting some of the correct dots, but it wasn’t the playoff era that sparked the realization. It was the fact that the true architect of Boohoo Bama, Kirby Smart, left to take a HC job. Since then, Backpedaling Fragile Nicky has been running around like a chicken with its head cutoff trying to find answers as to who’s coattails he was going to ride next. He grew tired of looking and quit.
Saban won two nattys without Smart including beating him for one of them and was 5-1 against his protege, including last year when ‘Bama gave Georgia the honor of being the best team ever to miss the Playoffs. But keep trying to tell yourself that Smart was the reason Saban called it a career.