I like Danny Kanell.

I don’t understand the guy, but I like him.

I like the fact that he’s an ex-NFL player who can talk about a variety of topics. I like that he takes a big-picture approach and doesn’t always just choose the pro-player argument like a lot of analysts do because they still have friends on that side. I even like that Kanell will interact with people on social media, and he’s not someone who just ignores his mentions.

But for the life of me, I still cannot decide why “the SEC is overrated” hill is the one that he chooses to die on. Or rather, why he insists on baiting SEC fans and arguing the ACC is better (besides the obvious fact that he’s a Florida State guy). It’s a really difficult thing to do in the 21st century, yet Kanell cannot resist poking the bear. This isn’t new information.

What was new was that by the time the 2019 NFL Draft concluded and the SEC held the record for the most draft picks ever from a conference, Kanell wrapped up one of his worst weekends ever on social media. In my opinion, it was even worse than wearing UCF gear during the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship with Georgia and Alabama.

Things actually started off OK for Kanell, all things considered. After a pair of ACC players came off the board at No. 13 and No. 14, he took to Twitter for a little brag session:

He’s right. You know who else had 28% of the picks at that point? The SEC. And the Big Ten.

But sure, there’s nothing wrong with Kanell reminding everyone of that even though the ACC’s top 2 picks (Clelin Ferrell and Daniel Jones) were both considered major surprises in the top 10. A pick is a pick.

So then, we decided to have a little fun with Kanell on the SDS account (by “we,” I mean people who run our social media accounts and not me). Kanell will DM with us from time to time, and believe it or not, it’s usually not of the trolling nature.

He seemed insistent on the belief that the ACC would run away with the first round title:

Um, about that.

In the past decade, the SEC had 94 first-round picks. The ACC had 49. Maybe Kanell was referring to last year when the ACC had 1 top 15 pick? Perhaps it was a reference to the number of top 15 picks from 2010-18 when the SEC held a 40-19 advantage over the ACC? I don’t know.

What I do know is that doesn’t suggest that the ACC “runs the top.”

Then Kanell fired another bow …

Wait a minute. Did Kanell just try to claim Notre Dame defensive tackle Jerry Tillery was an ACC player? So now the ACC gets 15 teams?

Um, it appears so. Either that or Kanell doesn’t know how to count. (For the record, he counted Notre Dame picks as ACC picks last year, too.)

When the first round wrapped up, the SEC had 9 first round picks while the ACC had 7. But according to Kanell, the ACC only had 1 fewer first-round pick than the SEC (probably because he included Tillery for the ACC’s count):

“Whoopdie woo,” said Kanell, who seemed plenty excited to be counting ACC draft picks on Thursday night.

Unfortunately, Kanell lost interest in totaling draft picks. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with the fact the the SEC set a draft record with 64 picks, which was more than double the ACC’s total (28). Nah. Couldn’t have had anything to do with that.

But the national championship!

Well, they weren’t “meaningless” a couple days earlier, Danny. And for someone who loves the “it’s Bama and everyone else” argument, it’s a just a touch hypocritical to stand behind Clemson when the ACC finished with 2 teams in the Associated Press Top 25.

Whoops. My bad. Three including Notre Dame.

I legitimately feel bad for Kanell that he still feels the need to own this anti-SEC narrative. To have to bend your argument so many different times to try and prove a point seems so exhausting.

Here’s the thing: Does the SEC and its fans beat their chest loudly when the conference accomplishes a draft feat? Of course. Who wouldn’t? If the Big Ten had a streak of 13 consecutive years of producing the most NFL Draft picks, you’d see the same type of internet flexing. And had the ACC finally bested the SEC with total draft picks, Kanell would have been shouting it from the mountain tops.

Kanell can claim the SEC is overrated all he wants. He doesn’t need me to tell him that. We know he’ll continue to die on that hill.

And hey, if it means him getting dragged on the internet after he tweets some contradictory nonsense, I’m here for it.

Freddie Kitchens, comin’ in hot!

I’m starting to think I might mistake Freddie Kitchens for Steve Spurrier. Why? Well because apparently if you stick a microphone under Kitchens, he’ll take a shot at LSU.

The new Browns coach and former Alabama quarterback joined ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage. The Browns selected LSU cornerback Greedy Williams in the second round, which meant that including Jarvis Landry and the recently-added Odell Beckham, Jr., the Browns now have 3 former Tigers on the roster.

Kitchens was asked about being surrounded by a bunch of LSU guys, to which he responded by saying “well if they played a little better in high school, they could’ve went to Alabama.”

In case you haven’t seen it, here’s the clip:

I would have liked that even more if Kitchens held the deadpan the entire time, which he nearly did. But man, to come up with that line on the spot during a live TV interview, that’s something the HBC would appreciate.

I’m not sure if Kitchens knew this, but Williams actually didn’t have an Alabama offer coming out of high school, so that was actually quite the dig … at the guy you just drafted.

It’s a bold move to go that route. I get that Kitchens is an Alabama guy (and a former LSU grad assistant) and all, but sheeeeeesh. At least let the rookie take a step in the facility before you start busting his chops.

And if you’re Williams, what can you really say to that? Obviously he turned out to be an extremely good player, but it’s hard to respond to that when Alabama’s win streak against LSU is alive and well.

For what it’s worth, Landry was a 5-star recruit who chose to stay local and go with LSU. It’s safe to say Alabama wouldn’t have turned its nose up to him. And Beckham was a U.S. Army All-American who was born and raised in Louisiana, so the odds of him leaving weren’t good.

But even Beckham recognized Alabama’s development before, and like Kitchens, he did it on live TV:

Sometimes you just have to tip your cap and give credit where credit is due.

Write that one down, Kanell.