The 2015 NFL Draft is now less than a week away, and more than two-dozen SEC prospects are chomping at the bit waiting to hear their names called, marking the start of their NFL careers.

The SEC flooding draft boards is nothing new; in fact, it’s become a yearly occurrence, and many of those past SEC stars, no matter where they were picked or by whom, turned in Pro Bowl-caliber, sometimes even Hall of Fame-caliber careers.

In honor of draft week, we’re looking back at the SEC’s all-time NFL (and AFL) draft team dating back to the inaugural NFL draft nearly 80 years ago.

(NOTE: Players who played for Arkansas, Missouri, South Carolina or Texas A&M before those schools joined the SEC were still included in the forming of this team.)

QB: Peyton Manning, Tennessee — 1st round, 1st pick 1998

Spoiler alert: Manning is the only member of this team not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but only because he’s still active in the league. He’ll be a Hall of Famer one day, considering he holds the NFL records for passing yards in a season, touchdowns in a season, touchdowns in a career and by the end of this year (we expect) most yards in a career. If you still need justification for Manning going No. 1 overall, maybe you ought to lower your standards a bit.

RB: Emmitt Smith, Florida — 1st round, 17th pick 1990

Smith is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, leaving his mark on the league as part of the Dallas Cowboys’ famed Triplets (Troy Aikman, Smith and Michael Irvin) that won three titles in four years in the 1990s. He wound up with the Cowboys due to a blockbuster trade that sent former SEC legend Herschel Walker to Minnesota for a bevy of picks, one of which was used on Smith. At the time, Dallas appeared foolish for making the trade. But Smith late in the first round? That seems like a steal considering no one has accomplished more at the position in league history.

WR: Lance Alworth, Arkansas — 1st round, 8th pick (NFL), 2nd round, 9th pick (AFL) 1962

Alworth was actually drafted twice in 1962 in both the NFL and AFL drafts (the two leagues didn’t merge until 1970). He wound up with the AFL’s San Diego Chargers, where he blossomed as one of pro football’s earliest dynamic receivers. He was an All-AFL selection for six straight seasons from 1963-68, and was the 1963 AFL Player of the Year. He’s also a member of the AFL’s All-Time Team. He retired as the record-holder for most consecutive games with a catch and most consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards. He still holds the record for most career 200-yard games (tied with Detroit’s Calvin Johnson) and he was a member of the Baltimore Colts’ Super Bowl VI team before calling it a career.

TE: Kellen Winslow, Missouri — 1st round, 13th pick 1979

Many still regard Winslow as the greatest tight end in league history, even as tight ends grow more athletic and more involved as receivers in NFL offenses. Winslow was the NFL’s first dominant receiving tight end, leading the entire league in receiving twice in 1980 and ’81. He was a five-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL’s 75th anniversary team, and it’s not hard to see why he was taken in the first round more than 35 years ago.

OT: Bruiser Kinard, Ole Miss — 3rd round, 18th pick 1938

Frank “Bruiser” Kinard is the oldest player on this list. He was drafted in 1938, only the third draft in NFL history, and was taken in the top 20 although with fewer teams he was a third-round choice that every team passed on at least once. They’d come to regret those decisions, as Kinard earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first five NFL seasons and All-Pro honors in each of his first four seasons. He was a dominant two-way lineman who played tackle on offense, but is often forgotten due to the era in which he played.

OG: John Hannah, Alabama — 1st round, 4th pick 1973

Hannah starred for Paul “Bear” Bryant at Alabama in the early 1970s before he was a top 5 pick in the 1973 draft. Bryant would go on to call Hannah the best lineman he ever coached, and Hannah’s 10 All-Pro selections in his NFL career justify that praise from college football’s greatest coach ever. He was the NFL Players’ Association’s Offensive Lineman of the Year four straight years from 1978-81, and he’s a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Teams in the 1970s and ’80s. Few in NFL history have played the position better, and certainly none that hailed from SEC programs.

OC: Dermontti Dawson, Kentucky — 2nd round, 44th pick 1988

Dawson isn’t exactly a household name outside the commonwealth of Kentucky, but his career deserves more attention. He was a six-time All-Pro in 13 NFL seasons, all in Pittsburgh, and he’s a member of the Steelers All-Time Team in addition to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His No. 63 is also retired in Pittsburgh. He started 181 of the 184 games he played for the Steelers, and was as dominant as any center in the league during that time.

DE: Reggie White, Tennessee — 1st round 1984 (supplemental draft)

White is second all-time on the NFL’s career sack list, trailing only Bruce Smith, who actually broke White’s record to assume the record himself in the early 2000s. He didn’t just have longevity on his side (16 NFL seasons from 1985-2000), but he was a superstar for virtually every one of those seasons, never allowing age to get in his way. He was a 13-time Pro Bowler and a 10-time first-team All-Pro, in addition to numerous Defensive Player of the Year honors from varying media outlets and organizations. His number has since been retired at Tennessee and in Green Bay and Philadelphia alike. It’s amazing to think all of that came from a supplemental draft pick.

DT: Dan Hampton, Arkansas — 1st round, 4th pick 1979

Although William “Refrigerator” Perry is the most famous lineman from the famed 1985 Super Bowl-champion Chicago Bears, Hampton was the team’s best lineman by a noticeable margin (although Richard Dent fans may disagree). In fact, the only other Hall of Famers on that team were Mike Ditka (the coach), Walter Payton, Mike Singletary and Dent, proving that Hampton kept elite company on one of the NFL’s best teams of all-time, justifying his top 5 selection that is rarely regarded by fans or media members outside the Windy City 36 years later.

LB: Derrick Thomas, Alabama — 1st round, 4th pick 1989

Thomas was the NFL’s most dangerous pass rusher off the edge during his career from 1989-99, and White was really the only other player in the discussion. Thomas’ life was tragically cut short at the age of 33 in 2000, or he might have littered the NFL record book with some ridiculous career totals. His seven sacks in a single game remain an NFL record (the record for sacks in a season is 22.5), and his 20 sacks in a season were a Kansas City Chiefs record until Justin Houston broke that record in 2014. He forced 41 career fumbles, including eight in one season, and remains one of the most freakishly talented linebackers in the history of the league, again justifying an SEC alum being taken in the top 5 pick overall.

CB: Roger Wehrli, Missouri — 1st round, 19th pick 1969

Wehrli played 14 years in the NFL and was invited to seven Pro Bowls in addition to earning six All-Pro honors during that time. He hauled in 40 career interceptions, but even more impressive ran nine of them back for touchdowns, amassing 898 interception return yards for his career, an average of more than 22 yards per return. Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach, who competed against Wehrli during their careers, once said “the term ‘Shutdown Corner’ originated with Roger Wehrli. There wasn’t a better cornerback I played against.” That kind of praise from that kind of legend speaks for itself, don’t you think?

S: Yale Lary, Texas A&M — 3rd round, 34th pick 1952

You may not know his name yet, but you should. Lary was named an NFL All-Pro nine consecutive times from 1956-64, and for his 14-year career in a day and age predicated on the run he still hauled in 50 interceptions as one of the league’s all-time great ballhawks. He also served as the punter for the Detroit Lions, where he spent his entire NFL career, and won three championships before the Super Bowl era, something Detroit has not done since the start of the Super Bowl era. As a third-round selection, it’s safe to call Lary a hidden gem, even in the early 1950s.