The SEC had a handful of defenders get selected in Round 6; one may never play in the NFL
The SEC remains the leader on the board after six rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft, as the conference has now had 49 total picks in the draft after six former players were selected in Round 6 Saturday night.
The first pick in the draft raised some eyebrows, Mississippi State had its first selection of the draft and the SEC West had four players taken in this round.
Here are the SEC players drafted in the 6th round:
- No. 185 Caleb Brantley, DL, Florida (Cleveland Browns)
- No. 198 D.J. Jones, DL, Ole Miss (San Francisco 49ers)
- No. 204 Derrick Jones, DB, Ole Miss (New York Jets)
- No. 205 Jeremiah Ledbetter, DL, Arkansas (Detroit Lions)
- No. 208 Johnathan Ford, DB, Auburn (Arizona Cardinals)
- No. 210 Justin Senior, OL, Mississippi State (Seattle Seahawks)
Brantley goes with top pick of the round
The draft stock of former standout Florida defensive lineman Caleb Brantley clearly plummeted following his involvement with an alleged domestic violence situation with a Gainesville woman in early April. After initially being labeled as the victim in the incident, Brantley was charged by police and reportedly caused so much damage to the woman, she needed a root canal after being hit.
“This is a little bit of a surprise,” NFL Insider Ian Rapoport said during the NFL Network’s live coverage of the draft, “several GMs indicated to me he would not be drafted at all.”
These comments further suggest Brantley’s selection came as a surprise to many. The Cleveland GM even admitted Brantley’s future with the club was in doubt, pending the team’s ongoing investigation.
#Browns Sashi Brown on Caleb Brantley: “Facts may come up that may prevent us from keeping him on our roster”
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 29, 2017
One league source told me of #Browns Caleb Brantley: “A coach at school told every team he talked to ‘stay away even if undrafted.”’
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) April 29, 2017
Ole Miss had two defenders come off the board within seven picks of each other in the round:
Congrats to big man D.J. Jones, drafted in the 6th round by the San Francisco @49ers! #HottyToddy #WAOM #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/M29AM4VR6I
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) April 29, 2017
Another Jones, this time Derrick, taken in the 6th round of the #NFLDraft by the Jets! Congrats! #HottyToddy #WAOM pic.twitter.com/9D48c0i1Mt
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) April 29, 2017
Mississippi State had its first player taken in the draft as offensive lineman Justin Senior was taken by the Seahawks.
With #Pick210, #SeahawksDraft @HailStateFB tackle Justin Senior! pic.twitter.com/wROVf2Y0Pp
— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) April 29, 2017
Meanwhile, former Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly is still on the board heading into Round 7.
Let’s go live to Chad Kelly pic.twitter.com/rs9n05Uul5
— Busted College (@BustedCollege) April 29, 2017
Conference Breakdown
SEC: 49
ACC: 33
Big Ten: 32
Pac-12: 31
AAC: 15
Big 12: 10
C-USA: 9
MWC: 7
Sun Belt: 6
MAC: 6
Big Sky: 2
Independent: 2
Missouri Valley Football Conference: 2
Pioneer Football League: 2
Gulf South: 2
Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference: 1
CAA: 1
SWAC: 1
Southland: 1
MEAC: 1
Patriot League: 1
SIAC: 1
PSAC: 1
Southern: 1
Complete SEC Breakdown
Alabama: 10
LSU: 7
Florida: 7
Tennessee: 6
Texas A&M: 5
Arkansas: 3
Auburn: 3
Ole Miss: 3
Vanderbilt: 2
Georgia 1
Missouri: 1
Mississippi State: 1