SEC's first-round DBs in NFL Draft history ... and who could join the list in 2017

When the NFL Draft kicks off this week, conventional wisdom has LSU safety Jamal Adams likely to be one of the first names calls. Most mock drafts project Adams going to the Chicago Bears with the third overall pick. That’s an impressive spot for the former Tigers’ defender, but it hardly places him in uncharted waters. If Adams is indeed chosen in the first round, he’ll be the 46^th SEC defensive back to be chosen in the NFL Draft’s first round.

Adams could be joined by others. Most drafts have fellow LSU CB Tre’Davious White going late in the first round. Some others have him joined by Alabama CB Marlon Humphrey. Here’s a quick run-down on a few of the SEC legends and busts who were first round picks as DBs … and the full list of those players.

Heroes:  LSU DB Johnny Robinson was a six-time first-team All-Pro selection after the Lions drafted him third in the 1960 NFL Draft. Robinson played for the AFL Dallas Texans and the AFL and later NFL Kansas City Chiefs. In the modern era, Georgia CB Champ Bailey made a dozen Pro Bowls after being taken seventh in 1999. Bailey was chosen first-team All-Pro three times, as have active players Eric Berry (S, Tennessee, drafted fifth in 2010) and Patrick Peterson (CB, LSU, drafted fifth in 2011).

Zeroes: Mississippi State DB Art Davis (picked fifth in 1956) is the only one of the 45 players to have never spent an NFL season as a starter — Davis played in only nine games before his career was ended by injuries. Vandy DB Leonard Coleman (drafted eighth in 1984) sat out a year with a contract dispute and never played terribly much or well. Alabama CB Dee Milliner (picked ninth in 2013) is struggling with the Jets.

The Full List: