When Florida won the national championship in 2006, the Southeastern Conference staked its claim at the peak of the college football totem pole.

Over the next 10 years, the SEC began a national championship tear that took a two-year hiatus and returned in 2015. During bowl season, the conference regularly earned the most bids, and its representatives tended to hold serve in their annual postseason showcases. But perhaps the most telling symbol of the conference’s production had nothing to do with the college football season at all.

It had to do with how the SEC talent translated to the next level. And according to NFL scouts and general managers: the SEC hype is real. There were 51 SEC players taken in the 2016 draft, the most of any conference. In fact, the SEC has had the most draftees for the past 10 drafts, which — not coincidentally — dates back to the 2007 draft, the first one after Florida sparked the SEC title streak.

Quarterbacks and running backs tend to steal the position glamour during the college days, often resulting in Heisman hype, other postseason accolades and magazine cover appearances. But come NFL draft time, NFL squads are letting people know what coach-speak has said for years: Games are won in the trenches.

In the last 10 NFL drafts, with the SEC stealing the show, it has been the big men up front — and the skill guys outside — that get taken more by NFL teams. Here’s a look at the top three most-drafted position groups by SEC players over the past 10 drafts:

Defensive Linemen, 76

Counting ends and tackles in the same subset (much like the offensive line section) might give this position group a slight advantage out of the gate. But defensive linemen are requested to change inside and out so commonly based on scheme, it’s fair to package interior and exterior linemen into one group.

While defensive linemen don’t necessarily always get taken in the top of the first round, the SEC position group has been a prominent fixture in every draft since 2007. Only two were taken in 2008, though both were first-rounders in Glenn Dorsey and Derrick Harvey. However, aside from that draft, at least five defensive linemen have been taken in every draft since 2007, and there has been double digits at the position eight times, including 12 in 2007.

Despite the consistent volume at the position, a defensive lineman wasn’t the highest-drafted SEC player until 2014 when Jadeveon Clowney went No. 1 overall. Dante Fowler became the second in that 10-year span just a year later, but the defensive linemen have been called on more as role players, off the bat at least, than immediate impact players.

The drafts have often been hit-or-miss for the defensive line selections, but 2010 had some strong defensive line results with Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins and Greg Hardy all turning into eventual Pro Bowlers. But if you’re an SEC defensive lineman in the draft, you’ll likely be on several draft boards.

Offensive Linemen, 71

The big boys get no love during games. It’s the skill players that make the flashy plays that show up on the highlight reel. On draft night, it’s the offensive linemen that steal the show.

The SEC offensive lineman has become a particularly popular choice in the past three drafts with 11, nine and 11 being taken dating back to 2014. The double 11-player selections makes offensive line the only SEC position group besides the defensive line to have more than 10 players selected in a single draft cycle.

Only two offensive linemen — Ben Grubbs and Maurkice Pouncey — have turned their NFL draft picks into Pro Bowl selections. But that hasn’t stopped 69 other players from getting their name called on draft night and having an influence at the professional level.

The big fellas, at Alabama especially, pave the way for the Mark Ingrams and the Derrick Henrys to march to their Heisman dreams. NFL teams honor that unpublicized hard work at the draft.

Wide receivers, 53

Just take a look at some of these names: Percy Harvin, Mike Wallace, Sidney Rice, A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Randall Cobb, Dwayne Bowe, Alshon Jeffery, Cordarrelle Patterson, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Amari Cooper.

That’s 12 of the 53 SEC wide receivers drafted since 2007. All 12 of those players have made at least one Pro Bowl. So nearly 25 percent of SEC receivers taken in drafts don’t just pan out — they excel. There have been a number of other receivers selected that haven’t made Pro Bowls that have had stellar playmaking careers, including Robert Meacham, Steve Johnson, Louis Murphy and Mike Evans, among others.

So while receivers are taken far less than the men in the trenches, the pass-catchers appear to be the SEC position group with the highest upside among the “Big 3” positions. As the league has transitioned to be more pass-oriented, the SEC receiver draftee numbers have grown, with eight, six and six going in the last three drafts. Six wide receivers went from 2007-2009 as well.

It seems that, while quarterbacks might get the No. 1 slot (Cam Newton, Matt Stafford), it’s the wide receivers that get a little more top-to-bottom attention on draft night and, it seems, more long-haul success in the years that follow.