SEC Football by the Numbers is looking at the 2024 NFL Draft in four parts. Today’s initial installment examines the first round. On Tuesday, it’ll be a breakdown by positions. On Wednesday, NFL teams will be the focus. And on Thursday, some stats and streaks about the conference and the draft lead into this year’s first round of picks that night.
2 Georgia wide receivers have been chosen in the first round of an NFL Draft in the common-draft era (since 1967), with Bulldogs WR Ladd McConkey considered a possibility for this year’s first 32 picks. The New Orleans Saints selected Lindsay Scott at No. 13 in 1982, and the Cincinnati Bengals chose A.J. Green at No. 4 in 2011.
3 Pairs of SEC defensive backs have been selected from one program in the same first round in the common-draft era, with Alabama CBs Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry projected as first-round choices in the 2024 first round. The DB teammates who have been selected in the same first round from the SEC have been safety-cornerback combinations – S Mark Barron at No. 7 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and CB Dre Kirkpatrick at No. 17 by the Cincinnati Bengals from Alabama in 2012, CB Vernon Hargreaves at No. 11 by the Buccaneers and S Keanu Neal at No. 17 by the Atlanta Falcons from Florida in 2016 and S Jamal Adams at No. 6 by the New York Jets and CB Tre’Davious White at No. 27 by the Buffalo Bills from LSU in 2017.
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3 Consecutive first rounds have featured a pick from the SEC by the Philadelphia Eagles, including three straight selections from Georgia. At No. 10 in the 2021 draft, Philadelphia chose Alabama WR DeVonta Smith. At No. 13 in the 2022 draft, the Eagles took Georgia DT Jordan Davis. In the 2023 draft, Philadelphia added Georgia DT Jalen Carter at No. 9 and LB Nolan Smith at No. 30. At the other extreme, the Dallas Cowboys have gone 11 consecutive drafts without picking an SEC product in the first round. The Cowboys’ most recent first-round selection from the SEC is LSU CB Morris Claiborne, taken at No. 6 in 2012. Dallas’ 11 first-round picks since have included five players from the Big Ten.
3 First rounds have included a quarterback and two wide receivers from the same SEC program, with LSU QB Jayden Daniels and WRs Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. projected as first-rounders in this year’s draft. In 2007, LSU QB JaMarcus Russell and WRs Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis were first-rounders. In 2020, Alabama QB Tua Tagoavailoa and WRs Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III were first-rounders. In 2021, Alabama QB Mac Jones and WRs DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle were first-rounders.
4 Consecutive No. 9 selections have been used on an SEC player. At No. 9, the Jacksonville Jaguars picked Florida CB C.J. Henderson in 2020, the Denver Broncos chose Alabama CB Patrick Surtain II in 2021, the Seattle Seahawks selected Mississippi State OT Charles Cross in 2022 and the Philadelphia Eagles picked Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter in 2023. The Chicago Bears hold the No. 9 choice in this year’s draft.
4 LSU quarterbacks have been first-round selections in the NFL Draft, with one picked twice. Justin Daniels is expected to become the fifth LSU QB chosen in the first round on Thursday night. Joe Burrow was the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, JaMarcus Russell was the No. 1 pick in 2007, Bert Jones was the No. 2 pick in 1973 and Y.A. Tittle was the No. 6 pick in 1948 and the No. 3 pick in 1951. Drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1948, Tittle chose to sign with the rival All-American Football Conference. In 1950, three AAFC teams – the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Tittle’s Baltimore Colts – were absorbed by the NFL. After one season in the NFL, the Colts were dissolved because of financial difficulties. Instead of holding a dispersal draft for the Baltimore players, the NFL instead returned them to the regular draft for 1951, and the 49ers used the third pick on Tittle.
9 NFL drafts have passed since an SEC player has been selected with the second choice in the first round. In 2014, the St. Louis Rams used the second pick on Auburn OT Greg Robinson. The rest of the 32 slots in the first round have been used on an SEC player at least once since the 2017 draft. Fourteen SEC players have been the No. 2 pick. The Washington Commanders have the No. 2 pick on Thursday night, and LSU QB Jayden Daniels is a popular choice in mock drafts for the spot.
10 First rounds have featured at least four players from the same SEC program. Alabama is projected to have four first-rounders in 2024 with CBs Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry, OT J.C. Latham and LB Dallas Turner. Alabama produced six first-rounders in the 2021 draft. LSU in 2020 and Georgia in 2022 had five apiece. Four players from the same SEC school have been selected in the first round of an NFL Draft seven times – Auburn in 2005, LSU in 2007 and Alabama in 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
15 Consecutive first rounds have included at least one Alabama player, the longest streak in draft history. The most recent first round without an Alabama player came in 2008. The Crimson Tide had been tied with Miami (Fla.) for the longest streak until producing three first-round picks in 2023. The Hurricanes went 14 consecutive first rounds (1995 through 2008) with a first-round pick. Alabama’s first-round players during its streak have been:
· OT Andre Smith in 2009
· LB Rolando McClain and CB Kareem Jackson in 2010
· DT Marcell Dareus, WR Julio Jones, OT James Carpenter and RB Mark Ingram in 2011
· RB Trent Richardson, S Mark Barron, CB Dre Kirkpatrick and LB Dont’a Hightower in 2012
· CB Dee Milliner, G Chance Warmack and OT D.J. Fluker in 2013
· LB C.J. Mosley and S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in 2014
· WR Amari Cooper in 2015
· C Ryan Kelly in 2016
· CB Marlon Humphrey, DE Jonathan Allen, TE O.J. Howard and LB Reuben Foster in 2017
· S Minkah Fitzpatrick, DT Daron Payne, LB Rashaan Evans and WR Calvin Ridley in 2018
· DT Quinnen Williams, OT Jonah Williams and RB Josh Jacobs in 2019
· QB Tua Tagovailoa, WRs Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy and OT Jedrick Wills Jr. in 2020
· WRs Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, CB Patrick Surtain II, QB Mac Jones, OT Alex Leatherwood and RB Najee Harris in 2021
· OT Evan Neal and WR Jameson Williams in 2022
· QB Bryce Young, LB Will Anderson Jr. and RB Jahmyr Gibbs in 2023
Twenty-five of the NFL’s 32 teams have drafted an Alabama player in the first round during the streak, with the Raiders selecting five.
15 NFL drafts have passed without a Vanderbilt player selected in the first round, the longest active first-round drought in the SEC. The most recent Commodores player to be drafted in the first round is OT Chris Williams, who went to the Chicago Bears at No. 14 in 2008. No other SEC team has more than a six-year first-round drought entering the 2024 draft. Vanderbilt owns the longest streak without a first-round pick in SEC history, too, going 23 drafts in a row without one between the Green Bay Packers’ selection of RB Tom Moore with the fifth pick in 1960 and the Indianapolis Colts’ choice of DB Leonard Coleman with the eighth pick in 1984.
19 SEC players have chosen in the first round by the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears, tied for the most in the NFL. While the Bears took Tennessee OT Darnell Wright last year, the Cardinals most recently used a first-round pick on an SEC player in 2016, when Ole Miss DT Robert Nkemdiche joined Arizona at No. 29. The current NFL teams with the fewest first-round picks from the SEC are the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks with six each. The Bills participated in the NFL Draft for the first time in 1967, the Seahawks started in 1976 and the Texans made their first pick in 2002.
20 Years since a Georgia tight end was chosen in the first round – a drought expected to end on Thursday night with Bulldogs TE Brock Bowers projected as a first-round selection. In 2004, the New England Patriots used the final pick in the first round on Georgia TE Ben Watson. He’s the only Georgia tight end to be a first-round selection. Seven other SEC tight ends have been chosen in the first round – Alabama’s Ozzie Newsome at No. 23 by the Cleveland Browns and Auburn’s Reese McCall at No. 25 by the Baltimore Colts in 1978, LSU’s David LaFleur at No. 22 by the Dallas Cowboys in 1997, Alabama’s O.J. Howard at No. 19 by the Buccaneers and Ole Miss’ Evan Engram at No. 23 by the New York Giants in 2017, South Carolina’s Hayden Hurst at No. 25 by the Baltimore Ravens in 2018 and Florida’s Kyle Pitts at No. 4 by the Atlanta Falcons in 2021.
26 SEC players have been drafted with the 29th pick, the most for any of the first-round slots in this year’s draft. Not all of those players were first-round selections, though. The 29th pick became a first-round slot for the first time in 1993, and nine SEC players have been chosen at No. 29 since. The pick that has produced the most first-rounders from the SEC is the No. 1 selection. Twenty-two SEC players have been the first pick in an NFL draft. The Chicago Bears hold the No. 1 choice and the Detroit Lions have the No. 29 pick on Thursday night.
31 Consecutive drafts have failed to have the first SEC player picked come from the same school in back-to-back years. The same SEC member hasn’t produced the first player picked from the conference in consecutive drafts since Tennessee OT Charles McRae in 1991 and DB Dale Carter in 1992. Alabama QB Bryce Young was the first SEC player picked in the 2023 NFL Draft. LSU QB Jayden Daniels is expected to be the first SEC player picked in the 2024 draft.
The first SEC player selected in each draft (arranged by school) includes:
- Alabama: 13 (QB Bryce Young in 2023, DT Quinnen Williams in 2019, RB Trent Richardson in 2012, OT Chris Samuels in 2000, LB Keith McCants in 1990, LB Derrick Thomas in 1989, LB Cornelius Bennett in 1987, LB E.J. Junior in 1981, LB Barry Krauss in 1979, QB Richard Todd in 1976, RB Wilbur Jackson in 1974, QB Harry Gilmer in 1948, B Joe Kilgrow in 1938 and B Riley Smith in 1936)
- Arkansas: 1 (RB Darren McFadden in 2008)
- Auburn: 6 (QB Cam Newton in 2011, RB Ronnie Brown in 2005, OT Willie Anderson in 1996, LB Aundray Bruce in 1988, RB Bo Jackson in 1986 and RB Tucker Frederickson in 1965)
- Florida: 10 (TE Kyle Pitts in 2021, OLB Dante Fowler in 2015, DT Gerald Warren in 2001, WR Ike Hilliard in 1997, DE Kevin Carter in 1995, OT Lomas Brown in 1985, DB Steve Tannen in 1970, RB Larry Smith in 1969, QB Steve Spurrier in 1967 and RB Chuck Hunsinger in 1950)
- Georgia: 10 (DE Travon Walker in 2022, LB Roquan Smith in 2018, OLB Leonard Floyd in 2016, QB Matthew Stafford in 2009, RB Garrison Hearst in 1993, G Royce Smith in 1972, E Harry Babcock in 1953, QB Johnny Rauch in 1949, B Charley Trippi in 1945 and RB Frank Sinkwich in 1943)
- Kentucky: 6 (DT Dewayne Robertson in 2003, QB Tim Couch in 1999, DE Art Still in 1978, OT Warren Bryant in 1977, T Lou Michaels in 1958 and E Steve Meilinger in 1954)
- LSU: 11 (QB Joe Burrow in 2020, QB JaMarcus Russell in 2007, QB Bert Jones in 1973, B Jerry Stovall in 1963, B Wendell Harris in 1962, RB Billy Cannon in 1960, DT Earl Leggett in 1957, QB Y.A. Tittle in 1951, B Red Knight in 1947, RB Steve Van Buren in 1944 and E Gaynell Tinsley in 1937)
- Missouri: 0
- Mississippi State: 5 (RB Michael Haddix in 1983, LB Johnie Cooks in 1982, DT Jimmy Webb in 1975, B Billy Stacy in 1959 and B Art Davis in 1956)
- Ole Miss: 5 (QB Eli Manning in 2004, QB Archie Manning in 1971, OT Stan Hindman in 1966, B Merle Hapes in 1942 and B Parker Hall in 1939)
- South Carolina: 1 (DE Jadeveon Clowney in 2014)
- Tennessee: 11 (S Eric Berry in 2010, DT John Henderson in 2002, QB Peyton Manning in 1998, QB Heath Shuler in 1994, DB Dale Carter in 1992, OT Charles McRae in 1991, CB Roland James in 1980, C Bob Johnson in 1968, OT Dick Evey in 1964, T Abe Shires in 1941 and B George Cafego in 1940)
- Texas A&M: 2 (DE Myles Garrett in 2017 and OT Luke Joeckel in 2013)
- Vanderbilt: 3 (QB Jay Cutler in 2006, DB Leonard Coleman in 1984 and QB Bill Wade in 1952)
Former SEC member Tulane provided the conference’s top pick in 1961 (RB Tommy Mason) and 1946 (B Dub Jones), and Georgia Tech did so in 1955 (C Larry Morris).
76 Consecutive NFL drafts have included at least one SEC player in the first round. The most recent NFL Draft in which an SEC player was not selected in the first round was 1947, although the first SEC player picked that year, LSU B Red Knight, was taken by the Washington Redskins with the 17th choice, which would put him in the middle of the first round this year. Three other drafts – 1937, 1938 and 1941 – did not include an SEC player in the first round, although an SEC player was selected by the 14th pick in each of them. The SEC is projected to produce 10 or 11 first-round selections in 2024.
77 Players from Alabama have been selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, the most in the SEC thanks to 44 first-rounders in the past 15 years for the Crimson Tide. Alabama has risen to third on the all-time first-round list behind Ohio State’s 90 and Southern Cal’s 84. In the SEC, Florida has had 57 players selected in the first round, LSU 48, Georgia and Tennessee 46 apiece, Auburn 31, Ole Miss 22, Kentucky 16, Mississippi State 15, South Carolina 11, Vanderbilt and Arkansas nine each, Texas A&M eight and Missouri three. Former SEC members Georgia Tech and Tulane had three apiece, bringing the number first-round draft picks coming from the SEC to 404. Including players picked before their SEC membership, Texas A&M has had 36 first-rounders, Arkansas 24, Missouri 19 and South Carolina 15.
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This look at the SEC’s draft numbers includes only players picked in the regular NFL Draft -- no special supplemental, expansion, non-NFL or separate dispersal drafts are included in the tabulations. For Arkansas and South Carolina, which joined the league in 1992, the numbers include players drafted since 1993, unless noted. For former member Georgia Tech, players drafted from 1936 to 1964 are included. For former member Tulane, it’s through the 1966 draft. Missouri and Texas A&M have provided SEC players for the past 11 drafts. Former SEC member Sewanee has had one player drafted -- RB William Johnson by the Falcons in 1966, long after the school left the conference following the 1940 season.
The NFL Draft starts on Thursday with the first round. The second and third rounds are set for Friday, with the remaining four rounds on Saturday. ABC, ESPN and NFL Network will televise the draft, starting at 7 p.m. CDT Thursday, 6 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.