• Football
  • When It Comes to the NFL Draft, the SEC Continues to Lead the Nation

When It Comes to the NFL Draft, the SEC Continues to Lead the Nation

Details
Football

For the 10th time in the last 11 years, the SEC once again led the nation in First Round NFL Draft selections, as the league produced 12 opening-round draft picks, which tied for the second most in history.

During the last 15 NFL Drafts, the SEC has a nation-leading 147 players taken in the opening round, an average of nearly 10 per season.

The SEC had 10 of the first 20 selections of the 2021 NFL Draft. The SEC now has 123 First Round NFL Draft selections since 2010. Since 2010, the SEC has over double (123) the total amount of First Round selections than the next closest conference (ACC - 60).

Six different SEC teams (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina) had a player taken in the First Round of the 2021 NFL Draft. The SEC now has 46 Top-10 picks since 2009 and 52 since 2007. In the first 20 picks of the 2021 NFL Draft, the SEC had as many players taken as all other conferences combined.

Since 2009, Top 10 NFL picks by league: SEC (46); ACC (20); Big 12 (20); Pac-12 (19); B1G (12), Notre Dame (4), MAC (3); AAC (2); BYU (2); Mountain West (1). Alabama led the SEC and nation with a SEC and school record six First Round selections in the 2021 NFL Draft. The six opening round picks also tied the all-time national record. Alabama has had a First Round selection in each of the past 13 NFL Drafts, the longest streak in SEC History and 2nd-longest in college football history, as well as the most First Round picks nationally since 2007 with 39.

Round 1 

Pick (Overall) Athlete School NFL Team
No. 4 Kyle Pitts  Florida  Atlanta Falcons
No. 5 Ja'Marr Chase  LSU  Cincinnati Bengals
No. 6 Jaylen Waddle  Alabama  Miami Dolphins
No. 8 Jaycee Horn  South Carolina  Carolina Panthers
No. 9 Patrick Surtain II  Alabama  Denver Broncos
No. 10 DeVonta Smith  Alabama  Philadelphia Eagles
No. 15 Mac Jones  Alabama  New England Patriots
No. 17 Alex Leatherwood  Alabama  Las Vegas Raiders
No. 19 Jamin Davis  Kentucky  Washington Football Team
No. 20 Kadarius Toney  Florida  New York Giants
No. 24 Najee Harris  Alabama  Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 29 Eric Stokes  Georgia  Green Bay Packers
Round 2
Pick (Overall) Athlete School NFL Team
No. 33 Tyson Campbell  Georgia  Jacksonville Jaguars
No. 34 Elijah Moore   Ole Miss  New York Jets
No. 37  Landon Dickerson  Alabama  Philadelphia Eagles
No. 38  Christian Barmore  Alabama  New England Patriots
No. 44  Kelvin Joseph  Kentucky  Dallas Cowboys
No. 50 Azeez Ojulari  Georgia  New York Giants
No. 54 Dayo Odeyingbo  Vanderbilt  Indianapolis Colts
No. 58  Nick Bolton  Missouri  Kansas City Chiefs
No. 59  Terrace Marshall Jr.  LSU  Carolina Panthers
No. 64 Kyle Trask  Florida  Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 3
Pick (Overall) Athlete School NFL Team
No. 66 Kellen Mond  Texas A&M  Minnesota Vikings
No. 77  Josh Palmer  Tennessee  Los Angeles Chargers
No. 91 Anthony Schwartz  Auburn  Cleveland Browns
No. 92  Monty Rice  Georgia  Tennessee Titans
No. 94  Ben Cleveland  Georgia  Baltimore Ravens
No. 97  Tre' McKitty  Georgia  Los Angeles Chargers
No. 103 Ernest Jones  South Carolina  Los Angeles Rams
Round 4
Pick (Overall) Athlete School NFL Team
No. 115 Jabril Cox  LSU  Dallas Cowboys
No. 117 Bobby Brown III  Texas A&M  Los Angeles Rams
No. 122  Tyler Shelvin  LSU  Cincinnati Bengals
No. 128 Dan Moore Jr.  Texas A&M  Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 136 Marco Wilson  Florida  Arizona Cardinals
No. 140 Buddy Johnson  Texas A&M  Pittsburgh Steelers
No. 142  Royce Newman  Ole Miss  Green Bay Packers
No. 143 Tyre Gillespie  Missouri  Las Vegas Raiders
Round 5
Pick (Overall) Athlete School NFL Team
No. 146 Jamien Sherwood  Auburn  New York Jets
No. 149 Evan McPherson  Florida  Cincinnati Bengals
No. 151 Larry Borom  Missouri  Chicago Bears
No. 165 Shawn Davis  Florida  Indianapolis Colts
No. 169 Richard LeCounte  Georgia  Cleveland Browns
No. 173  Tedarrell Slaton  Florida  Green Bay Packers
No. 176 K.J. Britt  Auburn  Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 6
Pick (Overall) Athlete School NFL Team
No. 188 Joshuah Bledsoe  Missouri  New England Patriots
No. 190 Trey Hill  Georgia  Cincinnati Bengals
No. 192 Quinton Bohanna  Kentucky  Dallas Cowboys
No. 193 Deonte Brown  Alabama  Carolina Panthers
No. 198 Larry Rountree III  Missouri  Los Angeles Chargers
No. 200  Brandin Echols  Kentucky  New York Jets
No. 204 Shi Smith  South Carolina  Carolina Panthers
No. 205 Racey McMath  LSU  Tennessee Titans
No. 206 Landon Young  Kentucky  New Orleans Saints
No. 207 Jonathan Marshall  Arkansas  New York Jets
No. 208 Stone Forsythe  Florida  Seattle Seahawks
No. 219  Seth Williams  Auburn  Denver Broncos
No. 222 Thomas Fletcher  Alabama  Carolina Panthers
No. 224 JaCoby Stevens  LSU  Philadelphia Eagles
No. 226 Trey Smith  Tennessee  Kansas City Chiefs
No. 227 Israel Mukuamu  South Carolina  Dallas Cowboys
Round 7
Pick (Overall) Athlete School NFL Team
No. 232 Phil Hoskins  Kentucky  Carolina Panthers
No. 237 Kary Vincent Jr.  LSU  Denver Broncos
No. 241 Mark Webb  Georgia  Los Angeles Chargers
No. 253 Marquiss Spencer  Mississippi State  Denver Broncos
No. 256 Kylin Hill  Mississippi State  Green Bay Packers