Behind The Scoreboard
The Southeastern Conference made NFL Draft history. For the 11th consecutive year, the SEC has earned bragging rights.
Last weekend, the SEC had 53 players selected in the draft, leading the way in total picks by conference.
In the first two rounds, the SEC had a record of 21 draft picks. Twelve players were taken Thursday night in the first round, including the top pick in the draft, defensive end Myles Garrett of Texas A&M, who went to the Cleveland Browns. On Friday, nine players went in the second round. And in round three, picking up nine more players, the SEC led the Power Five conferences with 30 draft picks on Day 2.
And on the final day of the draft, eight players went in the fourth round, five in the fifth, six in the sixth round, and four in the seventh round, including Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly, as “Mr. Irrelevant” at No. 253 to the Denver Broncos.
The other Power Five leagues were the ACC with 43 picks, PAC-12 (36), and Big Ten (35). All three conferences performed well with each school averaging about three picks throughout the class. It was a terrible weekend for the Big 12. The conference fell behind the mid-major AAC in total picks and didn’t fare much better in average picks per team. The Big 12 had 14 picks compared to the AAC’s 15.
On an individual school basis, Alabama set an NFL Draft record with nine players selected in the first 79 picks. Eddie Jackson became the 10th Alabama player, drafted in the fourth round at No. 112. But the Michigan Wolverines edged out the Crimson Tide for the most players selected in the 2017 NFL Draft.
The Wolverines, entering their third season under Jim Harbaugh, led all schools with 11 players taken, including first-round picks Taco Charlton and Jabrill Peppers. Ohio State, which led all schools with 12 picks last season, finished with seven.
Ole Miss had four players selected – Round 1, #23 Evan Engram, NY Giants; Round 6, #198 D.J. Jones, San Francisco 49ers; Round 6, #204 Derrick Jones, NY Jets; and Round 7, #253 Chad Kelly, Denver. Mississippi State had one draft pick. In Round 6 at #210, it was Justin Senior, OT, Seattle Seahawks.
Other SEC’s schools total draft picks were – Arkansas Razorbacks (3); Auburn Tigers (4); Florida Gators (8); Georgia Bulldogs (1); LSU Tigers (8); Missouri Tigers (1); Tennessee Volunteers (6); Texas A&M Aggies (5); and Vanderbilt Commodores (2).
Kentucky and South Carolina were the only SEC schools to not have a player drafted in 2017.