SEC continues first-round dominance with 10 draft picks – ESPN – College Football Nation Blog

Another in the first round The NFL DraftAnother banner night for the SEC.

While the SEC’s constant discussion fills people above the Mason-Dixon line with unbridled fury, the conference is not immune to draft dominance, and Thursday was no different.

Over the past 10 years, the SEC has led all conferences with 90 first-round picks, 40 more than any other league, and walked away with 10 more first-rounders Thursday night. There have only been six times in NFL draft history where a conference has had 10 or more first-round selections. The SEC accounted for five of them and now leads all conferences in first-round picks for the seventh time in eight years.

Things actually got off to a slow start for the SEC. A year after seeing three players drafted in the first 10 picks, the SEC hadn’t heard one of its players named until Thursday, a Georgia linebacker. Roquan Smith was selected by Chicago Bears With the eighth seed. The SEC really picked up steam towards the back of the first round, as seven SEC players were selected among the final 13 picks.

Here is a list of the SEC’s first-round selections:

8. Roquan Smith, LB, Georgia — Chicago Bears

11. Minkah FitzpatrickS, Alabama — Miami Dolphins

13. Darron PayneDT, Alabama — Washington Redskins

20. Frank RaganoC, Arkansas — Detroit Lions

22. Rashaan EvansLB, Alabama — Tennessee Titans

23. Isaiah VinOT, Georgia — New England Patriots

25. Hayden HurstTE, South Carolina — Baltimore Ravens

26. Calvin RidleyWR, Alabama — Atlanta Falcons

29. Taven BryanDT, Florida — Jacksonville Jaguars

31. Sony MichelRB, Georgia — New England Patriots

And if the SEC does well in the draft, you know Alabama is a major part of it. The Crimson Tide entered the night with 22 first-round picks over the last 10 years, eight more than any other school, and led all schools Thursday night with four first-rounders. Alabama has now made 10 consecutive drafts with at least one player taken in the first round.

Naturally, SEC rival Georgia, which lost to Alabama in last season’s College Football Playoff national championship, was second behind the Crimson Tide with three first-round selections.

The ACC was second with six picks, including the much-talked-about Louisville quarterback, trailing the SEC (still) in conference terms. Lamar Jackson. The former Heisman Trophy winner was taken by Baltimore with the final pick in the first round.

Here are the ACC’s first-round picks:

5. Bradley ChubbDE, NC State — Denver Broncos

16. Tremaine EdmondsLB, Virginia Tech — Buffalo Bill

17. Darwin JamesS, Florida State —Los Angeles Chargers

18. Jaire AlexanderCB, Louisville — Green Bay Packers

28. Terrell EdmondsS, Virginia Tech — Pittsburgh Steelers

32. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville — Baltimore Ravens

Here’s how the rest of the first round played out by conference:

• Big Ten — 4

• Pac-12 — 4

• West Mountain — 3

• Independent — 2

• American — 1

• Big 12 — 1

• Conference USA — 1

Biggest Disappointment: Big 12

The Big 12 entered the night with just 11 first-round picks over the previous five drafts, the fewest among the Power 5 conferences and just two more than the American Athletic Conference.

Well, things certainly got off to a rocky start for the Oklahoma quarterback — and reigning Heisman winner — then. Baker Mayfield First is selected by overall Cleveland Browns. He became the ninth Big 12 quarterback taken in the first round, and the seventh taken in the top 10 overall, but that was it for the Big 12 on the night.

Thursday didn’t feature much of a mock draft for the Big 12, but seeing both the Mountain West and Notre Dame pick higher had to take a hit on the conference’s pride.

That will do little to appease Big 12 haters.

Biggest Winner: Group of 5 people

Sure, the SEC dominated the draft, but that’s to be expected (sorry). The Group of 5 made a bit of a statement with five players drafted, more than both the Big Ten and Pac-12 (four each).

We all expect to see the UTSA defensive end Marcus Davenport selected ( New Orleans Saints traded up to No. 14 to snag him), but the Group of 5 got a big win when San Diego State fell behind. Rashad Penny i went Seattle Seahawks With the 27th pick. Penny led the nation with 2,248 rushing yards and was second with 23 touchdowns in 2017, but was projected as a top second-round pick.