SEC leads way with most picks in NFL Draft; ACC up next

The SEC led the way with the most NFL Draft picks, which is not a surprise, but the ACC was not far behind. Here is a breakdown of this year's draft and where each conference checked in when all seven rounds were completed.

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Big surprise, Alabama leads the way by a wide margin on how many players were drafted in the SEC. The Crimson Tide had four first-round selections in DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, DT Da’Ron Payne, LB Rashaan Evans and WR Calvin Ridley. Alabama had 12 players drafted through seven rounds.

After the national champions, LSU was second in the conference with seven selections and then Georgia had six led by linebacker Roquan Smith, the first SEC player drafted last Thursday night. Florida had five players taken and then there was a three-way tie with four players each from Mississippi State, Auburn and Ole Miss.

Then it was Tennessee and Texas A&M with three draftees each, followed by Arkansas with two and then one each from Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Missouri. Kentucky was the lone SEC school without any players drafted.

NC State led the way in the ACC with eight picks led by defensive end Bradley Chubb, who went fifth to the Denver Broncos. Three other NC State defensive linemen were also drafted in B.J. Hill, Justin Jones and Kentavius Street. Florida State and Miami each had six draft picks with Seminoles safety Derwin James going in the first round.

Next up in the ACC was Virginia Tech with five as Tremaine Edmunds and Terrell Edmunds became the first brothers in NFL history to be drafted in the first round. Louisville had four players drafted with cornerback Jaire Alexander and quarterback Lamar Jackson going in the first round.

Boston College, Clemson, North Carolina and Pittsburgh had three players selected. Virginia and Wake Forest had two and Syracuse had one draftee. Georgia Tech and Duke were the only ACC schools with no players drafted through seven rounds.

Seven players from Ohio State were drafted as the Buckeyes led the way in the Big Ten. Cornerback Denzel Ward was a somewhat surprising pick for the Cleveland Browns with the fourth overall pick and offensive lineman Billy Price was also a first-round selection.

After Ohio State, Penn State had six players drafted led by running back Saquon Barkley, who went with the second pick to the New York Giants. Wisconsin was third in the conference with five selections followed by Iowa with three picks.

Michigan, Indiana, Maryland and Rutgers had two players each in the draft. Michigan State, Northwestern, Nebraska and Purdue had one each. No players were drafted from Minnesota or Illinois.

A two-way tie is at the top of the Pac-12 and neither team with the most players drafted is conference powerhouse USC. UCLA and Washington have had five players drafted to lead the Pac-12 with Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen and offensive tackle Kolton Miller along with Huskies defensive tackle Vita Vea going in the first round.

USC had four players selected led by quarterback Sam Darnold, the first Pac-12 player taken off the board at No. 3 to the New York Jets. Stanford also had four players drafted. Arizona State finished with three players taken in the draft.

Oregon, Washington State and Cal had two each. Colorado, Arizona and Utah each had one player selected. The only team in the conference without any draftees was Oregon State.

There was a three-way tie at the top of the Big 12 with Oklahoma, Texas and Oklahoma State all seeing four players get drafted. Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield was the first overall selection by the Cleveland Browns, the only first-round draft pick in the entire conference.

Next in line was TCU with three players drafted followed by Texas Tech with two. Kansas State, West Virginia and Kansas had one each. No players were selected from Baylor or Iowa State.

It is an amazing number, but 55 schools outside the Power Five conferences (plus Notre Dame) had players drafted, many in the early rounds as well. The Irish led the way four selections including first-round offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey.

UCF led non-Power Five programs with four players taken, including cornerback Mike Hughes in the first round. Southern Miss and SMU had three players each. Other than those schools, no teams had more than two selections.

With two picks each were Boise State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, San Diego State, Temple, Tulane, USF, Western Kentucky and Western Michigan.

The schools with one pick in the NFL Draft: Appalachian State, BYU, Central Arkansas, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Delaware, Ferris State, FIU, Fordham, Fort Hays State, Houston, Humboldt State, Jacksonville State, Louisiana Tech, Maine, Middle Tennessee, Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, North Carolina A&T, Northern Iowa, Ohio, Penn, Richmond, Sam Houston State, South Carolina State, South Dakota State, San Jose State, Stephen F. Austin, South Sydney (rugby), Southeast Missouri State, Toledo, UConn, UTEP, UTSA, Virginia State, Wagner, Weber State, Western Carolina, Wyoming and Yale.