Big Ten takes the top spot for 1st rounders, while SEC sets record for total players drafted

The SEC’s reign as the king of the first round of the NFL draft was toppled by the Big Ten. But the conference that coined the mantra “It Just Means More” for its dominance of college football in the 2010s remained in the top spot for the entire draft after the SEC set a record for the number of players picked over the three days. Thanks to recent national champions Indiana and Ohio State, the Big Ten led the way with 10 first-round picks, marking the first time the SEC didn’t have the most players taken in round one since 2015.

The SEC only had seven — down from a record 15 last year — and the lowest total for the conference since that 2015 season when the ACC and Pac-12 led the way with nine first-rounders each and the SEC had seven. The first player drafted from an SEC school came when LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane went sixth overall to Kansas City, marking the first draft without a top five SEC player since 2018 when Roquan Smith was the first taken at No. 8 overall by the Bears.

But the depth of the SEC shined on the final two days with the conference leading the way with 29 day two picks in rounds two and three and 51 more over the last four rounds on the final day of the draft. The 87 players in total were the most ever and easily beat the total of 67 from the Big Ten. The SEC has had the most players picked for 20 straight drafts since the ACC took top honors in 2006.

Florida won the national title the following season, starting a stretch where the conference won 13 of 17 national championships. That run of dominance ended when Michigan won it all in 2023 with fellow Big Ten members Ohio State and Indiana following that up with titles of their own. The other two power conferences were far behind with the Big 12 and ACC each having six first-rounders and 38 players picked in all.