SEC in the NFL Draft: Look Back at the Last 20 Years

The NFL draft arrives to New York City again on Saturday, and once again the hype will probably outweigh the actual draft, but we will all still watch.

So since I'm an SEC guy, I thought I'd get some facts together, and give you a breakdown of how the Southeastern Conference has put talent into the NFL draft in the last twenty years, or since the 1988 draft.

The count of each team's best draft only counts players selected through the first seven rounds though, since that's how the current NFL draft is set up. Back twenty years ago they were drafting ten rounds, anyone want to see ESPN cover a ten round draft? Didn't think so.

We'll do one all time statistic, and where each team ranks nationally to give you an overall feel of their talent producing prowess.

All-Time Draft Picks (Ranking Nationally)

1. Tennessee 320 (7th)

2. Florida 286 (11th)

3. Alabama 276 (14th)

4. Georgia 272 (15th)

5. LSU 262 (18th)

6. Auburn 242 (23rd)

7. Arkansas 235 (25th)

8. Ole Miss 215 (31st)

9. Kentucky 179 (43rd)

10. Mississippi State 167 (46th)

11. South Carolina 163 (49th)

12. Vanderbilt 108 (71st)

Tennessee with a commanding lead in this category, helped by the decade of the '90s where the Vols sent players to the NFL by the busloads. Eight SEC teams in the top 31 all time.

Now for a look at the last twenty years of the SEC and the NFL draft. Remember, this is since the 1988 draft. I chose the 20 year window because we are trying to gauge a current era of a program.

Total Draft Picks

1. Tennessee, 123

2. Florida, 111

3. Georgia, 90

4. LSU, 85

5. Auburn, 83

6. Alabama, 80

7. Arkansas, 50

8. Mississippi State, 47

9. South Carolina, 46

10. Ole Miss, 45

11. Kentucky, 41

12. Vanderbilt, 21

The Vols again lead this category, though I'd imagine Florida will make a strong push with the talent that Urban Meyer has going combined with the Vols current coaching transition.

Total First Round Picks

1. Tennessee, 24

2. Florida, 22

3. Georgia, 16

4. LSU, 15

5. Alabama, 11

5. Auburn, 11

7. Arkansas, 9

8. Ole Miss, 8

9. South Carolina, 6

10. Kentucky, 2

10. Mississippi State, 2

10. Vanderbilt, 2

Shocker, the Vols lead this category as well, although Florida will pass them if not this year, then certainly in the next few years. Then you have a bit of a log jam with Georgia, LSU, Auburn, and Alabama all hovering over each other as well.

Most Recent First Round Picks

2008- Arkansas: RB Darren McFadden (4th), RB Felix Jones (22nd)

         Florida: DE Derrick Harvey (8th)

         LSU: DT Glen Dorsey (5th)

         Tennessee: LB Jerod Mayo (10th)

         Vanderbilt: OT Chris Williams (14th)

2007- Auburn: OG Ben Grubbs (29th)

         Ole Miss: LB Patrick Willis (11th)

2006- South Carolina: DB Jonathan Joseph (24th)

2005- Georgia: S Thomas Davis (14th), DE David Pollack (17th)

2003- Kentucky: DT Dewayne Robertson (4th)

2000- Alabama: OT Chris Samuels (3rd), RB Shaun Alexander (19th)

1996- Mississippi State: DB Walt Harris (13th), WR Eric Moulds (24th)

Eight SEC teams with first round picks in the last three drafts, the surprise on this list is Alabama. The Tide hasn't produced a first round pick since 2000, but look for that to change this year with Andre Smith.

Most First Round Picks in a Draft

1. Auburn, (4) 2005

1. LSU, (4) 2007

3. Alabama, (3) 1993

3. Florida, (3) 1989

3. Tennessee, (3) 1991, 1998, 2002

6. Arkansas, (2) 1989, 2004, 2008

6. Georgia, (2) 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005

6. Mississippi State, (2) 1996

9. Kentucky, (1) 1999, 2003

9. Ole Miss, (1) 1990, 91, 94, 98, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007

9. South Carolina, (1) 1988, 93, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006

9. Vanderbilt, (1) 2006, 2008

Auburn and LSU lead the way here, they both happened within the last 4 years. Auburn had 3 players go in the first nine picks in 2005, while LSU had a great year in 2007 led by number one overall pick JaMarcus Russell.

Highest Draft Pick

1. Auburn, DE Aundray Bruce (#1 overall, 1988)

1. Kentucky, QB Tim Couch (#1 overall, 1999)

1. LSU, QB Jamarcus Russell (#1 overall, 2007)

1. Ole Miss, QB Eli Manning (#1 overall, 2004)

1. Tennessee, QB Peyton Manning (#1 overall, 1998)

6. Alabama, OT Chris Samuels (#3 overall, 2000)

6. Florida, DT Gerard Warren (#3 overall, 2001)

6. Georgia, RB Garrison Hearst (#3 overall, 1993)

9. Arkansas, RB Darren McFadden (#4 overall, 2008)

10. South Carolina, WR Troy Williamson (#7 overall, 2007), WR Sterling Sharpe (#7 overall, 1988)

11. Vanderbilt, QB Jay Cutler (11th overall, 2006)

12. Mississippi State, DB Walt Harris (13th overall, 1996)

So five SEC teams have produced the number one overall pick in the NFL draft, and eight teams have produced a top 3 overall player, not bad. Who would have thought that Kentucky would produce a number one overall pick in the last twenty years, and Alabama, Georgia, and Florida haven't.

Best Overall Draft

1. Tennessee, 2002, 10 players drafted *1998 won a National Title

2. Florida, 2007, 9 players drafted *2006 won a National Title

3. Georgia, 2002, 8 players drafted *Won the 2002 SEC Championship

4. LSU, 2004, 2006, 2008, 7 players drafted *2003, 2007 won two National Title's

5. Alabama, 1993, 1994, 6 players drafted *1992 won a National Title

5. Auburn, 1988, 1989, 6 players drafted *1988, 1989 won two straight SEC Title's

5. Arkansas, 2004, 2008, 6 players drafted

5. Mississippi State, 1995, 6 players drafted

9. South Carolina, 2002, 5 players drafted

10. Kentucky, 2008, 4 players drafted

10. Ole Miss, 1995, 2004 4 players drafted

10. Vanderbilt, 2001, 4 players drafted

The Vols had a great draft in 2002 with the likes of John Henderson, Donte Stallworth, and Albert Haynesworth leading the way. Florida have a great year themselves coming off a national title in 2006, their 2007 draft had players like Jarvis Moss, Reggie Nelson, and Brandon Siler.

But take a look at the top six teams. No surprise that the best years in the draft for those teams corresponded with some big time success on the field.