SEC Breaks Record for Most 1st-Round NFL Draft Picks from Same Conference

The SEC set a record for most players selected from one conference in Round 1 of the NFL draft on Thursday when 15 members heard their names called.

That shattered the previous record of 12, which the SEC set in 2013 and repeated in 2017, per Ben Pickman of Sports Illustrated.

Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa, Jedrick Wills, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III; Georgia's Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson; LSU's Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Patrick Queen, K'Lavon Chaisson and Clyde Edwards-Helaire; Auburn's Derrick Brown and Noah Igbinoghene; Florida's C.J. Henderson and South Carolina's Javon Kinlaw made up the 15 players.

SEC players were also taken high in the draft, with six players going in the top 10 and nine in the first 14.

Remarkably, it wouldn't have been a surprise to see SEC prospects make up 50 percent or more of the first round. Of note, Alabama safety Xavier McKinney is 22nd on Matt Miller's big board but didn't get picked.

Auburn's Marlon Davidson (No. 37) and 'Bama cornerback Trevon Diggs (No. 48) and LSU's Kristian Fulton (No. 48) also could have conceivably gone Round 1.

The SEC finished another dominant year on the college football scene, with four of its teams finishing in the top eight and five in the top 14 of the final Associated Press poll.

Therefore, it's not a surprise NFL teams coveted some of the SEC's stars, though seeing 15 jump off the board is still surprising considering that we had never seen more than 12 in a conference before.

Day 2 of the NFL draft begins Friday at 7 p.m. ET with the second and third rounds. Chances are we'll see SEC players jump off the board in waves once again.