Another day, another draft, another year the SEC had the most players selected.
The SEC led all conferences with 54 players in 2015, but there’s a perception the ACC – which tied the Pac-12 for most first-round picks with nine – might be closing the gap.
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That’s not necessarily true. Look past the first round. The ACC had 47 picks in 2015, seven fewer than the SEC. That’s the same gap between the two conferences in 2014, when the SEC had 49 players picked and the ACC finished with 42.
We might never see another year like 2013. That’s when the SEC placed a record 63 players in the NFL Draft, 32 more than the ACC (31). The outlier year is why the perception that a gap is closing exists.
Yet the SEC has maintained a nine-year stranglehold atop the NFL Draft, and the gap was just one pick in both 2012 and 2008. The ACC last had more players picked in 2006.
So that gap has been tested, but look at the cumulative results. In the past 10 drafts, the SEC has put 445 players in the draft, most of any conference. That’s followed by the ACC (365), Big Ten (319), Pac-12 (314) and Big 12 (265).
For those looking for a trend to latch onto, consider that the Power 5 conferences combined for 200 of the 256 picks (78.1 percent) and 30 first-round picks in 2015. Each Group of 5 conference saw an increase of at least five picks.
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Group of 5 conferences and independents, meanwhile, combined for just 36 picks and two first-round picks.
Compare that to 2014, when the Power 5 had 172 picks and 25 first-round picks. The Group of 5 and independents combined for 58 picks and seven first-rounders.
That’s the trend to watch in 2016. Will the Power 5 continue to increase the gap with the Group of 5?
