NFL Draft picks by college 2021: Alabama ties first-round record as SEC dominates again

Bill Bender

NFL Draft picks by college 2021: Alabama ties first-round record as SEC dominates again image

The SEC— and Alabama — once again dominated the NFL Draft.  

The conference put 12 players in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and Alabama led all schools with six selections on Thursday.   

That was part of another dominant first round for the conference for the conference. The Big Ten was second followed with seven picks, and the ACC was third with six picks. 

The Crimson Tide tied the record for most first-round picks, which was set by Miami in 2004. Alabama had three picks in the first 10 picks, including Miami's Jaylen Waddle (No. 6), Denver's Patrick Surtain Jr. (No. 9) and Philadelphia's DeVonta Smith (No. 10). 

That run continued with New England's Mac Jones (No. 15) and Las Vegas' Alex Leatherwood (No. 17) and Pittsburgh's Najee Harris (No. 23). 

Five schools had multiple players selected in the first round, including Clemson, Florida, Miami, Northwestern, Penn State and Virginia Tech. 

MORE NFL DRAFT:
Round 1 results | Winners & losers | Grades for every pick

NFL Draft picks by college 2021

First-round picks by school 

SCHOOL PICKS
Alabama 6
Clemson 2
Florida 2
Miami, Fla. 2
Northwestern 2
Penn State 2
Virginia Tech 2
BYU 1
Georgia 1
Houston 1
Kentucky 1
LSU 1
Michigan 1
Minnesota 1
North Dakota State 1
Ohio State 1
Oregon 1
South Carolina 1
Tulsa 1
USC 1
Washington 1

First-round picks by conference

CONF NUMBER
SEC 12
Big Ten 7
ACC 6
Pac-12 3
AAC 2
IND 1
FCS 1

How many Alabama players got drafted?

  1. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Dolphins (No. 6 overall)
  2. Patrick Surtain II, CB, Broncos (No. 9 overall)
  3. DeVonta Smith, WR, Eagles (No. 10 overall)
  4. Mac Jones, QB, Patriots (No. 15 overall)
  5. Alex Leatherwood, OT, Raiders (No. 17 overall)
  6. Najee Harris, RB, Steelers (No. 24 overall)

How many Ohio State players got drafted?

  1. Justin Fields, QB, Bears (No. 11 overall)

How many Clemson players got drafted?

  1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jaguars (No. 1 overall)
  2. Travis Etienne, RB, Jaguars (No. 25 overall)

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.