14 NFL Draft facts for the 14 SEC football teams

Alabama

The Alabama Crimson Tide have been a premiere fixture in the draft of late. Ever since Nick Saban came to Tuscaloosa he's helped churn out pro prospects one after another, with 37 between 2011-2015. But what's the positional group that's been most abundant?

Answer: Linebacker.

In total, five Tide linebackers were drafted from 2011-2015. Nico Johnson, Dont'a Hightower, Courtney Upshaw, C.J. Mosley and Xzavier Dickson comprise the group of five linebackers to head to the league, which outpaces the other positional groups.

Shout out to Jalston Fowler, the lone fullback to be drafted during that five-year period.

Arkansas

After an accomplished career in Fayetteville, Arkansas Razorbacks running back Darren McFadden was selected with the No. 4 overall pick in 2008 by the Oakland Raiders. McFadden became the fifth Hog to be drafted in the first round since the turn of the 21st century as he joined a group that included Matt Jones, Ahmad Carroll, Jamaal Anderson, and Shawn Andrews.

Since then though the well has been dried up. Arkansas hasn't had a first round pick since 2008, the longest active streak without one in the SEC West. Ole Miss is in second place as no Rebel has heard his name called on Day 1 since Michael Oher and Peria Jerry went back-to-back in 2009.

While Ole Miss may see their woes end this season, the Razorbacks may have their drought last a little while longer. That is, unless a team decides to pluck tight end Hunter Henry who ranks 49th on SBN's Top 300 big board.

Auburn

The Auburn Tigers are currently on a 12-year streak of having at least one player be selected in the NFL Draft.

That may sound impressive that they haven't gone 0-for since 2003.

What's more impressive though is what happened before the last time they went empty handed.

Back in 1976, defensive end Lee Roy Selmon was picked No. 1. After he and the 486 other players were selected, it came to be that no Auburn Tiger was picked by any NFL team. That fortune would change the following year as kicker Neil O'Donoghue and running back Phil Gargis gave the Tigers two picks in the draft.

From then on, for 26 years, the Auburn Tigers had at least one player picked in the NFL Draft. Several players picked during this time period included William Andrews, Willie Anderson, Takeo Spikes, and two dudes named Kevin Greene and Bo Jackson.

You might've heard of them.

Florida

The Florida Gators have been one of the most successful programs in college football in the 2000s.

They've also been successful in something else: Churning our first round picks.

When compared to the rest of the bunch in the SEC East, no team comes close to the Gators' success in having first rounders. In total, the Gators have had 13 players become first round picks since the 2006 NFL Draft, the most in the SEC East.

These include the likes of the Pouncey brothers, Percy Harvin, Joe Haden, and more recently Dante Fowler Jr., D.J. Humphries, Sharrif Floyd and Matt Elam.

Georgia

Want to find a late-round steal? You might be best off taking a Georgia Bulldog.

Seriously.

Amongst the field of the SEC, no team has produced more late-round (3-7) Pro Bowlers than the Georgia Bulldogs since 2010. The Bulldogs have had four, as Geno Atkins, Justin Houston, Reshad Jones and Blair Walsh have all not only spent time taking trips to Hawaii but they also have spent time as arguably the best at their respective positions, or at least near the top.

The other 13 teams meanwhile have combined to get exactly five with LSU, Ole Miss and Florida producing those Pro Bowlers. What we're trying to say here is don't discount the efforts of Keith Marshall, John Theus, or perhaps even Jordan Jenkins from producing as they could very well fall within Rounds 3-7 in the 2016 NFL Draft.

Don't say we didn't warn you.

Kentucky

Former Kentucky Wildcats and current Pittsburgh Steelers pass rusher Bud Dupree is a rare breed.

How rare?

Dupree was taken in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. In doing so, Dupree became just the seventh Wildcat to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since the merger!

For perspective, the Alabama Crimson Tide have had 10 first round picks... since 2012!

LSU

Everyone loves to call LSU 'DB U' and for good reason. The Tigers have produced a tonnage of defensive backs, ranging from Corey Webster to LaRon Landry, Patrick Peterson to Eric Reid, and Tyrann Mathieu to Tharold Simon since 2005.

Have they stood out amongst the pack in the SEC?

It sure is. LSU has had the most defensive backs picked in the NFL Draft amongst teams in the SEC since 2005. The number, 14, edges out Alabama just slightly as the Tide have had 13 DB's be picked. Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina give chase with 10 apiece and the others don't have anymore than six.

DB U indeed.

Ole Miss

The Ole Miss Rebels face the opportunity of having three first rounders in the 2016 NFL Draft as Laremy Tunsil, Robert Nkemdiche and Laquon Treadwell all could hear their names called on Thursday night.

Is this an unprecedented feat?

Yup.

Ole Miss has never had more than two selections in the first round of the NFL Draft, and such a feat has only been accomplished twice in the program's history. Stan Hindman and Mike Dennis were each picked in the 1966 NFL Draft and, as previously mentioned, Peria Jerry and Michael Oher were the selections in 2009.

We could see some history unfold on Thursday night if things go that trio's way.

Mississippi State

The Mississippi State Bulldogs will have a seven-year streak going if they can have a player picked in the 2016 NFL Draft, and that looks to be a strong possibility. Is that the longest streak in program history?

Not so much. This current run they're on is the fifth-longest streak in program history per Sports-Reference.com. They'll have to go a ways to catch the longest run in program history which took place from 1986-2003 when the Bulldogs had an 18-year run with at least one player picked in the NFL Draft.

Missouri

After Gary Pinkel arrived to Columbia, defense became the name of the game for the Tigers. That's translated quite well to their NFL draft picks since 2003. In total, 17 Mizzou defensive players have been taken since the 2003 NFL draft and recent standouts include Shane Ray, Markus Golden, Kony Ealy, E.J. Gaines, Sheldon Richardson and Aldon Smith.

With Kentrell Brothers among others pinpointed this year, expect this trend of sorts to continue, and probably going forward too in Barry Odom's regime. Get to know Charles Harris, folks. You won't regret it.

South Carolina

Jadeveon Clowney was the last first round pick that the South Carolina Gamecocks had back in 2014. Over their history, this is somewhat of an outlier. Just 12 players in Gamecock history were taken in Round 1 of the NFL Draft.

That said, it's a list that's littered with quite a few talented players such as Sterling Sharpe, John Abraham, Johnathan Joseph, Melvin Ingram and Stephon Gilmore among others.

They likely won't have a first rounder in 2016 and as we've seen over time, Gamecock fans should be used to that by now.

Tennessee

The Volunteers, one of college football's most outstanding programs typically do a terrific job of sending players to the pros. From Eric Berry to Malik Jackson in recent years to the great Peyton Manning and John Henderson in the past, UT hasn't had many talent droughts. In fact, from 1964-2014 the Vols never missed a beat, having at least one player picked in the draft.

That's why it was so shocking in 2015 when for only the fourth time in program history no Volunteer player was picked by an NFL franchise in the draft. If that occurs again in 2016, it will mark the FIRST TIME in program history that they would go two consecutive years without a draft pick. There is the threat if nothing else out there and one that should be looked into if things don't fall the right way from Thursday-Saturday.

Texas A&M

The Aggies have prospered quite a lot over the last few seasons on the field and in the NFL Draft as well. Since 2011, they've produced 15 selections including Von Miller, Ryan Tannehill, Luke Joeckel, Johnny Manziel, Cedric Ogbuehi, Jake Matthews and Mike Evans.

What do those last seven names have in common? All of them were first round selections. Collectively, that group ties as the most first round selections the Aggies have had over any five-year period in program history. You'd have to go back from 1990-1995, or 1992-1997 to find similar periods of success and like the past five years, there weren't any slouches there either.

Richmond Webb, Aaron Glenn, and Sam Adams were picked during that period of time. We'd like to think those are pretty stout players, no?

Vanderbilt

The Vanderbilt Commodores may likely join their in-state rivals in Tennessee with a lack of selections in the 2016 NFL Draft, and like the Vols, they may go empty handed two seasons in a row. Unlike UT though Vandy is more used to small outputs in the NFL draft. Only eight times in program history has Vanderbilt had players picked in three or more consecutive drafts, with the longest streak being nine from 1955-1963.

Poor Commodores.