SEC dominates first round of the 2020 Draft

Joe Burrow (YouTube)

The first round of the 2020 National Football League Draft will be remembered as an excellent night for the Southeastern Conference. Just how good? Well, according to the Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN, there were 15 players selected from the Southeastern Conference, the most players taken from a single conference in the first round of any NFL Draft.

The SEC broke the record of 12 players taken in a single conference. That was set by the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2006 and matched by the SEC in 2013 and 2017 according to Ryan Gaydos of FOX News. 

The first pick from the SEC was the first overall pick. It was no surprise as Louisiana State Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow of Ames, Iowa was taken number one by the Cincinnati Bengals. He was followed by Georgia Bulldogs offensive tackle Andrew Thomas of Lithonia, Georgia (number four by the New York Giants), Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa of Ewa Beach, Hawaii (number five by the Miami Dolphins), Auburn Tigers defensive tackle Derrick Brown of Sugar Hill, Georgia (number seven by the Carolina Panthers), Florida Gators cornerback C.J. Henderson of Miami, Florida (number nine by the Jacksonville Jaguars), Crimson Tide offensive tackle Jedrick Wills of Lexington, Kentucky (number 10 by the Cleveland Browns), Crimson Tide wide receiver Henry Ruggs of Montgomery, Alabama (number 12 by the Las Vegas Raiders), South Carolina Gamecocks defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw of Trinidad and Tobago (number 14 by the San Francisco 49ers), Crimson Tide wide receiver Jerry Jeudy of Deerfield Beach, Florida (number 15 by the Denver Broncos), Louisiana State University Tigers linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson of Houston, Texas (number 20 by the Jaguars), Louisiana State Tigers wide receiver Justin Jefferson of St. Rose, Louisiana (number 22 by the Minnesota Vikings), Louisiana State Tigers wide receiver Patrick Queen of Ventress, Louisiana (number 28 by the Baltimore Ravens), Bulldogs offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson of Brooklyn, New York (number 29 by the Tennessee Titans), Auburn Tigers cornerback Noah Igbinoghene of Trussville, Alabama (number 30 by the Dolphins), and Louisiana State University Tigers running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire of Baton Rouge, Louisiana (number 32 by the Kansas City Chiefs).

Also, by having five players selected, Lousiana State University had the second most players taken from one university in the first round in the history of the NFL Draft. Only the University of Miami Hurricanes, which had six players taken in 2004, had more than the Tigers.

Four of the five players taken from Louisiana State in the first round were offensive players. Burrow is a quarterback, Jefferson and Queen are wide receivers, while Edwards-Helaire is a running back.