Many of us watching college football maintained the Pac-12 was college football’s strongest conference in 2014. The NFL agreed - but it also liked the ACC a whole heck of a lot, too.
The Pac-12 and ACC led all conferences with nine selections apiece. The Pac-12’s nine selections was the most it has ever had according to ESPN’s research department. The SEC, normally the far-and-away leader of this category, followed with seven. The Big Ten claimed three picks, followed by the Big 12 and American with two each.
A few notes:
- The Big 12 narrowly avoids its worst first-round ever: Texas defensive tackle Malcom Brown snuck into the first round at No. 32, the Longhorns’ first pick since 2013.FYI, the last time the Big 12 had only 1 first rounder was 2008 (Aqib Talib). Also only had 1 in 1999, 2000.
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) May 1, 2015
- ACC leads off for the first time in a while: As widely expected, the Tampa Bay Bucs lead off the night by taking Florida State’s Jameis Winston. He became the ACC’s first No. 1 pick since the Texans grabbed N.C. State’s Mario Williams in 2006. Winston also became just the fourth player ever to complete the trio of a Heisman Trophy, a national championship and a No. 1 NFL Draft pick.
- Just because you have good players doesn’t mean you’re good: Al Golden‘s 6-7 Miami team had two first-round picks in offensive tackle Ereck Flowers and wide receiver Philip Dorsett. So did 4-8 Florida with defensive lineman Dante Fowler, Jr. and offensive lineman D.J. Humphries. Washington led all teams with three picks - defensive lineman Danny Shelton, cornerback Marcus Peters and linebacker Shaq Thompson - despite going 8-6 and posting a losing Pac-12 record.
- Other schools with multiple selections: Florida State (Winston, Cameron Erving), Clemson (Vic Beasley/Stephone Anthony), USC (Leonard Williams/Nelson Agholor) and Oregon (Marcus Mariota/Arik Armstead) Speaking of the Oregon...
- Chip Kelly just can’t help himself. Eventually there will come a time when the Pac-12 is no longer stocked with players the former Oregon coach recruited and/or coached against. Until then it’s insider trading in Philadelphia as Kelly nabbed USC’s Agholor.
- Duke is off the clock: Laken Tomlinson‘s selection was the Blue Devils’ first first-rounder in the lifetime of its entire roster.
For those of you living under a rock, here’s how the first round played out:
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Jameis Winston, Florida State
2. Tennessee Titans - Marcus Mariota, Oregon
3. Jacksonville Jaguars - Dante Fowler, Jr., Florida
4. Oakland Raiders - Amari Cooper, Alabama
5. Washington Redskins - Brandon Scherff, Iowa
6. New York Jets - Leonard Williams, USC
7. Chicago Bears - Kevin White, West Virginia
8. Atlanta Falcons - Vic Beasley, Clemson
9. New York Giants - Ereck Flowers, Miami
10. St. Louis Rams - Todd Gurley, Georgia
11. Minnesota Vikings - Trae Waynes, Michigan State
12. Cleveland Browns - Danny Shelton, Washington
13. New Orleans Saints - Andrus Peat, Stanford
14. Miami Dolphins - DeVante Parker, Louisville
15. San Diego Chargers - Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin
16. Houston Texans - Kevin Johnson, Wake Forest
17. San Francisco 49ers - Arik Armstead, Oregon
18. Kansas City Chiefs - Marcus Peters, Washington
19. Cleveland Browns - Cameron Erving, Florida State
20. Philadelphia Eagles - Nelson Agholor, USC
21. Cincinnati Bengals - Cedric Ogbuehi, Texas A&M
22. Pittsburgh Steelers - Bud Dupree, Kentucky
23. Denver Broncos - Shane Ray, Missouri
24. Arizona Cardinals - D.J. Humphries, Florida
25. Carolina Panthers - Shaq Thompson, Washington
26. Baltimore Ravens - Breshad Perryman, Central Florida
27. Dallas Cowboys - Byron Jones, Connecticut
28. Detroit Lions - Laken Tomlinson, Duke
29. Indianapolis Colts - Phillip Dorsett, Miami
30. Green Bay Packers - Damarious Randall, Arizona State
31. New Orleans Saints - Stephone Anthony, Clemson
32. New England Patriots - Malcom Brown, Texas