The Chicago Bears are expected to choose Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 89th NFL Draft on April 25 in Detroit.

The projections get less confident at No. 2, but the Washington Commanders also are expected to choose a quarterback, and it might be Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU. With the New England Patriots also in the market at No. 3, one of those two slots likely will be filled by Daniels.

If Daniels is the first player from the SEC chosen, the 2024 NFL Draft will be the 32nd in a row without the same conference member producing the league’s opening selection in consecutive years.

In 2023, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was the first player chosen in the draft, not just from the SEC.

The most recent back-to-back drafts in which the first SEC selections came from the same program occurred in 1991 and 1992, with Tennessee offensive tackle Charles McRae joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 7 in 1991 and Volunteers cornerback Dale Carter joining the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 20 in 1992.

The latter pick is the longest the SEC has waited to have a player selected, tied with the 1970 choice of Florida defensive back Steve Tannen by the Jets with the 20th pick.

Daniels would become the 12th LSU player to be the first pick from the SEC. The Tigers most recently had the conference’s first selection in 2020, when quarterback Joe Burrow went No. 1 to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Alabama has produced the first SEC player chosen in the draft 14 times, the most in conference history. LSU and Tennessee are tied for second with 11.

Mississippi State has gone the longest among conference members since it most recently produced the first selection from the league. MSU’s Michael Haddix held that spot in 1983, when the Philadelphia Eagles chose the running back at No. 8.

The first SEC players selected in the NFL Draft, arranged by their college teams, include:

Alabama: 14 players

1936: Back Riley Smith by the Boston Redskins at No. 2.

1938: Back Joe Kilgrow by the Brooklyn Dodgers at No. 13.

1948: Quarterback Harry Gilmer by the Washington Redskins at No. 1.

1974: Running back Wilbur Jackson by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 9.

1976: Quarterback Richard Todd by the New York Jets at No. 6.

1979: Linebacker Barry Krauss by the Baltimore Colts at No. 6.

1981: Linebacker E.J. Junior by the St. Louis Cardinals at No. 5.

1987: Linebacker Cornelius Bennett by the Indianapolis Colts at No. 2.

1989: Linebacker Derrick Thomas by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 4.

1990: Linebacker Keith McCants by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 4.

2000: Offensive tackle Chris Samuels by the Washington Redskins at No. 3.

2012: Running back Trent Richardson by the Cleveland Browns at No. 3.

2019: Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams by the New York Jets at No. 3.

2023: Quarterback Bryce Young by the Carolina Panthers at No. 1.

Arkansas: One player

2008: Running back Darren McFadden by the Oakland Raiders at No. 4.

(The Razorbacks played their first SEC football season in 1992.)

Auburn: Six players

1965: Running back Tucker Frederickson by the New York Giants at No. 1.

1986: Running back Bo Jackson by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 1.

1988: Linebacker Aundray Bruce by the Atlanta Falcons at No. 1.

1996: Offensive tackle Willie Anderson by the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 10.

2005: Running back Ronnie Brown by the Miami Dolphins at No. 2.

2011: Quarterback Cam Newton by the Carolina Panthers at No. 1.

Florida: 10 players

1950: Running back Chuck Hunsinger by the Chicago Bears at No. 3.

1967: Quarterback Steve Spurrier by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3.

1969: Running back Larry Smith by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 8.

1970: Defensive back Steve Tannen by the New York Jets at No. 20.

1985: Offensive tackle Lomas Brown by the Detroit Lions at No. 6.

1995: Defensive end Kevin Carter by the St. Louis Rams at No. 6.

1997: Wide receiver Ike Hilliard by the New York Giants at No. 7.

2001: Defensive tackle Gerald Warren by the Cleveland Browns at No. 3.

2015: Outside linebacker Dante Fowler by the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 3.

2021: Tight end Kyle Pitts by the Atlanta Falcons at No. 4.

Georgia: 10 players

1943: Running back Frank Sinkwich by the Detroit Lions at No. 1.

1945: Back Charley Trippi by the Chicago Cardinals at No. 1.

1949: Quarterback Johnny Rauch by the Detroit Lions at No. 2.

1953: End Harry Babcock by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 1.

1972: Guard Royce Smith by the New Orleans Saints at No. 8.

1993: Running back Garrison Hearst by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3.

2009: Quarterback Matthew Stafford by the Detroit Lions at No. 1.

2016: Linebacker Leonard Floyd by the Chicago Bears at No. 9.

2018: Linebacker Roquan Smith by the Chicago Bears at No. 8.

2022: Defensive end Travon Walker by the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 1.

Georgia Tech: One player

1955: Center Larry Morris by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 7.

(The Yellow Jackets played football in SEC from 1933′s inaugural season through the 1965 campaign.)

Kentucky: Six players

1954: End Steve Meilinger by the Washington Redskins at No. 8.

1958: Tackle Lou Michaels by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 4.

1977: Offensive tackle Warren Bryant by the Atlanta Falcons at No. 6.

1978: Defensive end Art Still by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 2.

1999: Quarterback Tim Couch by the Cleveland Browns at No. 1.

2003: Defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson by the New York Jets at No. 4.

LSU: 11 players

1937: End Gaynell Tinsley by the Chicago Cardinals at No. 12.

1944: Running back Steve Van Buren by the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 5.

1947: Back Red Knight by the Washington Redskins at No. 17.

1951: Quarterback Y.A. Tittle by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 3. (While Tittle was the first alumnus of an SEC member drafted in 1951, he was not drafted from LSU. Tittle already had played three seasons for the Baltimore Colts. But when that team folded after the 1950 season, the NFL put its players back into the regular draft rather than hold a dispersal draft. The first player selected in 1951 directly from an SEC school was Kentucky tackle Bob Gain at No. 5 by the Green Bay Packers.)

1957: Defensive tackle Earl Leggett by the Chicago Bears at No. 13.

1960: Running back Billy Cannon by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 1.

1962: Back Wendell Harris by the Baltimore Colts at No. 9.

1963: Back Jerry Stovall by the St. Louis Cardinals at No. 3.

1973: Quarterback Bert Jones by the Baltimore Colts at No. 2.

2007: Quarterback JaMarcus Russell by the Oakland Raiders at No. 1.

2020: Quarterback Joe Burrow by the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 1.

Mississippi State: Five players

1956: Back Art Davis by the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 5.

1959: Back Billy Stacy by the Chicago Cardinals at No. 3.

1975: Defensive tackle Jimmy Webb by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 10.

1982: Linebacker Johnie Cooks by the Baltimore Colts at No. 2.

1983: Running back Michael Haddix by the Philadelphia Eagles at No. 8.

Missouri: No players

Missouri has not provided the first SEC player picked in an NFL Draft. This year’s draft will be the Tigers’ 12th as an SEC member. Missouri played their first SEC football season in 2012.

The earliest a Missouri player has been chosen in an NFL Draft is fourth, which happened in 2001, when the Bengals picked defensive end Justin Smith, and 1968, when the Chargers picked offensive tackle Russ Washington. The earliest an SEC player from Missouri has been chosen is 13th, when the Jets picked defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson in 2013.

Ole Miss: Five players

1939: Back Parker Hall by the Cleveland Rams at No. 3.

1942: Back Merle Hapes by the New York Giants at No. 8.

1966: Offensive tackle Stan Hindman by the San Francisco 49ers at No. 11.

1971: Quarterback Archie Manning by the New Orleans Saints at No. 2.

2004: Quarterback Eli Manning by the San Diego Chargers at No. 1.

South Carolina: One player

2014: Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney by the Houston Texans at No. 1.

(The Gamecocks played their first SEC football season in 1992.)

Tennessee: 11 players

1940: Back George Cafego by the Chicago Cardinals at No. 1.

1941: Tackle Abe Shires by the Cleveland Rams at No. 14.

1964: Offensive tackle Dick Evey by the Chicago Bears at No. 14.

1968: Center Bob Johnson by the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 2.

1980: Cornerback Roland James by the New England Patriots at No. 14.

1991: Offensive tackle Charles McRae by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at No. 7.

1992: Defensive back Dale Carter by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 20.

1994: Quarterback Heath Shuler by the Washington Redskins at No. 3.

1998: Quarterback Peyton Manning by the Indianapolis Colts at No. 1.

2002: Defensive tackle John Henderson by the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 9.

2010: Safety Eric Berry by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 5.

Texas A&M: Two players

2013: Offensive tackle Luke Joeckel by the Jacksonville Jaguars at No. 2.

2017: Defensive end Myles Garrett by the Cleveland Browns at No. 1.

(The Aggies played their first SEC football season in 2012.)

Tulane: Two players

1946: Back Dub Jones by the Chicago Cardinals at No. 2.

1961: Running back Tommy Mason by the Minnesota Vikings at No. 1.

(The Green Wave played football in SEC from 1933′s inaugural season through the 1963 campaign.)

Vanderbilt: Three players

1952: Quarterback Billy Wade by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 1.

1984: Defensive back Leonard Coleman by the Indianapolis Colts at No. 8.

2006: Quarterback Jay Cutler by the Denver Broncos at No. 11.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.