Next week’s NFL Draft will be the last ride for the college king of the event. Perhaps it’s fitting that Nick Saban will be working as an ESPN analyst as a group of Alabama players go directly from his guidance into the NFL for the last time.

Saban, who retired in January, has produced more draft picks and more first-round picks than any other coach in SEC history.

The 10 SEC coaches (with schools and years coached) who have produced the most NFL Draft picks include:

146: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2023

123: Johnny Vaught, Ole Miss 1947-1970, 1973

120: Paul “Bear” Bryant, Kentucky 1946-1953, Alabama 1958-1982

102: Steve Spurrier, Florida 1990-2001, South Carolina 2005-2015

92: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee 1992-2008

91: Ralph “Shug” Jordan, Auburn 1951-1975

89: Wally Butts, Georgia 1939-1960

89: Vince Dooley, Georgia 1964-1988

84: Mark Richt, Georgia 2001-2015

83: Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech 1945-1963

(Coaches were credited with a drafted player if they coached the player in his final college season.)

With 10 Alabama players picked in last year’s draft, Saban passed Vaught for the most draft choices produced at one school by reaching 124 during his time with the Crimson Tide.

Vaught’s volume in draft picks has an odd element: Of the 123 selections, only five were first-round picks – quarterback Archie Manning at No. 2 in 1971, defensive tackle Jim Dunaway at No. 3 in 1963, center Ed Beatty at No. 10 in 1954, split end Bobby Crespino at No. 10 in 1961 and defensive end Stan Hindman at No. 11 in 1966.

On the other hand, Saban has lapped the field and is coming back around on first-round picks by SEC coaches. He has had 46 players selected in the first round of an NFL Draft from his SEC work.

The No. 2 coaches on the list, Bryant, Fulmer and Spurrier, had 17 first-round players apiece.

The 10 coaches from the SEC who have produced the most first-round NFL Draft picks are:

46: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2023

17: Paul “Bear” Bryant, Kentucky 1946-1953, Alabama 1958-1982

17: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee 1992-2008

17: Steve Spurrier, Florida 1990-2001, South Carolina 2005-2015

16: Johnny Majors, Tennessee 1977-1992

16: Les Miles, LSU 2005-2016

15: Kirby Smart, Georgia 2016-2023

13: Mark Richt, Georgia 2001-2015

12: Ed Orgeron, Ole Miss 2005-2007, 2016-2021

9: Galen Hall, Florida 1984-1988

After 15 first-rounders in the past six drafts, Smart could rise to second place this year with tight end Brock Bowers, offensive tackle Amarius Mims and wide receiver Ladd McConkey considered among the pick possibilities on Thursday night.

The number of first-round picks has increased over the years, giving more recent coaches an advantage over their predecessors. Next week’s first round will feature 32 picks. In the first NFL Draft in 1936, the 32nd pick was the fifth selection of the fourth round.

But even after leveling the playing field and counting all players picked in the top 32 throughout the history of the NFL Draft, Saban remains the SEC’s first-round leader.

The 10 SEC coaches who have produced the most players drafted in the first 32 selections include:

46: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2023

22: Paul “Bear” Bryant, Kentucky 1946-1953, Alabama 1958-1982

18: Johnny Majors, Tennessee 1977-1992

17: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee 1992-2008

17: Steve Spurrier, Florida 1990-2001, South Carolina 2005-2015

16: Les Miles, LSU 2005-2016

15: Kirby Smart, Georgia 2016-2023

13: Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech 1945-1963

13: Ralph “Shug” Jordan, Auburn 1951-1975

13: Mark Richt, Georgia 2001-2015

12: Ed Orgeron, Ole Miss 2005-2007, LSU 2016-2021

NFL teams selected 15 Georgia players during the 2022 draft, the most from one SEC program in one draft, and took 10 more last year. That’s allowed Smart to push Saban off the top spot in one draft measurement.

In seven drafts, Smart has averaged 7.86 players picked, even though his first draft as Georgia’s coach in 2017 produced only one selection.

The 10 SEC coaches (among those with at least five draft classes from conference members) who have the best players-per-draft average are:

7.86: Kirby Smart, Georgia 2016-2023

6.95: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2023

6.42: Les Miles, LSU 2005-2016

6.00: Galen Hall, Florida 1984-1988

5.67: Ed Orgeron, Ole Miss 2005-2007, LSU 2016-2021

5.60: Mark Richt, Georgia 2001-2015

5.41: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee 1992-2008

5.06: Johnny Majors, Tennessee 1977-1992

5.00: Pat Dye, Auburn 1981-1992

5.00: Urban Meyer, Florida 2005-2010

Smart’s current pace is even ahead of Saban’s production at Alabama. In the 16 drafts since Saban became the Crimson Tide’s coach, an average of 7.75 Alabama players have been picked.

Saban isn’t the King of First-Rounders only in the SEC. He has produced more first-round players than any coach regardless of conference.

Combining his seasons at Toledo and Michigan State with his SEC work, Saban has had 49 players picked in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Next on the list are Joe Paterno, who had 33 first-rounders while coaching at Penn State from 1966 through 2011, and Bobby Bowden, who had 32 while coaching at West Virginia from 1970 through 1975 and Florida State from 1976 through 2009 (with all the first-rounders coming from his time with the Seminoles).

If the standard is extended to players selected in the first 32 picks, Saban remains 12 ahead of Paterno.

In total drafted players, Saban ranks fifth all-time with 164. He trails Paterno’s 251 players and Bowden’s 182 as well as the 168 of Tom Osborne (Nebraska 1973-1997) and the 166 of Woody Hayes (Denison 1946-1948, Miami, Ohio 1949-1950, Ohio State 1951-1978).

The NFL will hold its 89th annual player selections in Detroit, with the first round on April 25, the second and third rounds on April 26 and the fourth through seventh rounds on April 28.

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