Nick Saban is the king of the NFL Draft when it comes to the SEC. He’s produced more draft picks and more first-round picks than any other coach in the conference’s history.

The Alabama coach took over the SEC’s top spot for picks produced from Ole Miss’ Johnny Vaught during the 2021 NFL Draft. But during the 2022 draft, Saban lost one of his top spots.

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NFL teams selected 15 Georgia players during the 2022 draft, the most from one SEC program in one draft. The Bulldogs’ bonanza in Kirby Smart’s sixth draft class raised the Georgia coach’s average number of draft picks per year to 7.5.

That lifted Smart past his former boss at Alabama into the top spot for rate of production among SEC coaches with at least five seasons in the league. In 20 draft classes, Saban has averaged 6.8 picks per year.

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

7.50: Kirby Smart, Georgia 2016-2022

6.80: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2022

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

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

If only Saban’s time with the Crimson Tide was considered, he’d still be in the top spot. He has had 114 of his Alabama players picked across 15 drafts, an average of 7.6 per year. But Saban also produced 22 draft choices from five seasons at LSU.

Those 136 total choices put Saban on top for quantity among all coaches in the conference’s history.

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

136: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2022

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

Vaught still leads Saban in one way – most draft picks produced by a coach at one SEC school, although it’s possible the Alabama coach could surpass that mark, too, in this month’s draft. Bryant’s breakdown is 84 from Alabama and 36 from Kentucky.

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 43 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:

43: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2022

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

13: Mark Richt, Georgia 2001-2015

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

12: Kirby Smart, Georgia 2016-2022

9: Galen Hall, Florida 1984-1988

In all but the first draft class for Saban, the NFL had 32 players chosen in the first round. 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:

43: Nick Saban, LSU 2000-2004, Alabama 2007-2022

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

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

12: Kirby Smart, Georgia 2016-2022

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 45 players picked in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Only two other coaches have reached 30. Joe Paterno had 33 while coaching at Penn State from 1966 through 2011, and Bobby Bowden 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 still leads with 46 – seven ahead of Paterno.

In total drafted players, Saban ranks fifth all-time with 154. 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 88th annual player selections in Kansas City, Missouri, with the first round on April 27, the second and third rounds on April 28 and the fourth through seventh rounds on April 29.

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