The 2023 NFL Draft starts Thursday night with the first-round picks at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The SEC has produced 395 first-round selections and another 108 choices among the top 32 picks who were not first-rounders. AL.com has been counting down to the draft by highlighting the SEC players chosen in the first 32 picks.

Frank Sinkwich and Cam Newton were NFL MVPs, Eli Manning was the Super Bowl MVP twice and Charley Trippi is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

All were former SEC stars who were the first players picked in an NFL draft.

Peyton Manning was all those things.

After going from Tennessee to the Indianapolis Colts in 1998, Manning was the NFL MVP five times as well as the MVP of Super Bowl XLI – a 29-17 victory for the Colts against the Chicago Bears on Feb. 4, 2007.

The quarterback joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 2021.

RELATED: PANTHERS’ PICK COULD BE THE SEC’S 22ND NO. 1

The 21 SEC players drafted with the No. 1 pick include:

· Tennessee fullback George Cafego, Chicago Cardinals, 1940

· Georgia back Frank Sinkwich, Detroit Lions, 1943

· Georgia halfback Charley Trippi, Chicago Cardinals, 1945

· Alabama quarterback Harry Gilmer, Washington Redskins, 1948

· Vanderbilt quarterback Billy Wade, Los Angeles Rams, 1952

· Georgia end Harry Babcock, San Francisco 49ers, 1953

· LSU running back Billy Cannon, Los Angeles Rams, 1960

· Tulane running back Tommy Mason, Minnesota Vikings, 1961

· Auburn running back Tucker Frederickson, New York Giants, 1965

· Auburn running back Bo Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1986

· Auburn linebacker Aundray Bruce, Atlanta Falcons, 1988

· Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts, 1998

· Kentucky quarterback Tim Couch, Cleveland Browns, 1999

· Ole Miss QB Eli Manning, San Diego Chargers, 2004

· LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raiders, 2007

· Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions, 2009

· Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers, 2011

· South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans, 2014

· Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns, 2017

· LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals, 2020

· Georgia defensive end Travon Walker, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2022

RELATED:

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 2 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 3 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 4 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 5 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 6 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 7 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 8 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 9 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 10 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 11 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 12 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 13 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 14 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 15 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 16 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 17 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 18 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 19 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 20 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 21 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 22 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 23 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 24 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 25 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 26 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 27 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 28 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 29 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 30 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 31 PICK

· THE SEC’S BEST NO. 32 PICK

(The list includes only players selected in the regular NFL draft. The drafts from other leagues are not included nor are any supplemental drafts that have been held by the NFL.)

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.