NFL Draft: The SEC’s No. 1 No. 16
The 2023 NFL Draft starts on April 27 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 is counting down to the draft by highlighting the SEC players chosen in the first 32 picks.
The 16th pick in the NFL Draft has not been a gold mine of SEC talent. The 10 selections from the league in that slot have combined for eight Pro Bowl invitations and three first-team All-Pro selections.
Cornerback Marlon Humphrey and defensive end Jevon Kearse have three Pro Bowl invitations and one All-Pro selection apiece.
Humphrey still is building his resume as an NFL player as he heads toward his seventh season with the Baltimore Ravens.
Kearse completed his NFL career with his 11th season in 2009. He started like a future Hall of Famer, making All-Pro, earning the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and helping the Tennessee Titans reach the Super Bowl in the 1999 season. Kearse added two more Pro Bowl seasons in successive years.
In his first three seasons, Kearse recorded 36 sacks. In his remaining eight seasons, he added 38.
The seven SEC players drafted in the first round with the No. 16 pick include:
· Alabama defensive end Mike Pitts, Atlanta Falcons, 1983
· Florida wide receiver Reidel Anthony, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1987
· Florida defensive end Jevon Kearse, Tennessee Titans, 1999
· Arkansas tackle Shawn Andrews, Philadelphia Eagles, 2004
· Tennessee defensive back Jason Allen, Miami Dolphins, 2006
· Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell, Green Bay Packers, 2007
· Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens, 2017
Every NFL Draft since 1966 has included at least 16 selections. The three SEC players drafted with the No. 16 pick who were not first-rounders include:
· Mississippi State end Lamar Blount, New York Giants, 1944
· Mississippi State defensive back Harper Davis, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1949
· Auburn tackle Frank D’Agostino, Philadelphia Eagles, 1956
Pitts played in 12 NFL seasons and made 123 regular-season starts.
As a guard, Andrews was a two-time Pro Bowler and a first-team All-Pro in 2006. But a back injury wrecked Andrews’ career, and he made only 57 starts in six seasons.
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(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.)
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.