NFL Draft: The SEC’s No. 1 No. 27
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.
Chicago used the 27th selection in the 1986 NFL Draft on Florida running back Neal Anderson even though the Bears had five-time first-team All-Pro Walter Payton as their primary ball-carrier.
In his first season, Anderson had only 35 rushing attempts as Payton ran for 1,333 yards. But Anderson’s second season was Payton’s last, and they shared the duties in the Chicago backfield, with Anderson outgaining Payton on the ground 586 yards to 533.
After Payton retired, Anderson earned Pro Bowl recognition in each of the next four seasons as he ran for 4,206 yards and 39 touchdowns and had 1,647 yards and 10 TDs on 178 receptions.
The only other SEC player who entered the NFL as the 27th selection and has been a Pro Bowler is LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White. Through his first six seasons with the Buffalo Bills, White earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2019 and received another Pro Bowl invitation in 2020.
Injuries have caused White to miss 17 games in the past two seasons.
The 10 SEC players drafted in the first round with the No. 27 pick include:
· Tennessee center Robert Shaw, Dallas Cowboys, 1979
· Florida running back Lorenzo Hampton, Miami Dolphins, 1985
· Florida running back Neal Anderson, Chicago Bears, 1986
· Florida wide receiver Ricky Nattiel, Denver Broncos, 1987
· LSU wide receiver Wendell Davis, Chicago Bears, 1988
· Tennessee linebacker Todd Kelly, San Francisco 49ers, 1993
· Auburn tackle Victor Riley, Kansas City Chiefs, 1998
· Tennessee wide receiver Robert Meachem, New Orleans Saints, 2007
· LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White, Buffalo Bills, 2017
· Raiders safety Johnathan Abram, Oakland Raiders, 2019
The 1974 NFL Draft was the first with at least 27 selections in the first round. The four SEC players drafted with the No. 27 pick who were not first-rounders include:
· Vanderbilt back Jimmy Butler, Chicago Cardinals, 1959
· Georgia Tech tackle Ed Nutting, Cleveland Browns, 1961
· Georgia guard Pete Case, Philadelphia Eagles, 1962
· Vanderbilt tackle Bob Asher, Dallas Cowboys, 1970
Case appeared in nine seasons, the longest career among the SEC’s No. 27 group.
Meachem had 45 receptions for 722 yards and nine touchdowns for New Orleans in 2009, when the Saints capped the season by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV.
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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.