NFL Draft: The SEC’s No. 1 No. 9
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.
Since their first draft in 1995, the Jacksonville Jaguars have picked 12 players from the Florida program – seven more selections than they’ve made from any other SEC member.
The second of those selections from the Gators was Fred Taylor with the ninth pick in the 1998 NFL draft, and the running back rewarded the Jaguars over the next 11 seasons by becoming the franchise’s career rushing leader, a record he still holds.
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Although Taylor had seven seasons with more than 1,100 rushing yards for Jacksonville and ranks 17th in NFL history in that statistic, he received only one Pro Bowl invitation – in the 2007 season, which was his final 1,000-yard campaign.
The 15 SEC players drafted with the No. 9 pick include:
· Georgia end Dan Edwards, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1948
· Alabama back Butch Avinger, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1951
· LSU defensive back Wendell Harris, Baltimore Colts, 1962
· Kentucky tight end Tom Hutchinson, Cleveland Browns, 1963
· Alabama running back Wilbur Jackson, San Francisco 49ers, 1974
· Tennessee defensive back Terry McDaniel, Los Angeles Raiders, 1988
· Alabama cornerback Antonio Langham, Cleveland Browns, 1994
· Florida running back Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars, 1998
· Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson, Jacksonvlle Jaguars, 2002
· Auburn defensive back Carlos Rogers, Washington Redskins, 2005
· Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner, New York Jets, 2013
· Georgia outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, Chicago Bears, 2016
· Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2020
· Alabama cornerback Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos, 2021
· Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross, Seattle Seahawks, 2022
Edwards earned first-team All-Pro recognition with the New York Yanks in 1950, when he caught 52 passes for 775 yards and six touchdowns.
McDaniel annually from 1992 through 1996, Rogers in 2011 and Surtain in 2022 were Pro Bowl cornerbacks, with Surtain also a first-team All-Pro selection.
Henderson went to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and 2006.
Hutchinson with Cleveland in 1964 and Jackson with Washington in 1982 won NFL championships.
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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.