It’s been 1200 days since the SEC has won a national championship. Let’s face it. Greg Sankey needed a win. The fans needed a win. And the media delivered. The SEC made history in the 2026 NFL Draft. The #ItJustMeansMore conference set a record by having 87 players drafted. That is 19 more than the big bad back-to-back-to-back national championship-winning Big Ten.
#ItJustMeansMore Photo of the Day! https://t.co/0sqKnwixsj
— Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) April 26, 2026
Before we start waving our flags and starting our SEC-SEC-SEC chants, we need to pause and ask a serious question: “Was it really a win, or are we just all that desperate for a win?”
Quantity or Quality? Debating the SEC’s Historic 2026 NFL Draft
2026 NFL Draft Championship Belt
“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Mark Twain never had to run the 40 or bench press 225, but his quote really helps to set the stage for the 2026 NFL Draft. Looking at the raw numbers of the three-day, seven-round event. The SEC won the 2026 NFL Draft Championship Belt. Here is a conference-by-conference breakdown of the player-by-player breakdown, courtesy of @CFBHome.
- SEC: 87
- B1G: 68
- ACC: 38
- Big 12: 38
- Independent: 7
- AAC: 4
- MAC: 4
- Moutaint West: 3
- Missouri Valley:
- Southland: 2
- Sun Belt: 2
- CUSA: 1
The SEC and B1G are clearly distancing themselves from the pack. They have concentrated the dollars and television rights to take over college football. The gaps grow even bigger when we look at the average picks per school, courtesy of @wilnerhotline.
- SEC: 5.4
- B1G: 3.8
- Big 12: 2.4
- ACC: 2.2
‘We smoked them, PAWWWLLL. Just look at them numbers!’ Let’s go back to Mr. Twain’s quote before we start hootin’ and hollerin’ until the cows come home. “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Sure, the SEC won the “Belt” for most players and the highest average per school, but a deeper analysis may reveal that the historic weekend was more provocative than profound.
First Round Analysis
Stewart Mandel is one of the most respected voices in college football and covers it for The Athletic. On Saturday night, Mandel captured that while the SEC may have won the battle (quantity of picks), the B1G may have won the war (quality of picks). “The Big Ten having the most first-round picks and the SEC having the most overall picks mirrors the state of those two conferences. The Big Ten is stronger at the top. The SEC is deeper.”
First-round picks are where NFL teams find their starters, or coaches and general managers find the unemployment line. The first round is the only round where teams expect impact players, not just contributors. Thursday night’s first round was the first time since 2015 that #ItDidin’tJustMeanMore. Just like the last three national championship games, the B1G had ten first-rounders compared to the SEC’s seven. The SEC had just one player, LSU CB Mansoor Delane picked in the Top 10. In comparison, the B1G had four, including the top pick, Fernando Mendoza, and three Ohio State Buckeyes.
Position by Position Analysis
Our good friend, Chris Marler, had lots of great statistics and graphics from the weekend. Unlike Danny Kannell, we will not just rip his stats without proper credit. Instead, we will use his numbers to show that, despite having 87 picks, the SEC couldn’t even beat the B1G in terms of the highest player drafted at each position.
- B1G: QB, WR, TE, OG, C, LB, S, P
- SEC: DT, CB, K
- Big 12: OT, EDGE
- Independents (Notre Dame): RB
Give them another ring. Hang another banner. The B1G won again. The B1G had the most players drafted in eight of the 14 position groups. Thank goodness Cody Campbell didn’t spend a few more dollars in Lubbock; the SEC narrowly beat out the Big 12 three to two.
Picks by School
We gave you the juicy stat earlier in the story. Remember how we mentioned that the SEC had the most players per school (5.3)? Well, we finally found where the SEC can hang the banner. The SEC had two of the top three schools with double-digit players drafted. Here is a quick snapshot of the number of players drafted from each team, with a minimum of five players drafted, courtesy of @mikerodak:
- SEC: Alabama (10), Texas A&M (10), Georgia (8), Florida (7), LSU (7), Oklahoma (7), Missouri (6), Texas (6), Auburn (5), Tennessee (5)
Wave the flag. We finally have a winner. The 2026 NFL Draft looks Rosey for Alabama, is that why Kalen Deboer got that extension? We also still have questions about how the Aggies can have that many players drafted and still score only three points in a playoff game. Also, can we all agree that Brian Kelly won’t be welcome back in Baton Rouge anytime soon?
Here is how the rest of the conferences fared. Remember, if you’re not first you’re last… SEC-SEC-SEC
- B1G: Ohio State (11), Indiana (8), Penn State (8), Iowa (7), Oregon (7), Washington (7), Michigan (6),
- ACC: Clemson (9), Miami (9),
- Big 12: Texas Tech (9),
- Independent: Notre Dame (6),
Main Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
