2013 NFL Draft: SEC projected to send 13 players to first round, a potential record

Ben Cornfield | February 28, 2013 at 10:42 am | 2 Comments

Florida Gators defensive lineman Sharrif Floyd participates in a defensive drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. (Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)

Sports Illustrated has released its second mock draft, now that the 2013 NFL Combine is in the books. Just like the SEC dominated during the season, it’s looking like the conference will also dominate the upcoming NFL Draft.

As it stands, 13 players from the nation’s most powerful league are projected to be selected amongst the top 32 chosen. If that were to happen, the number would mark a new draft record.

Currently, that distinction belongs to the ACC. Back in 2006, a whopping 12 members of the conference were selected in the first round. The most out of the SEC in any given year was 11, which took place the very next year in 2007.

The SEC first-round projections are:

1. Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M (Kansas City Chiefs)
2. Dee Milliner, Alabama (Jacksonville Jaguars)
3. Sharrif Floyd, Florida (Oakland Raiders)
4. Chance Warmack, Alabama (Philadelphia Eagles)
9. Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee (New York Jets)
14. Sheldon Richardon, Missouri (Carolina Panthers)
15. Jarvis Jones, Georgia (New Orleans Saints)
17. Damontre Moore, Texas A&M (Pittsburgh Steelers)
18. DJ Fluker, Alabama (Dallas Cowboys)
21. Barkevious Mingo, LSU (Cincinnati Bengals)
25. Sam Montgomery, LSU (Seattle Seahawks)
26. Eddie Lacy, Alabama (Green Bay Packers)
32. Alec Ogletree, Georgia (Baltimore Ravens)

Of course, a lot can change between the end of February and the end of April. All of these players still have to go through their pro days, take more physicals, do more interviews and just generally begin to learn how to handle all of the attention.

Three former SEC stars have already slipped down teams’ big boards in the early going, and it will be up to them to increase their stock. Georgia’s Alec Ogletree was arrested for a DUI just a week before the Combine, almost slipping him out of the first round altogether. His former teammate, Jarvis Jones, suffers from what is called spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal column and a potentially serious health risk for NFL teams to take on.

Texas A&M’s Damontre Moore put together an ugly Combine, benching 225 a mere 12 times and running a 4.8-plus-second 40-yard dash. He was projected to go in the top five as well, but a bad pro day could slide him all the way out as well.

There is still a lot of time between now and the April 26 NFL Draft, but if all things remain the same, the SEC will have set the record for most young men selected in the first round.

And it will be just one more frontier the conference has conquered.