Rewinding the NFL Draft’s first round: Tide provides 3 picks, SEC has 11

The 89th NFL Draft had an offensive tone to its first round. The 32 first-round picks on Thursday night featured 23 offensive players, including six quarterbacks taken in the first 12 picks. Eight offensive tackles and seven wide receivers also were selected as the NFL provided a reminder that it’s a passing league.

In Detroit, the Chicago Bears made Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams their first No. 1 pick since 1947.

Williams was immediately followed by quarterbacks Jayden Daniels of LSU to the Washington Commanders and Drake Maye of North Carolina to the New England Patriots.

The Atlanta Falcons made Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. a stunning selection at No. 8, considering the team had put up a $100 million guarantee to get quarterback Kirk Cousins in free agency in March.

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy joined the Minnesota Vikings at No. 11, and the Denver Broncos took Oregon quarterback Bo Nix at No. 12.

A former Pinson Valley High School star who spent his first three college seasons at Auburn, Nix was among four prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges chosen in the first round.

The other three came from Alabama. The Tennessee Titans chose offensive tackle J.C. Latham at No. 7, the Vikings traded up to get linebacker Dallas Turner at No. 17 and the Detroit Lions also made a trade to get into position to take cornerback Terrion Arnold at No. 24.

The SEC has had more players selected than any other conference in each of the past 17 drafts. After the first round this year, the league leads the other conferences with 11 selections. The Pac-12 provided eight first-round picks, the Big Ten and ACC four apiece, the Big 12 three and the Mid-American one. There also was a first-rounder from Notre Dame. The Big 12′s first-rounders came from Texas and Oklahoma, who start play in the SEC in 2024.

In addition to Daniels and the Alabama trio, other SEC players chosen in the first round were:

· LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers: No. 6, New York Giants

· Georgia tight end Brock Bowers: No. 13, Las Vegas Raiders

· Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims: No. 18, Cincinnati Bengals

· LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr: No. 23, Jacksonville Jaguars

· Missouri defensive end Darius Robinson: No. 27, Arizona Cardinals

· Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall: No. 31, San Francisco 49ers

· South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette: No. 32, Carolina Panthers

The NFL Draft resumes at 6 p.m. CDT Friday with the second round. NFL teams will make 32 second-round picks, then select 36 more players in the third round. ABC, ESPN and NFL Network will televise Friday’s picks.

The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds will be held on Saturday. The picking starts at 11 a.m.

A pick-by-pick recap of the first round:

No. 1: Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams by the Chicago Bears

The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, Williams threw for 10,082 yards and 93 touchdowns in the past three seasons – one for Oklahoma and two for USC. Williams becomes the sixth Southern Cal player taken with the No. 1 pick, which is the most for any college program. Georgia, Notre Dame and Oklahoma have five apiece.

The Bears cleared the way for Williams by trading their 2023 starting quarterback, Justin Fields, to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Chicago has used the 11th pick in the 2021 draft to obtain Fields.

Chicago made the first pick even though it did not have the worst record in the NFL in 2023. The Bears had the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, but they traded it to the Carolina Panthers, who moved up to obtain Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. After the Panthers posted a 2-15 record in 2023, the selection obtained by the Bears last year became the No. 1 pick in 2024.

Chicago made the first selection for the first time since 1947. The Bears chose Oklahoma A&M back Bob “The Blond Bomber” Fenimore that time. Fenimore played one season in the NFL.

The only other time that Chicago has had the No. 1 pick, it started the 1941 draft with Michigan back Tom Harmon, the 1940 Heisman Trophy winner. World War II delayed Harmon’s pro career until 1946, when he played the first of his two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.

No. 2: LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels by the Washington Commanders

As with the Chicago Bears, Washington traded its 2023 starting quarterback (Sam Howell) to open position for a Heisman Trophy winner. Daniels won the award in the 2023 season. This is the second NFL Draft to open with two Heisman Trophy winners. In 2015, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston at No. 1 and the Tennessee Titans took Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota at No. 2. Winston won the 2013 Heisman, and Mariota won the 2014 Heisman.

Last season for LSU, Daniels completed 236-of-327 passes for 3,812 yards with 40 touchdowns and four interceptions and ran for 1,134 yards and 10 touchdowns on 135 carries.

No. 3: North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye by the New England Patriots

For the fourth time, an NFL Draft has started with three consecutive quarterbacks. It also occurred in 1971, 1999 and 2021.

For the third straight pick, the drafting team traded its starting quarterback to pick a quarterback. Former Alabama All-American Mac Jones had been New England’s quarterback since joining the team as the 15th selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. But the Patriots benched him with six games remaining in the 2023 regular season and traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason. Bailey Zappe completed the season as the Patriots’ starting QB.

Maye joins the first New England team without Bill Belichick as its coach since 2020. Former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo is now the team’s head coach.

Maye threw for 4,321 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2022, but those numbers declined to 3,608 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2023, when he played two fewer games.

No. 4: Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. by the Arizona Cardinals

Hollywood Brown led the Arizona wide receivers in 2023 with 574 receiving yards, and he’s with the Kansas City Chiefs now. Harrison had 174 receptions for 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns in the past two seasons for the Buckeyes.

Harrison’s father, the 19th pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, Marvin Harrison Sr. had 1,102 receptions for 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns.

No. 5: Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt by the Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers’ first pick for their first season under coach Jim Harbaugh is a 6-foot-9 left tackle who was a unanimous All-American for the Fighting Irish in 2024.

Rashawn Slater, the 13th pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, started every game at left tackle for Los Angeles in 2023.

Alt’s father, Joe Alt, played 13 seasons as an NFL tackle.

No. 6: LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers by the New York Giants

The Giants didn’t do two things a lot of pundits predicted they would. They didn’t draft a quarterback, sticking to their stated intentions of going with Daniel Jones in 2024, and they didn’t trade the pick to a team that would have drafted a quarterback.

Over the past two seasons for LSU, Nabers had 161 receptions for 2,586 yards and 17 touchdowns and earned unanimous All-American recognition in the 2023 season.

The Giants have now used a draft pick in the top 75 on a wide receiver for the fourth straight year. But New York has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Odell Beckham Jr. in 2018, and former Auburn standout Darius Slayton, a fifth-round selection in 2019, has led the team in receiving yards in four of the past five seasons.

No. 7: Alabama offensive tackle J.C. Latham by the Tennessee Titans

The 50th player to go from coach Nick Saban to the first round of the NFL Draft, Latham joins a team in a dire need of a left tackle.

Latham’s selection extends the Crimson Tide’s record streak for producing a first-round pick to 16 years. The 2008 draft was the most recent in which an Alabama player was not chosen in the first round. The Tide’s streak is two years longer than any other in first-round history.

No. 8: Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. by the Atlanta Falcons

In the first bombshell pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Falcons picked the 2023 Heisman Trophy runner-up after signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract that included $100 million in guaranteed money this offseason.

After four seasons at Indiana in which he threw for 4,197 yards, Penix had 4,641 passing yards in 2022 and 4,903 passing yards in 2023 for Washington. He also had 74 touchdown passes in those two seasons.

No. 9: Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze by the Chicago Bears

The Bears paired their No. 1 pick, Southern Cal quarterback Caleb Williams, with a premier pass-catcher. The rookie quarterback now has targets who had more than 1,200 receiving yards in 2023 in D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen with a 2023 All-American.

Odunze had 92 receptions for 1,640 yards and 13 touchdowns for Washington in his senior season.

No. 10: Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy by the Minnesota Vikings

After Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. went to the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8, the Vikings made a trade with the New York Jets to move up one spot in the first round with McCarthy as their target.

Many mock drafts had Minnesota moving into the top five to make this pick. But the Vikings sat almost tight and got their man without having to give up their second first-round pick, which will arrive at No. 23.

The Vikings started four quarterbacks in 2023, a merry-go-round that followed Kirk Cousins’ season-ending injury in the eighth game. Cousins then left for the Atlanta Falcons in free agency this offseason.

Before McCarthy’s addition, the candidates to start at QB for Minnesota in 2024 included free-agent signee Sam Darnold and holdover Nick Mullens, a former Spain Park High School star.

To make the exchange, the Jets got fourth- and fifth-round picks and gave Minnesota a sixth-round selection.

No. 11: Penn State offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu by the New York Jets

After starting 12 offensive-line combinations in 2023, the Jets moved to improve their situation upfront this offseason by getting tackle Tyron Smith after 13 seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and tackle Morgan Moses after 10 NFL campaigns. Fashanu provides a younger option who was a consensus All-American in 2023 to a team that yielded 64 sacks, the fourth-most in the NFL in 2023.

No. 12: Oregon quarterback Bo Nix by the Denver Broncos

The Broncos did not have to trade up to take a first-round quarterback. Denver sat in its spot and got the QB with the most starts in NCAA FBS history.

Nix was Alabama’s Mr. Football in 2018 at Pinson Valley High School. He helped the Indians win back-to-back AHSAA Class 6A championships before going to Auburn, where he played three seasons before transferring to Oregon.

Denver released starting quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason, leaving another former Auburn QB, Jarrett Stidham, at the top of the depth chart. The Broncos also traded for No. 2 pick Zach Wilson to join its quarterbacks room this week.

No. 13: Georgia tight end Brock Bowers by the Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas lands a unanimous All-American at No. 13. In three seasons at Georgia, Bower had 175 receptions for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns.

Last season, Raiders tight ends Michael Mayer had 27 receptions for 304 yards and two touchdowns and Austin Hooper had 25 receptions for 234 yards. Hooper is not longer with Las Vegas after signing with the New England Patriots.

Bowers became the ninth SEC player to be the first tight end selected in an NFL Draft. The other SEC players who have been the first tight end selected are:

· Florida’s Kyle Pitts (chosen fourth in 2021 by the Atlanta Falcons)

· South Carolina’s Hayden Hurst (25th in 2018 by the Baltimore Ravens)

· Alabama’s O.J. Howard (19th in 2017 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

· Arkansas’ Hunter Henry (35th in 2016 by the San Diego Chargers)

· Mississippi State’s Reginald Kelly (42nd in 1999 by the Atlanta Falcons)

· Auburn’s Walter Reeves (40th in 1989 by the Arizona Cardinals)

· LSU’s Billy Truax (26th in 1964 by the Cleveland Browns)

· Ole Miss’ Johnny Brewer (41st in 1960 by the Cleveland Browns)

No. 14: Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga by the New Orleans Saints

With uncertainty about the health of right tackle Ryan Ramczyk and dissatisfaction with the performance of left tackle Trevor Penning, the Saints take Fuaga.

No. 15: UCLA defensive end Laiatu Latu by the Indianapolis Colts

The Colts ended the unprecedented draft-opening run of offensive players by making the UCLA pass-rusher the first defensive selection of 2024. Latu overcame a serious neck injury that caused him to miss the 2021 season to record 23.5 sacks for the Bruins over the past two years.

No. 16: Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II by the Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks’ new coach, Mike Macdonald, came aboard after serving as the defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, and Seattle made it two defensive players in a row with an undersized, over-productive defensive tackle.

No. 17: Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner by the Minnesota Vikings

Set to pick at No. 23, the Vikings traded up to get a consensus All-American and the 2023 SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Turner recorded 14.5 sacks for Alabama in 2023 and 22.5 in his three seasons with the Crimson Tide, and he joins a team that lost its top pass-rusher in free agency this offseason. Defensive end Danielle Hunter signed with the Houston Texans after recording 16.5 sacks last season.

Turner’s selection makes it 13 consecutive first rounds that have featured at least one SEC linebacker. The most recent draft without an SEC linebacker occurred in 2011. Since then, the other SEC players drafted in the first round as linebackers have included Alabama’s Dont’a Hightower, C.J. Mosley, Reuben Foster, Rashaan Evans and Will Anderson Jr.; Auburn’s Dee Ford, Florida’s Dante Fowler and Jarrad Davis, Georgia’s Alec Ogletree, Jarvis Jones, Leonard Floyd, Roquan Smith, Quay Walker and Nolan Smith; Kentucky’s Bud Dupree, Josh Allen and Jamin Davis; LSU’s Barkevious Mingo, Devin White and Patrick Queen; and Missouri’s Charles Harris.

Turner became the 17th SEC player to be the first linebacker selected in an NFL Draft. The SEC has produced the first linebacker in three consecutive drafts and seven of the past 11. The other SEC players who have been the first LB selected include:

· Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. (No. 3, Houston Texans, 2023)

· Georgia’s Quay Walker (No. 22, Green Bay Packers, 2022)

· LSU’s Devin White (No. 5, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2019)

· Georgia’s Roquan Smith (No. 8, Chicago Bears, 2018)

· Georgia’s Leonard Floyd (No. 9, Chicago Bears, 2016)

· Florida’s Dante Fowler (No. 3, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2015)

· Georgia’s Jarvis Jones (No. 17, Pittsburgh Steelers, 2013)

· Alabama’s Rolando McClain (No. 8, Oakland Raiders, 2010)

· Ole Miss’ Patrick Willis (No. 11, San Francisco 49ers, 2007)

· Alabama’s Keith McCants (No. 4, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1990)

· Alabama’s Derrick Thomas (No. 4, Kansas City Chiefs, 1989)

· Auburn’s Aundray Bruce (No. 1, Atlanta Falcons,1988)

· Alabama’s Cornelius Bennett (No. 2, Indianapolis Colts, 1987)

· Mississippi State’s Johnie Cooks (No. 2, Indianapolis Colts, 1982)

· Alabama’s Lee Roy Jordan (No. 6, Dallas Cowboys, 1963)

· Georgia’s Dave Lloyd (No. 47, Cleveland Browns, 1959)

No. 18: Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims by the Cincinnati Bengals

For the 27th consecutive draft, the Bengals have selected an SEC player, and this year, they extended their streak in the first round. Cincinnati lost former Alabama All-American Jonah Williams, who left for the Arizona Cardinals in free agency after playing right tackle for the Bengals last season.

At the NFL Scouting Combine this year, Mims measured 6-foot-8 and weighed 340 pounds.

No. 19: Florida State defensive end Jared Verse by the Los Angeles Rams

With their first first-round pick since 2016, the Rams went with a pass-rusher. Verse recorded 18 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons with the Seminoles.

Los Angeles is preparing for its first season since 2013 without defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year retired after the 2023 season.

No. 20: Washington offensive tackle Troy Fautanu by the Pittsburgh Steelers

After getting Russell Wilson this offseason to play quarterback, the Steelers address their offensive line with the third first-round selection from Washington, which didn’t have a player drafted last year.

This is the second year in a row that Pittsburgh has used a first-round pick on an offensive tackle. The Steelers took Georgia’s Broderick Jones in 2023. Jones played right tackle for Pittsburgh. Fautanu played left tackle at Washington.

In 2023, Fautanu won the Morris Trophy, which is presented annually to the Pac-12′s best offensive or defensive lineman.

No. 21: Penn State defensive end Chop Robinson by the Miami Dolphins

With Andrew Van Ginkle gone and Jaelan Phillips coming off an injury, the Dolphins needed a pass-rusher, although Robinson registered only four sacks during the 2023 season for the Nittany Lions.

No. 22: Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell by the Philadelphia Eagles

Only the Washington Commanders yielded more passing yards and more touchdown passes than the Eagles in the 2023 season. Mitchell is the first defensive back selected in the 2024 draft after he ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year.

No. 23: LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. by the Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville gave up the 17th pick to the Minnesota Vikings and came away with the second LSU wide receiver of the first round.

This is the fourth first round that has included a quarterback and two wide receivers from the same SEC program. In 2007, LSU QB JaMarcus Russell and WRs Dwayne Bowe and Craig Davis were first-rounders. In 2020, Alabama QB Tua Tagoavailoa and WRs Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III were first-rounders. In 2021, Alabama QB Mac Jones and WRs DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle were first-rounders.

The Jaguars lost 1,000-yard receiver Calvin Ridley in free agency this offseason to division rival Tennessee. Thomas had 68 receptions for 1,177 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2023 for LSU.

No. 24: Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold by the Detroit Lions

Detroit traded up from No. 29 to make this pick in front of their home fans attending the draft, and for the third year in a row, the Lions use a first-round pick on an Alabama player. Arnold follows wide receiver Jameson Williams in 2022 and running back Jahmyr Gibbs in 2023. Detroit also drafted Alabama defensive back Brian Branch in the second round last year.

Arnold continues the Lions’ offseason efforts to remake their secondary. Detroit traded with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to obtain former Auburn standout Carlton Davis, also a cornerback, in March. The Lions also signed cornerback Amik Robertson from the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency.

No. 25: Arizona offensive tackle Jordan Morgan by the Green Bay Packers

Morgan is the sixth offensive tackle chosen in the first round, although some project Morgan as a guard on the NFL level, and the Packers have an absolute affinity for versatile offensive linemen. Morgan was an offseason riser, with his performance during Reese’s Senior Bowl Week a major contributor to that. At the NFL Scouting Combine, Morgan measured 6-foot-5 and weighed 311 pounds.

No. 26: Duke center Graham Barton by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Barton played center as a freshman for the Blue Devils, then spent three seasons at left tackle, and some scouts think his best position would be guard. The Bucs have a hole at left guard and a center entering his contract year. Tampa Bay announced Barton’s position as center when making the selection.

No. 27: Missouri defensive end Darius Robinson by the Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals addressed their offense at No. 4 with Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Arizona goes to help its defense with a pass-rusher and edge-setter here.

Robinson is the first first-round pick from Missouri since the Miami Dolphins took linebacker Charles Harris at No. 22 in 2017.

No. 28: Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy by the Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City had the final pick of the first round, but the Chiefs moved up from No. 32 in a swap with the Buffalo Bills. Kansas City moved up to get Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, who ran the fastest 40-yard dash in the NFL Scouting Combine’s history at 4.21 seconds.

No. 29: Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton by the Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys swapped places with the Detroit Lions in the first round, and after dropping back from No. 24, Dallas took the first round’s seventh offensive tackle. The Cowboys lost left tackle Tyron Smith to the New York Jets in free agency this offseason.

No. 30: Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins by the Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens get former Alabama standout Marlon Humphrey some help at cornerback with a 6-foot-1 scorcher. Wiggins ran a 4.28-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year.

No. 31: Florida wide receiver Ricky Pearsall by the San Francisco 49ers

Pearsall climbs into the first round as the sixth wide receiver selected in the first round. For the Gators in 2023, Pearsall had 65 receptions for 965 yards and four touchdowns. San Francisco takes Pearsall with uncertainty swirling around wide receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel.

No. 32: South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette by the Carolina Panthers

The Panthers did not have a first-round pick this year but traded up to make this pick. The pick came from the Buffalo Bills, who were in this spot after trading down from No. 28 with the Kansas City Chiefs. Carolina moved up only one spot since it was schedule to make the first pick in the second round on Friday night.

With last year’s No. 1 pick going into his second season, the Panthers got a target for quarterback Bryce Young. In his fifth season at South Carolina, Legette found a position in 2023, when he had 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns.

BEFORE THE DRAFT

The NFL’s 89th annual Selection Meeting, better known as the draft, will see the league’s 32 teams choose 257 players over the next three days in Detroit.

The first round kicks off at 7 p.m. CDT Thursday, second- and third-round picks will be made beginning at 6 p.m. Friday and the fourth through seventh rounds will be held starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. ABC, ESPN and NFL Network are televising the draft.

Before the inevitable trading of picks starts, the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams have the most selections in this year’s draft with 11 apiece. But not all draft picks are created equal. The Cardinals and the Washington Commanders have six selections each in the first two days of the draft, when 100 players will be chosen.

The Chicago Bears have the fewest choices with four. But the Bears hold the No. 1 pick. Chicago didn’t have the worst record in the NFL in 2023, but it traded last year’s first choice to the team that ended up in that spot – the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers traded up to take Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 pick in 2023, then went 2-15.

Chicago’s selection will be followed by the 31 other picks in the first round on Thursday night. The order for the first round going into the draft:

· 1. Chicago Bears

· 2. Washington Commanders

· 3. New England Patriots

· 4. Arizona Cardinals

· 5. Los Angeles Chargers

· 6. New York Giants

· 7. Tennessee Titans

· 8. Atlanta Falcons

· 9. Chicago Bears

· 10. New York Jets

· 11. Minnesota Vikings

· 12. Denver Broncos

· 13. Las Vegas Raiders

· 14. New Orleans Saints

· 15. Indianapolis Colts

· 16. Seattle Seahawks

· 17. Jacksonville Jaguars

· 18. Cincinnati Bengals

· 19. Los Angeles Rams

· 20. Pittsburgh Steelers

· 21. Miami Dolphins

· 22. Philadelphia Eagles

· 23. Minnesota Vikings

· 24. Dallas Cowboys

· 25. Green Bay Packers

· 26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

· 27. Arizona Cardinals

· 28. Buffalo Bills

· 29. Detroit Lions

· 30. Baltimore Ravens

· 31. San Francisco 49ers

· 32. Kansas City Chiefs

The Bears, Cardinals and Vikings hold two choices apiece in the first round. The Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans do not have a first-round selection unless they can swing a trade on Thursday night.

The first round is expected to be heavy with quarterbacks, offensive tackles and wide receivers.

Among the quarterbacks considered a first-round possibility is former Pinson Valley High School standout Bo Nix, who played three seasons at Auburn before completing his college career with two seasons at Oregon.

The other quarterbacks considered first-round possibilities include Southern Cal’s Caleb Williams, the presumed No. 1 pick; LSU’s Jayden Daniels, North Carolina’s Drake Maye, Michigan’s J.J McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

No conference has produced more than two first-round quarterbacks in a single draft, although three quarterbacks from independent programs were chosen in the first round of the 1983 draft – Penn State’s Todd Blackledge at No. 7 by the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami (Fla.)’s Jim Kelly at No. 14 by the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh’s Dan Marino at No. 27 by the Miami Dolphins.

If Williams, Nix and Penix are picked on Thursday night, the Pac-12 would go out with a record three first-round quarterbacks.

At least one player from Alabama has been chosen in the first round in each of the past 15 drafts, which is the longest streak for a college program in the event’s history. The streak will continue on Thursday night with cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry, edge rusher Dallas Turner and offensive tackle J.C. Latham considered first-round candidates.

Other SEC players who are projected as first-round picks include Georgia tight end Brock Bowers and offensive tackle Amarius Mims, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. and Missouri defensive end Darius Robinson.

Thirteen players are attending the draft on Thursday night, including Arnold, Daniels, Latham, Nabers, Robinson, Thomas and Turner.