At 7:20 p.m. CT, the Big 12's Twitter account celebrated the Cleveland Browns' selection of Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Ten minutes later, the account tweeted a red-carpet interview from Connor Williams, saying, "One down … plenty of #Big12FB-ers to go for the #2018NFLDraft."
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With the exception of two more Mayfield-related tweets, the account was silent the remainder of the night. For the second year in a row, only one Big 12 player was drafted in the first round, and for the second year in a row, it wasn't a surprise that only one Big 12 player was drafted in the first round.
Even if Williams — the Big 12's only other potential first-round pick (and arguably Mason Rudolph) — was chosen on Thursday night, the conference still would've had the fewest first-round picks of any Power Five conference for the fifth straight year. They had two first-round picks in both 2014 and 2015 and three in 2016, giving them nine total over the last five years.
The SEC had 10. In 2018.
It's the first time ever a Power Five conference has one selection in back-to-back years. It's also the lowest two-year total for a Power Five conference.
Though neither side of the ball is producing high-end talent, Big 12's defenses have been particularly pitiful. A Big 12 defensive player wasn't drafted until the middle of the third round last year when the Bengals selected Jordan Willis with the 73rd pick. Jordan Evans was the only other defender drafted in the first five rounds. And if Malik Jefferson, Deshon Elliott or Holton Hill aren't chosen early on Friday night, the Big 12 may whiff on first- and second-round defenders for a second straight year.
What started as an apparent outlier in 2014 when a third Big 12 player wasn't drafted until No. 49 is quickly becoming a disturbing trend for the conference.
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