For the seventh time in the last eight years, the SEC led all conferences with the most first-round picks in the 2018 NFL Draft (and the most players taken of all conferences in all seven rounds). They should lead all conferences in first-round picks next year, too.
An SEC player wasn't selected until the Chicago Bears chose Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith with the eighth pick in the first round — and he was the conference's only top-10 pick — but Smith was the first of 10 SEC players selected in the first round, all between picks No. 8 and No. 31.
The conference's 10 first-round selections far outpaced the ACC (six), Big Ten (four), Pac-12 (four) and Mountain West (three), and though the margin didn't grow significantly through all seven rounds, the SEC still finished with 53 total picks, seven more than the ACC (46).
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We're 51 weeks away from the 2019 draft and while it's too early to officially proclaim the SEC as kings in 2019, it appears highly likely they'll have the most first-round picks again. For example, 10 players appeared in the first-round mock draft from Bleacher Report's Matt Miller, led by Missouri quarterback Drew Lock at fourth overall.
Both the ACC and Big Ten could challenge if a lot goes right. For both conferences, in addition to highly ranked defensive linemen Nick Bosa, Rashan Gary, Dexter Lawrence and Clelin Ferrell, potential fringe first-rounders like Ohio State offensive tackle Isaiah Prince, Northwestern quarterback Clayton Thorson and Duke cornerback Mark Gilbert need to earn selections along with some of their conference foes.
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