Getty
The SEC continued its early-round dominance of the 2022 NFL Draft on Friday night by closing the third round with 34 of the 105 selections made so far with the final four rounds still to come on Saturday. The Big Ten came in second to the SEC with 21 selections, while every FBS conference had at least one player selected in the first three rounds.
Combined, the SEC and Big Ten accounted for 55 picks — or 52.4% — of the players selected over the first two days, as the pair of 14-team leagues continue to be the class of college football. By the time the Big 12 saw its first player selected on Friday when Iowa State running back Breece Hall went No. 36 to the New York Jets, the SEC was already 13 picks deep.
Highlighting the SEC’s huge haul over the draft’s first two days was Georgia, which had four more players taken on Friday after a historic first round on Thursday night. The Bulldogs had more players selected during the first three rounds than the ACC and Big 12 did as entire leagues, and their seven defensive players taken in the first three rounds set a new draft record.
While it appears the SEC and Big Ten will once again finish No. 1 and No. 2 in producing the most draft picks, the race for No. 3 appears wide open entering rounds 4-7 on Saturday. The ACC finished third with 42 overall selections in the 2021 NFL Draft, but will have some ground to make up this year as the conference produced just seven selections in the first three rounds. Entering Saturday, the AAC and Pac-12 are tied for third with…
..
