The road to the NFL is not an easy one. But some colleges seemed to have nailed the formula of hard work and persona to the T. Big names like Notre Dame, USC, and Ohio State have been leading the draft boards for a long time now. Notre Dame leads all schools with 532 total selections. This is followed by USC at 530 and Ohio State at 489.
In 2024, however, Ohio State saw a rather quiet draft by its standards. They had just one first-rounder, Marvin Harrison Jr., who went No. 4 overall to the Arizona Cardinals. USC, on the other hand, with Caleb Williams, had their sixth No. 1 overall pick. Meanwhile, Notre Dame had their offensive tackle Joe Alt being drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers.
Now, these programs are undoubtedly NFL pipelines. However, conference strength plays a role when it comes to first-round draft picks. Let’s look at which conference tops the numbers game.
Conferences With the Most First-Round Picks in the NFL Draft
Southeastern Conference (SEC) | 220
No conference stands tall like the SEC when it comes to the NFL Draft. Going into 2024, the SEC had 209 first-round picks. In 2024, however, they added 11 more, making their total 220.
The conference had the Heisman Trophy winner, Jayden Daniels, at No. 2 overall to Washington, Alabama’s JC Latham at No. 7 to the Tennessee Titans, Georgia’s Brock Bowers at No. 13 to the Las Vegas Raiders, and LSU’s Malik Nabers at No. 6 to the New York Giants.
Big Ten Conference | 133
The Big Ten isn’t far behind the SEC. Their total stands at 133 first-round selections after adding four more in 2024. Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. was the conference’s highest pick at No. 4. Harrison was drafted by the Cardinals.
There was also Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy at No. 10, drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu at No. 11, drafted by the New York Jets.
Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) | 120
In 2024, the ACC had four first-rounders. This pushed their total from 116 in 2023 to 120 in 2024. Drake Maye, the North Carolina quarterback, was the highest ACC pick at No. 3 overall to New England. But that’s not all.
This was followed by Florida State’s Jared Verse at No.19 to the Los Angeles Rams and Clemson’s Nate Wiggins at No.30 to the Baltimore Ravens. Then there was also Duke’s Graham Barton at No.26, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Pac-12 Conference | 105
Despite conference realignment, the Pac-12 had a strong first round in 2024. In 2023, the Pac-12 had 97 first-rounders. Just a year later, they had 8 first-round picks, pushing their total to 105. Washington led the way with three selections, followed by USC, Oregon, UCLA, Oregon State, and Arizona, each with one player.
Big 12 Conference | 89
The Big 12 had three first-rounders in 2024, bringing its total to 89. Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II, wide receiver Xavier Worthy, and Oklahoma offensive lineman Tyler Guyton added to the conference’s growing legacy.
Other Conferences
- American – 15
- Independent (FBS) – 15
Joe Alt from Notre Dame was the lone 2024 first-rounder, bringing the total to 15
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- MAC, Mountain West – 12
Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell became the MAC’s latest first-rounder. - C-USA – 10 (No additional picks in 2024)
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