NFL draft 2018: SEC again leads all college football conferences with 10 first-round picks

Erick Smith | USA TODAY

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The Southeastern Conference are again kings of the first round of the NFL draft.

For the seventh time in eight years, the SEC led all conferences with the most selections in the first round. The 10 players taken Thursday easily outpaced the ACC, which finished second with six.

Early in the draft it didn't look like the SEC's night, however. Just one of the first 10 picks was from the conference - Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith to the Chicago Bears at No. 8.

The run for the SEC then started. Alabama defensive standouts Minkah Fitzpatrick and Da'Ron Payne went off the board to the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins, respectively.

Two more Alabama players - Rashaan Davis and Calvin Ridley were selected in the later part of the round, giving the Crimson Tide four selections, the most of any school. Georgia had three choices - Smith, Isaiah Wynn and Sony Michel. Florida, Arkansas and South Carolina each chipped in with one pick to complete the conference’s haul.

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Two of the six ACC choices were from the same family as Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds of Virginia Tech became the first two brothers selected in the first round of the same draft. The final pick of the saw Louisville's Lamar Jackson go No. 32 to the Baltimore Ravens.

Among other strong performances: The Big Ten and Pac-12 each had four picks followed by the Mountain West with three.

Notre Dame was the lone independent to have a player taken as offensive linemen Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey went in the top 10 to the Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders.

Like last year, the Big 12 disappointed with just one first-rounder. Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman winner Baker Mayfield was the surprise No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns. The league was shut out the rest of the night.

The American Athletic and Conference USA also had one choice.

Major schools without selections in the first round include Auburn, LSU, Texas, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Clemson and Stanford.