Here is what an All SEC NFL roster might look like. The SEC had a lot to chose from, but also made it difficult to keep the team under the cap. For some positions, we had to make the tough decision of choosing between 2-4 really good players for 1 slot on the roster because of huge salary cap numbers. All that aside, this is still a great team.

The Criteria

The roster must be under the current salary cap of $167M

We use the league average on rookie deals, which is 5 from 2014, 6 from 2015, and 9 from 2016.

We will include one rookie from each round of the draft (were applicable)

We will have a well rounded roster that includes role players and special teams

The Offense

Quarterbacks

QBs Dak Prescott Blaine Gabbert Josh Dobbs DAL ARI PIT $636K $615K $605K Miss St Mizzou Tenn

Behind center for the All-SEC roster is Dak Prescott. While there are more deserving players to take the helm, Prescott’s 4th-round, rookie deal with it’s $636K cap hit made it an easy choice so we could spend more in other areas. Next, we have former 1st-round pick Blaine Gabbert, whose starting experience and cheap veteran deal made him a good choice to backup Prescott. Then we have our first rookie of the roster, with 4th-round pick Josh Dobbs. The money saved here is the reason this roster is so successful; under $2 million is a tiny amount to spend on your entire QB crew.

3 roster spots filled, 50 left

$1.856M Spent | $165.144M Left

Running Backs

RBs Leonard Fournette Spencer Ware Derrick Henry JAX KC TEN $4.937M $1.746M $1.229M LSU LSU Bama

Alex Collins BAL $508K Ark

I had a lot to chose from at the running back position, though not necessarily a lot of talent. I thought the best way to start, especially given his performance so far this season, would be the number 4 overall pick this season, Leonard Fournette. Backing him up will be a combination of Spencer Ware and Derrick Henry. Henry provides a similar, power style, while Ware can be the change of pace back. Former Seahawks 4th-round pick, now Raven, Alex Collins rounds out the group. He provides young potential and assistance on special teams. I chose to go with 4 RB because of the spread, wide receiver focus of this offense

4 roster spots filled, 46 left

$8.42M Spent | $156.724M Left

Wide Receivers

WRs Julio Jones Odell Beckham Jr. Mike Evans ATL NYG TB $13.9M $3.311M $4.655K Bama LSU TA&M Jeremy Maclin Chris Conley Laquon Treadwell BAL KC MIN $3.5M $838K $2.258M Mizzou UG Ole Miss Malcolm Mitchell $507K NE UG

This is where this roster gets ridiculous, with 3 of the 5 best WR in the league. It may actually be a detriment to the team, as it may be tough to keep all these guys happy. We start with the biggest cap hit on the team, Julio Jones, at $13.9M. Playing along side him, in the spread offense, are 2 2014 draft picks in Odell Beckham Jr. and Mike Evans. With the size on the outside, Jones and Evans, Beckham would line up in the slot, providing a match-up nightmare. Backing them up, and coming in on 4 WR sets, is veteran Jeremy Maclin. Rounding out the WR corps are 3 young talents that can provide excellent help on special teams.

7 roster spots filled, 39 left

$28.969M Spent | $127.755 Left

Tight Ends

TEs Jordan Reed Martellus Bennett C.J.

Uzomah WAS GB CIN $5.738M $3.85M $668K UF TA&M AU

To add to the great receiving corps, we have a great receiving tight end in Jordan Reed. Behind him, we have another starting caliber backup in Martellus Bennett; which will be great to have when Reed inevitably goes down for half the season. C.J. Uzomah provides help as a blocking end/back and will also provide help on special teams.

3 roster spots filled, 36 left

$10.256M Spent | $117.4996M Left

Offensive Line

OL T Andrew Whitworth T Jason Peters G Trai Turner LAR PHI CAR $9.167M $6.917M $3.932M LSU Ark LSU G Chance Warmack C Ben Jones T Laremy Tunsil PHI TEN MIA $1.291M $4.375M $2.831M Bama UG Ole Miss G Jermaine Eluemunor G D.J.

Fluker BAL NYG $532K $3M TA&M Bama

The bookends of the offensive line combine for 12 Pro Bowl appearances and 3 1st-team All-Pro honors. Since they are both left tackles by nature, I moved Whitworth over to the right side. They are backed up by last year’s biggest 1st-round slide, Laremy Tunsil. Guard is probably the weakest position out of the offense. At center, we have current Titan, Ben Jones. I chose him over Steelers’ All-Pro, Maurkice Pouncey because of the almost $7M cap savings. The interiors of the line does lack depth, but they could give Prescott ample time to get the ball out to his plethora of targets.

8 roster spots filled, 28 left

$32.045M Spent | $85.454M Left

Offensive Spending Breakdown

The offense accounted for 48.9% of the total team salary. The spending on both sides of the ball is fairly equal, but the offense definitely takes more of the advantage of the rookie deals. There is a lot of really good talent that we wouldn’t be able to re-sign because they’d cost too much money. The O-Line took up the biggest percentage of the offensive salary at almost 40%. Overall, Dak may have some trouble keeping everyone happy, but this should be one high powered offense.

The Defense

Defensive Line

DL Fletcher Cox Sheldon Richardson Charles Johnson PHI SEA CAR $9.4M $8.069M $4.359M Miss St Mizzou UG Jeremiah Ledbetter Ziggy Hood Pat Sims DET WAS CIN $501K $1.4M $1.075M Ark Mizzou AU Al Woods IND $1.875 LSU

Based off the talent available, especially at linebacker, I decided to go with a 3-4 over base front. This leaves this team without a true starting nose tackle, but I believe Eagles’ star Fletcher Cox could handle the 1-gap NT duties. Rounding out the starting defensive front is the now Seattle Seahawk, Sheldon Richardson and Carolina’s Charles Johnson. The biggest omission from this front is Geno Atkins, but his $10.6M cap hit was just too much to fit in the rest of this talent. Providing goal line and short yardage support on the inside will be big men Sims and Woods. Veteran Ziggy Hood and the Lions’ 6th-round pick, Jeremiah Ledbetter, handle the primary rotation on the outside.

7 roster spots filled, 21 left

$26.679M Spent | $58.775M Left

Linebackers

LBs Jadeveon Clowney Shane Ray C.J.

Mosley HOU DEN BAL $7.087M $2.487 $2.796M USC Mizzou Bama Karlos Dansby Kendell Beckwith Barkevious Mingo ARI TB IND $2.25M $642K $2M AU LSU LSU Martrell Spaight Kwon Alexander WAS TB $674K $728K Ark LSU

The linebacking corps is filled with young talent. We’ll start on the inside with former Bama bruiser C.J. Mosley at the mike and veteran Karlos Dansby at the will. On the outside, we have former SEC defensive player of the year, Shane Ray, at the sam, and the 2014 1st-overall pick, Jadeveon Clowney, at the jack. The glaring omission here is Super Bowl 50 MVP, Von Miller. However, his enormous $20M cap number would be more than this entire linebacking crew combined. Some other notable omissions are Thomas Davis, K.J Wright, Justin Houston, and Dont’a Hightower, however, I believe the combination we have here provides the most talent for the money among a very talented group of linebackers. Backing up the inside, we have a pair of 2015 draft picks, in Spaight and Alexander. On the outside, we have the Bucs 3rd-round pick, Kendall Beckwith, who has shown he can be a starter in this league. Mingo provides solid special teams support.

8 roster spots filled, 13 left

$18.664M Spent | $40.111M Left

Cornerbacks

CBs Patrick Peterson Johnathan Joseph Joe Haden ARI HOU PIT $13.707M $6.906M $3.167M LSU USC UF Jalen Mills Joshua Holsey Brandon Williams PHI WAS ARI $559K $485K $732K LSU AU TA&M

The CBs start off with our number 2 overall on the payroll, 3x 1st-team All-Pro Patrick Peterson. Starting opposite him is 12-year Texans’ vet Johnathan Joseph. And at the nickle, former Brown, now Steeler Joe Haden. Rounding out the group are 3 young, but talented corners, including the Redskins 7th round steal out of Auburn, Joshua Holsey. The only omission I see here is Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore, but I think this starting group fits better together without him, especially considering his $8.5M price tag.

6 roster spots filled, 7 left

$25.556M Spent | $14.555M Left

Safeties

Ss Eric Berry Landon Collins Keanu Neal KC NYG ATL $5M $1.669M $2.44M Tenn Bama UF Marcus Maye NYJ $1.192M UF

The safeties may just be the best staring group out of the defense. We start with 2015 Comeback Player of the Year, 3x 1st-team All-Pro Eric Berry. For me, Berry is right up there with Earl Thomas as the 2 best free safeties in the league. At the strong safety, we have the Giants’ 2015 2nd-round pick out of Alabama, Landon Collins. I think Collins has quickly shown he is one of the best in the league, and I believe he has the potential to become an all-time great. Backing them up are the Falcons’ 2016 1st-round pick out of Florida, Keanu Neal, and our last rookie of the bunch, Jets’ 2nd-round pick out of Florida, Marcus Maye. There were multiple omissions at the safety position, as there are many quality, starting safeties that have come out of the SEC; Tyrann Mathieu, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, D.J. Swearinger, Reshad Jones, Eric Reid, and Reggie Nelson.

4 roster spots filled, 3 left

$10.301M Spent | $4.254M Left

Defensive Spending Breakdown

The defense accounted for 48.7% of the overall cap, again showing the overall balance this team has. Defensive Line took up the most money, taking up 32.9% of the entire defensive budget, and 16% of the overall team budget. The defense doesn’t take advantage of high value rookie deals as much as the offense does, but does take advantage of starting quality young players for depth.

Specialists and Head Coach

ST and HC K Blair Walsh P Shane Lechler LS Morgan Cox SEA HOU BAL $1.034M $2M $1.04M UG TA&M Tenn Head Coach Mike Mularky UF

Former Viking, now Seahawk, Blair Walsh takes the kicking and kickoff duties, coming out of the University of Georgia. And the best punter of this generation, former Texas A&M Aggie, Shane Lechler. And lastly, the long snapper that has represented the AFC in the Pro Bowl for the last 2 seasons, Ravens’ Morgan Cox. Patrick Peterson will handle the primary punt return duties, while RB Alex Collins handles the kick returns.

Leading this All-SEC team as head coach will be former 9th-round pick of the 49ers in the 1983 draft, out of the University of Florida, Mike Mularkey

3 roster spots filled, 0 left

$4.074M Spent | $180K Left

The Starting 22

Due to the SEC headquarters location, I’ve named this team the Birmingham Tigers.

Offense QB Dak Prescott RB Leonard Fournette Z Julio Jones X Mike Evans Slot Odell Beckham Jr. TE Jordan Reed LT Jason Peters LG Chance Warmack C Ben Jones RG Trai Turner RT Andrew Whitworth

Defense DE Charles Johnson NT Fletcher Cox DT Sheldon Richardson Sam Shane Ray Mike C.J. Mosley Will Karlos Dansby Jack Jadeveon Clowney CB Patrick Peterson CB Johnathan Joseph SS Landon Collins FS Eric Berry

Team Breakdown

School # of Players Alabama 6 Arkansas 4 Auburn 4 Florida 4 Georgia 5 Kentucky 0 LSU 11 Mississippi St 2 Missouri 5 Ole Miss 2 South Carolina 2 Tennessee 3 Texas A&M 5 Vanderbilt 0

Topping the list is LSU with 11 alumnus on the roster. Second, we have Alabama with 6. And tied for third, we have Texas A&M, Georgia, and Missouri with 5 each. 2 teams ended up with no alums on the roster, Vanderbilt and Kentucky, with Steelers’ OLB Bud Dupree just missing the cut.

As for the NFL teams included in this roster, the Baltimore Ravens have the most SEC love with 5 players on this roster. The Redskins, Eagles, and Cardinals each came in with 4. A surprising 7 teams ended up with no representatives on the roster, Bears, 49ers, Saints, Bills, Browns, Chargers, and Raiders.