Lonely island. The Big 12 is only power conference without a top 10 pick in NFL Draft
For just the fourth time in its history, the Big 12 didn’t have a top 10 pick in the NFL Draft. Or a top 15 pick for that matter.
Thursday night saw every other Power Five conference land a player in the top 10, headlined by LSU quarterback and Davey O’Brien and Heisman Award winner Joe Burrow going first overall to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Burrow was one of six SEC players drafted in the top 10 — Georgia’s Andrew Thomas (4th, Giants), Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa (5th, Dolphins), Auburn’s Derrick Brown (7th, Panthers), Florida’s CJ Henderson (9th, Jaguars) and Alabama’s Jedrick Wills (10th, Browns).
The Big Ten had two players taken with Ohio State defensive end Chase Young and cornerback Jeff Okudah going Nos. 2-3. The Pac-12 had its first player go when the Los Angeles Chargers took Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert with the sixth overall pick, and the ACC got on the board with Clemson’s Isaiah Simmons (8th, Cardinals).
The Big 12 had to wait until pick No. 17 for its first player to be selected, Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb by the Dallas Cowboys. Lamb was the third wide receiver taken in the draft following Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III (12th, Raiders) and Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy (15th, Broncos).
The Big 12 ended up having five players selected on Thursday night. Along with Lamb, TCU’s Jalen Reagor (21st, Eagles), Oklahoma’s Kenneth Murray (23rd, Chargers), Texas Tech’s Jordyn Brooks (27th, Seahawks) and TCU’s Jeff Gladney (31st, Vikings).
Along with 2020, the Big 12 also didn’t have top 10 picks in 2000, 2008 and 2016. Lamb going 17th overall was the Big 12’s lowest player selected since Kansas’ Aqib Talib went 20th overall in 2008.
The Big 12 produced the top overall picks the previous two drafts, courtesy of consecutive Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks out of Oklahoma in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
Before Mayfield and Murray were No. 1 picks, the Big 12 sneaked into the top 10 in 2017 when the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to draft Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes (a pick that has paid off).
The longest the Big 12 has had to wait for a player to be drafted is 20th overall in 2000 (Oklahoma’s Stockar McDougle) and 2008 (Talib).
McDougle had an eight-year career, and that 2000 draft featured future Pro Bowl players from Big 12 schools such as Nebraska safety Mike Brown and Texas A&M standout returner Dante Hall.
Talib, meanwhile, has had a successful career with five Pro Bowl berths and that 2008 draft also featured Pro Bowl players such as Kansas State’s Jordy Nelson and Texas’ Jamaal Charles.
This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 8:36 PM.
