Texas A&M Football: Has addition of Aggies benefited SEC over the years?

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LSU defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson, a Texas native, was selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. /

NFL draft selections

The SEC has led all conferences with players selected in the NFL Draft for 14 years in a row. In the 2006 NFL Draft, 37 SEC players were selected compared to 51 from the ACC and 41 from the Big Ten.

Texas A&M players entered the NFL Draft in 2013 for the first time as SEC (instead of Big 12) products. In the eight NFL Drafts between 2013 and 2020, 84 SEC players were drafted in the first round (an average of 10.5 per year). Between 2005 and 2012, only 65 SEC players were drafted in the first round (8.2 per year).

From 2013-2020, NFL teams drafted 450 SEC players (an average of 56.25 players per year). From 2005-2012, NFL teams drafted 322 SEC players (40.25 players per year).

Of course, Texas A&M itself has contributed its share of players to the total number of SEC NFL draftees. NFL teams have drafted 30 Aggies players in the past eight years. Missouri, too, has seen 19 players drafted since joining the SEC in 2012.

Among first-round picks in the past five NFL Drafts, four were SEC players born in Texas — LSU’s K’Lavon Chaisson (No. 20 in 2020), Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett (No. 1 in 2017), LSU’s Jamal Adams (No. 6 in 2017), and Texas A&M’s Germain Ifedi (No. 31 in 2016).

Since the 2012 NFL Draft, the trend is clear: the addition of Texas A&M (and Missouri, too) has significantly increased the amount of next-level talent in the SEC.

Notes from Pro Football Reference:

Total SEC players drafted:

2020 – 63
2019 – 64
2018 – 53
2017 – 53
2016 – 51
2015 – 54
2014 – 49
2013 – 63
2012 – 42
2011 – 38
2010 – 49
2009 – 37
2008 – 35
2007 – 42
2006 – 42
2005 – 37

First-round NFL draft picks from SEC:

2005 – 10
2006 – 4
2007 – 11
2008 – 6
2009 – 8
2010 – 7
2011 – 10
2012 – 9
2013 -12
2014 – 11
2015 – 7
2016 – 8
2017 – 12
2018 – 10
2019 – 9
2020 – 15