April 24, 2008

• The ACC and the NFL Draft (in pdf)

2008 NFL Pre-Draft Notes

• The ACC has had the first defensive player chosen in each of the past two NFL Drafts. NC State's Mario Williams was the fi rst overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans, while Clemson's Gaines Adams was the 4th overall selection and the fi rst defensive player chosen in last year's Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• The ACC has had the first defensive player chosen in the NFL Draft in three of the past six seasons.  Besides NC State's Mario Williams in 2006 and Clemson's Gaines Adams in 2007, North Carolina's Julius Peppers was the fi rst defender chosen in the 2002 NFL Draft (Carolina Panthers).
• In each of the past two seasons, the ACC has had two of the top four players chosen in the NFL Draft. In 2006, NC State's Mario Williams was the first overall selection and Virginia's D'Brickashaw Ferguson was the fourth pick (N.Y. Jets). In 2007, Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson was the second overall pick (Detroit Lions) and Clemson's Gaines Adams was the 4th selection.
• The ACC is the first Conference in over a decade to have two players selected among the first four players chosen in the NFL Draft in back-to-back years. The last time it occurred, the Big 10 achieved the feat in 1996 and 1997. No conference has ever had two players selected among the top four picks in three consecutive NFL Drafts.
• Over the past two seasons, the ACC has had more players chosen on the first round of the NFL Draft than any other conference with 18 including a total 12 chosen in the 2006 Draft--a record for any Conference. In fi rst round selections during this time, the SEC was second with 15, followed by the Big 10 (14) and the Big 12 (7).
• Over the past two seasons, the ACC has had more players chosen in the NFL draft--82 total draftees--than any other conference in the country. During this time the SEC was second with 78 selections followed by the Big Ten (73), the PAC-10 (60), the Big 12 (57) and the Big East (27).
• Miami, which had three players chosen on the first round of last year's draft, enters this year's Draft with a remarkable string of 13 consecutive years with a player chosen in the fi rst round. Since the Hurricanes' Warren Sapp was chosen in the fi rst round of the 1995 NFL Draft, Miami has seen 32 players selected in the first round including six players chosen in 2004 and 15 players chosen in the fi rst round in a three-year period from 2002 through 2004.
• In each of the past 21 years, or since the 1987 Draft, Miami has had at least one player chosen in the top three rounds of the NFL Draft including 44 first-round selections.
• Since 1993 Florida State has had more players chosen in the NFL Draft than any other school (97).
• In each of the past 20 years, or since the 1988 Draft, Florida State has had at least one player chosen in the top three rounds of the NFL Draft including 28 first-round selections.
• In all, the ACC has seen 210 players chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft and has had 2,124 players from current ACC schools to be selected in the NFL Draft.
• Miami has had at least one player in every NFL Draft since 1974, a string of 33 consecutive years, the current longest streak in the ACC. The next longest streak belongs jointly to Virginia and Florida State, who each have had at least one player chosen in every NFL Draft since 1983, a span of 24 straight years. North Carolina had its streak of 36 straight years with at least one player chosen in the NFL Draft end last April. Virginia Tech (14), Maryland (13) and NC State (11) all enter the 2007 NFL Draft with signifi cant streaks with at least one player chosen for the NFL Draft in consecutive seasons.
• In all, current ACC teams have had a total of six players chosen as the first overall selection in the NFL Draft, with the most recent being NC State's Mario Williams, who was tabbed fi rst in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans. Miami (Vinny Testaverde, 1987, Tampa Bay; and Russell Maryland, 1991, Dallas) and Virginia Tech (Bruce Smith, 1985, Buffalo and Michael Vick, 2001, Atlanta) had two top selections each while Virginia (Bill Dudley, 1942, Steelers) had one. Also, NC State's Roman Gabriel, the No. 2 overall selection in the 1962 draft was chosen No. 1 in the AFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.
• Miami has had 11 players taken as the 7th overall pick or higher in the NFL Draft. Florida State is second with 9, followed by Maryland (7), North Carolina and NC State with fi ve each and Virginia with four players tabbed 7th or better. Miami has actually had seven (7) players taken as the first, second or third overall pick.
• The ACC has had two of its players chosen among the top four selections five times in the 69-year history of the NFL Draft including the 2006 and 2007 NFL Drafts. The Conference also managed the feat in 1975 when Maryland's Randy White was taken second by the Dallas Cowboys and North Carolina's Ken Huff was chosen third by the Baltimore Colts, and in 1956 (Bob Pellegrini, Maryland, 3rd; Ed Vereb, Maryland, 4th) and 1940 (George McAfee, Duke, 2nd; Banks McFadden, Clemson, 4th).