re: Braden Smith gets 4 year 72 million extension

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Corch, you are really killing the narrative here man.

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He's really not. Derrick Brown and Noah Igbinoghene, drafted in 2020, were our first 1st round picks since 2014 (Greg Robinson and Dee Ford). There were literally 5 drafts in between the 2014 and 2020 drafts. Five whole drafts without a 1st round pick for an elite SEC program. That 2020 draft was sandwiched in between two other drafts (2019 and 2021) wherein our highest pick came out of the 3rd round.

His draft record basically mirrors his production on the field: every 4 or so years he has an elite season, and every 4 or so years he sends a 1st round pick or two to the NFL. That might be impressive for a school like Kentucky, but it's entirely average for a program of our caliber that "supposedly" recruited well (hint: they actually didn't, as I've been repeating ad-nauseum).

Let's look at Vanderbilt since 2017:

2017: Zach Cunningham drafted in the 2nd round (drafted higher than any Auburn player)
2018: Oren Burks drafted in the 3rd round
2019: Joejuan Williams drafted in the 2nd round (drafted higher than any Auburn player)
2020: Ke'Shawn Vaughn drafted in the 3rd round
2021: Dayo Odeyingbo drafted in the 2nd round (drafted higher than any Auburn player)

In 3 out of the last 5 drafts, a Vanderbilt player has been drafted higher than any Auburn player.

Again, this is the definition of mediocrity.