The best first-round pick from each SEC school in the NFL draft (Gridiron Now article)

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We’ve already discussed the worst first-round pick in the NFL draft from each SEC school. Now it’s time to look at the best first-round picks during the Super Bowl era.

Important to note: This is not the best NFL player from the school or even the best draft pick. It’s the best first-round pick, and everything being equal, if a player picked in the 20s has a career equal to that of a player picked in the top 10, we’re giving the edge to the player picked in the 20s. Our thinking: A player picked in the top 10 is expected to become a star; that’s not necessarily the case for a player picked in the 20s.

Here’s the list.

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Alabama

G John Hannah

The particulars: Drafted 4th in 1973 by the New England Patriots

The skinny: He played in 183 games in 13 seasons and started every one of them on his way to being possibly the best guard in NFL history. Hannah was an absolute mauler in the running game. He was a seven-time All-Pro and a nine-time Pro Bowler, and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991.

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Arkansas

DL Dan Hampton

The particulars: Drafted 4th in 1979 by the Chicago Bears

The skinny: Hampton was nicknamed “Danimal” because, it was said, he was half-animal. He played 12 seasons with the Bears, lining up at both tackle and end for some feared Chicago defenses. He was named an All-Pro once and was a four-time Pro Bowler. Those are relatively modest totals, but Hampton was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002. Hampton, who endured 10 knee surgeries while he was playing, was named to the NFL’s All-Decade team for the 1980s.

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Auburn

OT Willie Anderson

The particulars: Drafted 10th in 1996 by the Cincinnati Bengals

The skinny: Anderson played 13 seasons in the NFL (the first 12 for the Bengals, the last for Baltimore) and was a starter in all 13 of them; he was a left tackle as a rookie, then moved to the right side. He was a three-time All-Pro selection and a four-time Pro Bowler.

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Florida

RB Emmitt Smith

The particulars: Drafted 17th in 1990 by the Dallas Cowboys

The skinny: Some college coaches considered him too slow coming out of high school, and some NFL teams considered him too slow coming out of college. Oh, well. Smith rushed for a league-record 18,355 yards in his career and also is the all-time leader in rushing TDs with 164. He was a four-time All-Pro pick and an eight-time Pro Bowler. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.

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Georgia

CB Champ Bailey

The particulars: Drafted 7th in 1999 by the Washington Redskins

The skinny: He played 15 seasons and was a 12-time Pro Bowler. Bailey, who also was a three-time All-Pro, played in 215 games in his career and started 212 of them. He led the league with 10 interceptions in 2006 and finished with 52 career picks. Bailey was both a shutdown corner and an effective run defender; he had at least 60 tackles eight times in his career.

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Kentucky

DE Art Still

The particulars: Drafted 2nd in 1978 by the Kansas City Chiefs (Earl Campbell went first)

The skinny: Still played 12 NFL seasons (10 with Kansas City, two with Buffalo) and was a four-time Pro Bowler. He played in 167 NFL games and started 164 of them.

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LSU

G Alan Faneca

The particulars: Drafted 26th in 1998 by the Pittsburgh Steelers

The skinny: He played 13 NFL seasons and was active for 206 games in his career. He started 201 of those contests. He was a six-time All-Pro selection and a nine-time Pro Bowler and seems destined to become the second guard picked 26th overall to be inducted into the Hall of Fame; the first was Joe DeLamielleure (drafted in 1973, inducted in 2003).

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Mississippi State

WR Eric Moulds

The particulars: Drafted 24th in 1996 by the Buffalo Bills

The skinny: Moulds played 12 NFL seasons (10 with the Bills, one each with the Texans and Titans) and was a three-time Pro Bowler. He had one season with 100 receptions and four seasons with 1,000 receiving yards. Moulds holds the record for most receiving yards in a playoff game, with 240 (on nine catches vs. Miami in a playoff game from the 1998 season).

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Missouri

CB Roger Wehrli

The particulars: Drafted 19th in 1969 by the St. Louis Cardinals

The skinny: Wehrli was a Missouri native – he went to high school in tiny King City, which is about 85 miles north of Kansas City – who didn’t leave his home state for college or the NFL. He was a fixture in the Cardinals’ secondary for more than a decade and was a three-time All-Pro pick and a seven-time Pro Bowler. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

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Ole Miss

LB Patrick Willis

The particulars: Drafted 11th in 2007 by the San Francisco 49ers

The skinny: Willis played just eight NFL seasons and made the Pro Bowl in seven of them; he also was a five-time All-Pro selection, including as a rookie, when he had a career-high 135 tackles. Willis reached the 100-tackle plateau four times in his career, and also had 55 pass breakups and 16 forced fumbles. He surprisingly retired at age 29, following the 2014 season. He had played in 112 career games – and started every one of them.

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South Carolina

DE John Abraham

The particulars: Drafted 13th by the New York Jets in 2000

The skinny: He played 15 seasons, with three teams (New York, Atlanta and Arizona), and he made the Pro Bowl at each stop. Abraham made five Pro Bowls in all and also was a two-time All-Pro selection. He played in 192 career games (the most for any South Carolina alum) and had 133.5 career sacks, which ranks 12th in NFL history. He had eight seasons with double-digit sacks, including 2013 with Arizona, when he was 35 years old.

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Tennessee

QB Peyton Manning

The particulars: Drafted 1st overall in 1998 by the Indianapolis Colts

The skinny: He played 17 seasons and was a seven-time All-Pro pick (tied for the most for any quarterback in history) and a 14-time Pro Bowler (tied for the most for any player in history). He threw for 5,000 yards once and for 4,000 yards 14 times. He finished his career with 71,940 yards, the most in NFL history, and is the NFL career leader with 539 TD passes. His career completion percentage of 65.3 is fifth-best all-time.

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Texas A&M

OT Richmond Webb

The particulars: Drafted 9th in 1990 by the Miami Dolphins

The skinny: Webb spent the first part of his 13-year career protecting Dan Marino’s blindside and did that quite well. Webb was a two-time All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowler who was one of the league’s top left tackles in the 1990s.

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Vanderbilt

G/T Will Wolford

The particulars: Drafted 20th in 1986 by the Buffalo Bills

The skinny: He played 13 seasons, for three teams (Buffalo, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh), and he started all 191 games he appeared in. He was a three-time Pro Bowler (twice with the Bills, once with the Steelers) who started his career at right guard, moved to left tackle, then played left guard late in his career. Wolford started 20 postseason games in his career, which is 20th-most in NFL history.

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