The Highlights of the 2020 NFL Draft: From the Perspective of a College Football Fan

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After what I would call a very successful 2020 NFL Draft, here are the things that caught my eye as a college football fan:

  • It is no surprise that the SEC was the King of the NFL Draft with 63 picks (almost 25% of the 255 overall draft picks!), with the Big Ten being a distant second with 48 picks

  • On the other end of the spectrum, the MAC had a total of two draft picks (one in the 5th round from Ball State and the other in the 7th round from Miami Ohio)

  • Six picks came from the FCS, with the earliest being Jeremy Chinn (Southern Illinois), the last pick of the second round

  • One of the biggest surprises has to be the Patriots picking a Division II player (one of two picks in the division) with the 37th overall pick (early 2nd round) – Kyle Dugger from Lenoir-Rhyne, a small school in Hickory, North Carolina

  • St. John’s OT Ben Bartch, selected in the fourth round by Jacksonville, made sure that all Divisions were called at least once this year

  • This year’s Mr. Irrelevant was Tae Crowder, a former running back now linebacker from Georgia who is exceptional at reading the quarterback

  • LSU had 14 draft picks (including Long Snapper Blake Ferguson), which tied Ohio State’s 2004 class for the most picks since the draft was reduced to seven rounds

  • Joe Borrow was the third straight transfer quarterback to win the Heisman, then be selected No. 1 overall in the draft – but he was the first to win a national championship

  • Underclassmen made up 75% of the first round, and almost 60 of the second round

  • In a believe it or not moment – Florida International had more players drafted (2) than Florida State – who only had one draft pick

  • Nine Power 5 schools went without having a player called:  Ole Miss, Arizona, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Illinois, Northwestern, Rutgers, and Duke

  • Since the start of the “New Draft Era” in 1967, four schools have had at least one player drafted every year:  Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, and USC

  • In fact, Michigan State has had a player selected in 80 straight NFL Drafts – dating all the way back to 1940

Good Luck to all those selected – may your dreams become a reality!