Skip to main content
Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Myles Garrett leads parade of 11 SEC players drafted in first round

Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett puts on a Cleveland Browns hat after being taken as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. He was witih family and fariends at Terre Verde Golf Course in Arlington, Texas.
Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett puts on a Cleveland Browns hat after being taken as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. He was witih family and fariends at Terre Verde Golf Course in Arlington, Texas. Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett puts on a Cleveland Browns hat after being taken as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. He was witih family and fariends at Terre Verde Golf Course in Arlington, Texas.

By David Paschall 4 min read

The Southeastern Conference had another profound impact on the NFL draft, matching the record for first-round selections by a league.

Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett was the top overall pick Thursday night in Philadelphia, leading a parade of 12 former SEC players selected in the first round. With Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster going 31st to the 49ers, the SEC equaled the Atlantic Coast Conference’s 12 first-round selections in the 2006 draft, which the SEC matched in 2013.

Garrett entered Thursday widely expected to be picked first by the Cleveland Browns, who tabbed the 6-foot-4, 272-pounder who compiled 32.5 sacks in three seasons with the Aggies.

“He is very deserving and worthy of this honor,” Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said in a released statement, “and he has earned being the first Aggie to ever be drafted No. 1 overall in the NFL draft.”

The Aggies had been close to producing the top overall pick, with outside linebacker Von Miller going No. 2 in the 2011 draft and offensive tackle Luke Joeckel going No. 2 in 2013.