All 31 players selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft came from Power Five schools as the SEC and Big Ten tied for the most players selected with nine apiece. Behind them with six players was the Big 12, which tied the Big Ten by having players selected from six different schools.
The representation of exclusively Power Five players in the first round comes just one year after players from AAC schools like Cincinnati, Tulsa were taken in the first round in addition to former FCS players from Chattanooga and Northern Iowa.
Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State led the way in team representation with three players apiece picked in the first round while Iowa and Clemson also had two players picked. This marked the first year in which the first 15 players all came from the same three conferences, and that number eventually grew to 16 before the New England Patriots took cornerback Christian Gonzalez of Oregon with the No. 17 pick. Until then, all draftees came from the Big 12, Big Ten or SEC.
It was a banner night for the Iowa schools as Iowa State saw a player picked in the first round for the first time since 1973 when EDGE rusher Will McDonald IV went No. 15 overall to the Jets. Iowa also saw its tally of first-round picks from the past five years rise to six with EDGE rusher Lukas Van Ness and linebacker Jack Campbell taken in the first round.
Here's 2023 NFL Draft broken down by school at the conclusion of the first round.
2022 NFL Draft picks by schools, conferences
SEC (9)
- Alabama — 3
- Georgia — 3
- Florida — 1
- Tennessee — 1
- Mississippi State — 1
Big Ten (9)
- Ohio State — 3
- Iowa — 2
- Michigan — 1
- Illinois — 1
- Maryland — 1
- Northwestern — 1
Big 12 (6)
- Iowa State —1
- TCU — 1
- Texas — 1
- Texas Tech — 1
- Oklahoma — 1
- Kansas State — 1
ACC (4)
- Clemson — 2
- Boston College — 1
- Pitt — 1
