The SEC is still a very good and tough football league, but the Big Ten is getting better
Arkansas football will not have an easy time in the SEC this season or in any future season. Even in the years when it is not at the height of its powers, the SEC is a rugged and deep football conference. The 2024 season was a good example. The conference had only three teams in the College Football Playoff, but three others just missed the playoff. The conference had several teams in the discussion. The 2024 season was very disappointing for the SEC, but even in a relatively bad year, a lot of teams had a chance to do something special.
The problem: Slippage continues to be a theme for the SEC, especially in comparison to the Big Ten, which has won three straight national championships.
"Only one player, however, from any of the 16 proud universities that make up the SEC, heard their name called in the first 10 picks of the draft—LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane, who the Chiefs moved up to select at No. 6. Even with the additions of strong programs in Texas and Oklahoma over the past couple years due to conference realignment, the SEC saw a decrease in first-round picks this year. Between the expanded College Football Playoff, NIL, transfer portal and coaching carousel, more programs are on the rise and more players are getting opportunities to become pro-ready at non-SEC schools.
"This is now being reflected in this year’s draft, where an increasing number of prospects are coming from other conferences and programs than the typical staple of schools such as LSU, Alabama and Georgia. The last time there were no SEC players taken in the top five of the draft was 2018, which saw Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (No. 1), Penn State’s Saquon Barkley (No. 2), USC’s Sam Darnold (No. 3), Ohio State’s Denzel Ward (No. 4) and NC State’s Bradley Chubb (No. 5) go in the top five. "
The Big Ten had the most first-round picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. This marked the first time since 2015 that the SEC did not have the most first-round picks of any college football conference.
Ohio State alone had four picks in the top 11. Indiana had two first-round picks, meaning that the Buckeyes and Hoosiers -- six first-round picks combined -- had nearly as many first-rounders as the whole SEC. That's alarming.
SEC football certainly isn't bad -- it's better than the Big 12 and ACC without question -- but the Big Ten is getting better. The SEC has to find a way to turn things around in 2026.