Pac-12 Football relevant in 2018 NFL Draft

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference had 30 players selected in the 2018 NFL Draft, highlighted by four selections among the first 15 picks, which were the most by any conference.

USC quarterback Sam Darnold was the first of four Pac-12 players taken in the first round of the draft as the New York Jets tabbed Darnold with the third pick of the Draft. He was the seventh Trojan quarterback all-time to be selected in the first round, and the fourth to be selected among the top 10 picks since 2003 as he joins Mark Sanchez (2009, No. 5 – New York Jets), Matt Leinart (2006, No. 10 – Arizona Cardinals) and Carson Palmer (2003, No. 1 – Cincinnati Bengals).

UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen was the fifth Bruin quarterback all-time to be chosen in the first round of the NFL Draft as the Arizona Cardinals selected him at No. 10.  Only Troy Aikman was selected higher as the No. 1 overall pick in 1989.

For just the third time in Conference history, two Pac-12 quarterbacks were selected in the first round. Darnold and Rosen join the 1999 duo of Akili Smith, Oregon (No. 3 – Bengals) and Cade McNown, UCLA (No. 12 – Bears) and the 2003 pair of Carson Palmer, USC (No. 1 – Bengals) and Kyle Boller, California (No. 19 – Ravens). It was just the sixth time ever that multiple quarterbacks from the same conference were selected in the first round.

With WASHINGTON defensive tackle Vita Vea selected No. 12 and UCLA offensive tackle Kolton Mlller taken at No. 15, the Pac-12 had the most selections among the first 15 picks than any other conference. Vea became Washington’s sixth first round draft pick in the last six years and 25^th overall. Meanwhile, Miller and Rosen provide UCLA with multiple first round selections in the same draft for the first time since 1981. 

Draft Notes: Washington and UCLA led the Pac-12 with five draft picks each, while USC and STANFORD had four each … Eleven of the 12 Pac-12 members had at least one player selected in the draft with equal distribution of offensive (15) and defensive (15) players drafted … In terms of number of players selected per conference membership, the Pac-12 was third with 2.5 players drafted per member institution … The Pac-12 Conference had at least 30 players selected in the draft for the fifth consecutive year. Only the 14-team SEC and Big Ten Conferences can claim the same.

PAC-12 PLAYERS DRAFTED