Big 12 Fails to Produce a First-Round Pick for First Time in Conference History

The Big 12 was shut out Thursday night in the first 32 selections of the 2021 NFL draft.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

We're not exactly in the golden age of Big 12 football with the 2021 season on the horizon. The conference did not have a participant in the 2020 College Football Playoff, and it was similarly absent from the first round of the 2021 NFL draft on Thursday.

No Big 12 players were selected among the first 32 picks Thursday night, marking the first year in conference history without a first-round pick. Meanwhile, 12 SEC players heard their names called at the podium in Cleveland. 

Each of the other four Power 5 conferences generated multiple first-round picks Thursday night. The SEC led all conferences while the Big Ten finished second with seven players picked. Former BYU and new Jets quarterback Zach Wilson marked the lone selection from an independent school, while the 49ers drafted FCS product Trey Lance out of North Dakota State. 

Final tally of picks by conference from 1st-round of #NFLDraft2021:

SEC (12)
B10 (7)
ACC (6)
P12 (3)
AAC (2)
Indy (1)
FCS (1)

— Matt Murschel (@osmattmurschel) April 30, 2021

Thursday's selections marked a historic low for the Big 12, as it is now the first power conference to not have a first-round pick since the Big East in 2006.