NC State, the ACC and the NFL Draft: Part II

ACC Blog

August, 13, 2008

Aug 13

5:29

PM ET

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By Heather Dinich

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

I heard a rumor some NC State fans were a little disgruntled because I didn't mention Philip Rivers in connection with a segment of Tuesday's blog post that referenced the ACC and the NFL.

There's a reason for that.

I wanted to mention the league's highest picks.

I was looking at this chart in the ACC media guide to find out the top NFL draft pick at each school, which would in turn reveal the quarterbacks selected highest.

Take a look:

NFL Draft Top Selections for Each Current ACC Team
School	Player	Overall Pick	Year	NFL Team
Boston College	Matt Ryan, QB	3	2008	Atlanta Falcons
Clemson	Banks McFadden, HB	4	1940	Brooklyn Dodgers
Clemson	Gaines Adams, DE	4	2007	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Duke	George McAfee, RB	2	1940	Philadelphia Eagles
Florida State	Andre Wadsworth, DE	3	1998	Phoenix Cardinals
Georgia Tech	Calvin Johnson, WR	2	2007	Detroit Lions
Maryand	Randy White, DE	2	1975	Dallas Cowboys
Miami	Vinny Testaverde, QB	1	1987	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
North Carolina	Ken Willard, RB	2	1965	San Francisco 49ers
North Carolina	Lawrence Taylor, LB	2	1981	New York Giants
North Carolina	Julius Peppers, DE	2	2002	Carolina Panthers
NC State	Mario Williams, DE	1	2006	Houston Texans
NC State	Roman Gabriel, QB	1	1962	Oakland Raiders (AFL)
Virginia	Bill Dudley, RB	1	1942	Pittsburgh Steelers
Virginia Tech	Bruce Smith, DE	1	1985	Buffalo Bills
Virginia Tech	Michael Vick, QB	1	2001	Atlanta Falcons
Wake Forest	Norm Snead, QB	2	1961	Washington Redskins

The whole point is that the ACC has earned a reputation as a defensive league, and it's reflected in the NFL draft.

Check out these numbers:

Of the ACC's 114 NFL draft picks from 2006-2008, 63 or 55.2 percent have been defenders.
73 percent have been defenders and offensive linemen.
There have been two quarterbacks.
8 wide receivers/tight ends
7 running backs
4 punters/kickers

Is this league loaded with talent? No question. Just not at the offensive skill positions. Does that translate into winning? Ask Frank Beamer. His team had the most players drafted over the past three years -- 20 -- and five of them were receivers/tight ends, four were in the secondary, and one was a running back. No wonder he's won two ACC titles in the past four seasons.

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