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Big Ten leads all conferences with 10 first-round picks in 2026 NFL Draft
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The Big Ten continued its rule over the rest of the college football, and there weren’t even any games involved or national championships to be won.
Instead, this dominance was all about the NFL Draft, because on Thursday night during the first round of the 2026 event in Pittsburgh, the conferenced that’s ruled college football for 3 years running now ruled the draft.
The Big Ten led the charge on Day 1 of the draft in primetime with 10 first-round selections. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza got the Big Ten ball rolling by being the first overall pick of the draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
And the Big Ten, which has captured the past 3 national championships, never stopped churning out the first-round picks after that, getting to double digit opening-round picks to lead the way.
The SEC finished second on the night with 7 picks in the first round, while the Big 12 and ACC tied for third place with 6 first-round picks each.
It was a rare Round 1 that the SEC had to take a backseat, with it being only the second time in the past 16 years that the SEC failed to have the most first-round picks.
The opening night of the draft belonged to the Big Ten like college football has during the fall and into January. The conference that has, for now at least, surpassed the SEC in terms of recent hardware continued that dominance on a late April Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
After it shows off its talent this weekend at the draft, the Big Ten will try to get back to dominating on the field this fall. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the odds for who will rule the powerhouse league in 2026:
