AAC Matches Record With 19 Players Chosen in 2022 NFL Draft

[PonyPride]

From the American Athletic Conference:

American Athletic Conference Matches Record With 19 Players Chosen in 2022 NFL Draft

IRVING, Texas – Highlighted by two SMU Mustangs, two first-round picks and 10 selections in the first two days, 19 players from the American Athletic Conference were chosen in the 2022 NFL Draft, matching the conference’s record total from the 2021 draft.

SMU wide receiver Danny Gray was chosen in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers, while tight end Grant Calcaterra was selected in the sixth by the Philadelphia Eagles.

The 38 players taken in the last two drafts are the most for The American in a two-year stretch in the league's nine-year history. The American’s 19 draft selections in 2022 ranked sixth among NCAA conferences, two behind the ACC’s total of 21.

Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner was selected by the New York Jets with the No. 4 overall pick, marking The American’s highest draft selection for a defensive player in league history. Tulsa offensive tackle Tyler Smith was chosen by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 24, giving Tulsa a first-round pick in each of the last two drafts.

Gardner and Smith became The American’s 14th and 15th first-round picks since the conference’s formation in 2013. The 2022 draft marks the fifth time in nine seasons that the American Athletic Conference has had multiple first-round picks.

The American had three players chosen in the second round and five in the third round, giving the conference 10 picks in the first two days of the draft, far surpassing the previous best of six for the league (in 2017 and 2018).

NFL clubs selected three players from The American in the fourth round, one in the fifth round, four in the sixth round and one in the seventh round.

Cincinnati led the way for The American with nine players selected from last year’s conference champion and College Football Playoff semifinalist, ranking third among all programs (Georgia – 15, LSU – 10).

Six of the 11 American Athletic Conference schools produced at least one pick in this year's draft, while five schools - Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis, SMU and Tulsa - had multiple picks. Seventeen of the NFL’s 32 clubs selected at least one American Athletic Conference player, while Memphis remains the only American Athletic Conference school to have a player chosen in all nine NFL drafts since the conference’s formation.

The Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers were the only NFL teams to draft multiple American Athletic Conference players.

[PNW_Stang]

I really like the conference, the way it currently is. Don’t care too much about a few of the eastern schools, but overall it’s been solid. Too bad this is the last year.