Pac-12 football: Breaking down the winners and losers from the NFL Draft

The conference trailed in Power Five peers in total selections, but there's a reason for that: Many of its best players are coming back to school.

The Pac-12 had a meek start and modest finish to what was generally a forgettable NFL Draft in the penultimate year of its current existence.

The conference produced fewer first-round picks and total selections than its Power Five peers.

But the weak April suggests a strong September. The Pac-12 has the highest percentage of returning all-conference honorees among the power leagues.

Of the 51 players named first- or second-team all-conference at the end of the 2022 season, 25 are set to return next season. No other league comes close, according to data provided by the Pac-12.

Returning all-conference players (first- and second-team).

Pac-12: 25 of 51 (49 percent)
SEC: 21 of 55 (38.1 percent)
ACC: 20 of 53 (37.7 percent)
Big 12: 21 of 59 (35.6 percent)
Big Ten: 18 of 52 (34.6 percent)

(Note: All-conference players who transferred within that league were counted as returnees.)

No school better reflects the divergent present and future than Washington, which failed to produce a draft pick for the first time since 2009 but has a loaded roster for the ’23 season.

Granted, the wave of returning plays — both in Seattle and across the footprint — doesn’t guarantee success in the crucial early-season non-conference matchups. But it adds context to the results from this NFL Draft and frames the outlook for the 2024 version.

If the Pac-12 sputters in September, and again next April, something will have gone very wrong.

To the 2023 NFL Draft winners and losers …

Winner: SEC. The conference dominated once again, with more total picks and picks-per-school than any other league. Alabama and Georgia led all schools with 10 selections, followed by Michigan with nine.

The totals:

SEC: 62 selections (4.4 per school)
Big Ten: 54 selections (3.9 per school)
ACC: 32 selections (2.3 per school)
Big 12: 30 selections (3.0 per school)
Pac-12: 27 selections (2.3 per school)

Loser: Texas A&M. The Aggies finished fourth nationally in recruiting in 2019 and sixth in 2020, according to the 247Sports database. Those two classes included 31 players with blue-chip labels (i.e.m four or five stars). Yet the Aggies had just three players selected — same as Minnesota, Iowa State and Kentucky.

Winner: winding paths. The Pac-12’s three-first round selections reflect the new era of college football: Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez started his career at Colorado; USC’s Jordan Addison starred for Pittsburgh before transferring; and Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid began his journey as a walk-on at the University of San Diego.

Loser: Half the Pac-12. Arizona State, Cal, Washington State, Washington, Arizona and Colorado were unable to even match the draft production of Appalachian State, Tulane and Eastern Michigan, which claimed two selections each.

Winner: Oregon. The Ducks led all Pac-12 schools with six selections, including a first-rounder for the fourth consecutive year: Gonzalez went No. 17 to New England, following in the Day One shoes of Justin Herbert, Penei  Sewell and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

Loser: Stanford. The Cardinal generated five draft picks, the second-highest total in the Pac-12 (and on the second tier nationally). And you know what that talent helped produce? An atrocious season.

Winners: Utah and Oregon State. The conference’s anti-Stanfords generated 10-win seasons despite a low number of picks — the Utes had three, the Beavers two — and strengthened the case that they do more with what they have than any programs in the Pac-12.

Loser: Cal. It’s difficult to fathom, but the Bears have gone five consecutive years without an offensive player being drafted. (Or maybe it’s not difficult to fathom.)

Winner: Cal. However, the Bears had a defensive back selected (Daniel Scott) for the fourth consecutive draft.

Loser: Arizona State. The final draft of the Herm Edwards era resulted in just one selection, a fitting conclusion to the chaotic, misguided, grab-bag nature of recruiting under Edwards and former “mastermind” Antonio Pierce.

Winners: Pac-12 cornerbacks. The conference isn’t known nationally as a haven for cornerbacks, but the single position was responsible for five of the 27 players selected.

Loser: Arizona. No draft picks for the third time in the past four years. If that trend continues next spring, let the Jedd Fisch-era handwringing begin.

Winner: Zach Charbonnet. The Pac-12’s best all-around running back since Christian McCaffrey was picked in the second round (by the Seahawks), a well-deserve placement for Charbonnet despite the low draft value associated with his position.

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