NFL Draft: Strange day for the Big 12

The Big 12 dominated the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Three of the top four picks were Sooners and five of the top six were Big 12 players: OU’s Sam Bradford, G.K. McCoy and Trent Williams; Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh and OSU’s Russell Okung. Later in the round, came Texas’ Earl Thomas, Missouri’s Sean Weatherspoon and OSU’s Dez Bryant.

The SEC dominated the 2011 draft’s first round, with five of the first six picks.

But the Big 12 wasn’t too shabby. Eight Big 12 players went in the first round Thursday. But they came from unlikely precincts.

For the first time since 1998, neither OU nor Texas had a first-round draft pick. And of the eight Big 12 players taken, seven came from the North Division or Baylor.

Only Texas A&M’s Von Miller came from one of the South Division strongholds. Also drafted in the first round were Baylor’s Phil Taylor and Danny Watkins, Missouri’s Aldon Smith and Blaine Gabbert, Colorado’s Nate Solder and Jimmy Smith, and Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara.

This isn’t a long-term trend. Justin Blackmon, Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles, Brandon Weeden, Travis, Markelle Martin. Expect some Sooners and Cowboys to return to the first round, and maybe even a Longhorn.