SEC Blog

          Looking back at 2010 first-round predictions

          Now that the NFL draft is over, I thought it'd be fun to take a look at how last year's first-round predictions turned out.

          Shortly after the 2010 NFL draft, ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay predicted the SEC would have eight selections in the first round in his first 2011 mock draftInsider. He ended up being pretty close as the SEC had 10 players go in the first round.

          He also had Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck going first, which probably would have been the case if he had decided to enter the draft. Instead, he opted to stay in school and Auburn's Cam Newton was taken by the Carolina Panthers with the first pick.

          McShay was close with his Marcell Dareus pick. He wrote that the Alabama defensive tackle would go second to the St. Louis Rams, but Dareus went third to the Buffalo Bills.

          He also had Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallet going 15th to the San Francisco 49ers and Ole Miss defensive tackle Jerrell Powe landing with the Denver Broncos at No. 13. Mallett was taken by the New England Patriots in the third round, while Powe was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in sixth.

          Making these predictions isn't easy, so it's pretty impressive that he was able to predict six of his eight players to go in the first round.

          Here's what McShay predicted in 2010:

          • No. 2, St. Louis Rams: Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus

          • No. 7, New England Patriots: Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green

          • No. 13, Denver Broncos: Ole Miss defensive tackle Jerrell Powe

          • No. 15, San Francisco 49ers: Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett

          • No. 19, New York Giants: Alabama running back Mark Ingram

          • No. 24, Cincinnati Bengals: Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones

          • No. 27, Baltimore Ravens: LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson

          • No. 31, Indianapolis Colts: Florida offensive guard/center Mike Pouncey

          And here's how the first round turned out:

          • No. 1, Carolina Panthers: Auburn quarterback Cam Newton

          • No. 3, Buffalo Bills: Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus

          • No. 4, Cincinnati Bengals: Georgia receiver A.J. Green

          • No. 5, Arizona Cardinals: LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson

          • No. 6, Atlanta Falcons: Alabama receiver Julio Jones

          • No. 13, Detroit Lions: Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley

          • No. 15, Miami Dolphins: Florida offensive guard/center Mike Pouncey

          • No. 25, Seattle Seahawks: Alabama offensive guard James Carpenter

          • No. 28, New Orleans Saints: Alabama running back Mark Ingram

          • No. 32, Green Bay Packers: Mississippi State offensive tackle Derek Sherrod