The Atlantic Coast Conference had 26 players chosen in the 2016 NFL Draft, which concluded three days of activity Saturday in Chicago, Illinois.
The 26 selections gives the ACC 115 draft picks over the past three years, the second-highest total by any conference during that period.
Clemson led the way for the ACC with nine selections, the most for the Tigers since the Draft went to just seven rounds in 1994 and the school’s second-highest total ever. Clemson had 10 players drafted in 1983.
The nine selections for Clemson was the second-highest total by any school in the draft, trailing only Ohio State which had 12 players drafted.
With the nine selections, Clemson is the only ACC team to have had had four or more players chosen in the Draft in each of the last eight years. The Tigers also had four of the top 57 players chosen in the draft.
Eleven ACC teams had at least one player selected. Clemson (9), was followed by NC State (3), while Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami and Virginia Tech had two draftees each and Louisville, Pitt, Syracuse and Virginia had one player chosen.
Florida State CB Jalen Ramsey was the first ACC player chosen in the draft, being selected fifth overall in the first round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was followed in the first round by Sheldon Rankins of Louisville (12, New Orleans), Clemson’s Shaq Lawson (19, Buffalo) and Miami’s Artie Burns (25, Pittsburgh).
The Seminoles, who had set a seven-round draft record with 28 players chosen over the 2013-15 Drafts, had only two players chosen, but both were the first players chosen at their positions.
Ramsey was the first defensive back chosen in the draft, while his teammate, PK Roberto Aguayo, who was tabbed 59th overall in the second round by Tampa Bay, was the first kicker or punter chosen.
Clemson DE Kevin Dodd was selected second in the second round, the 33rd overall pick by the Tennessee Titans, giving the ACC three defensive ends (Lawson, Rankins, Dodd) chosen in the first two rounds of the draft. Since 2006, the league has had 27 defensive ends or outside linebackers—the glamour positions of defense–chosen in the first or second rounds of the draft, the most of any conference.
Several teams extended long consecutive draft streaks. When Miami CB Artie Burns was taken in the first round, he continued the Hurricanes streak to 42 consecutive years with at least one player taken in the NFL Draft. Clemson and Virginia have each had a player taken in the draft in each of the last 33 years, while Virginia Tech’s streak was extended to 23 straight years.
When Virginia Tech’s Kendall Fuller was drafted in the third round as the 84th overall selection by the Washington Redskins, he became the fourth Fuller brother to have played at Virginia Tech and be drafted into the NFL. Older brother Vince was a fourth-round pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2005. Older brothers Corey, who was selected in the sixth round by Detroit in 2013 and Kyle, who was tabbed on the first round by the Chicago Bears in 2014, have also been drafted.
Syracuse had the second punter chosen in the draft when P Riley Dixon was selected 228 overall in the seventh round by Denver.
Among NC State’s three draftees, QB Jacoby Brissett was the fourth signal caller chosen, trailing only California’s Jared Goff and North Dakota State’s Cam Wentz, who were selected 1-2 in the first round, and Penn State’s Christian Hackenburg, who was taken on the second round. Brissett, selected in the third round, was the 91st overall pick, selected by New England. Joining Brissett from the Wolfpack were G Joe Thuney (78th overall, New England) and CB Juston Burris (118th, New York Jets).
In all, the ACC had four players chosen in the first round, six in the second, four in the third, three in the fourth, one in the fifth, three in the sixth round and five in the seventh.
A very young league in 2015, the ACC returns many of its top performers in 2016. The ACC is set to return nine of its top 10 rushers; nine of its top 10 passers; nine of its top 10 in receiving yardage and eight of its top ten in total offense. The ACC had a league-record seven 1,000-yard rushers in 2015 and all seven return in 2016.
2016 ACC NFL First Round Draftees
Rd No. Player School Pos. Hometown NFL team
1st 5 Jalen Ramsey Florida State CB Smyrna, Tenn. Jacksonville Jaguars
1st 12 Sheldon Rankins Louisville DE Covington, Ga. New Orleans Saints
1st 19 Shaq Lawson Clemson DE Central, S.C. Buffalo Bills
1st 25 Artie Burns Miami CB Miami, Fla. Pittsburgh Steelers
2nd 33 Kevin Dodd Clemson DE Taylors, S.C. Tennessee Titans
2nd 54 Mackensie Alexander Clemson CB Immokalee, Fla. Minnesota Vikings
2nd 55 Tyler Boyd Pitt WR Clairton, Pa. Cincinnati Bengals
2nd 57 T.J. Green Clemson S Sylacauga, Ala. Indianapolis Colts
2nd 59 Roberto Aguayo Florida State PK Mascotte, Fla. Tampa Bay Bucs
2nd 62 Adam Gotsis Georgia Tech DT Abbotsford, Australia Denver Broncos
3rd 78 Joe Thuney NC State G Centerville, Ohio New England Patriots
3rd 84 Kendall Fuller Virginia Tech CB Baltimore, Md. Washington Redskins
3rd 91 Jacoby Brissett NC State QB West Palm Beach, Fla. New England Patriots
3rd 98 Justin Simmons Boston College S Stuart, Fla. Denver Broncos
4th 109 B.J. Goodson Clemson LB Lamar, S.C. New York Giants
4th 118 Juston Burris NC State CB Raleigh, N.C. New York Jets
4th 124 Deon Bush Miami S Miami, Fla. Chicago Bears
5th 166 D.J. Reader Clemson DT Greensboro, N.C. Houston Texans
6th 178 D.J. White Georgia Tech CB McDonough, Ga. Kansas City Chiefs
6th 203 Dadi Nicolas Virginia Tech OLB Delray Beach, Fla. Kansas City Chiefs
6th 209 Maurice Canady Virginia CB Richmond, Va. Baltimore Ravens
7th 228 Riley Dixon Syracuse P Blossvale, N.Y. Denver Broncos
7th 232 Steven Daniels Boston College ILB Cincinnati, Ohio Washington Redskins
7th 241 Charone Peake Clemson WR Moore, S.C. New York Jets
7th 244 Jayron Kearse Clemson S Ft. Myers, Fla. Minnesota Vikings
7th 247 Zac Brooks Clemson RB Jonesboro, Ark. Seattle Seahawks
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