Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
The SEC has fallen behind, and the rest of the country has caught up thanks to NIL. That’s a fair assessment on the field since they’ve failed to win a national title in the last three years or even play for one. Where that narrative dies a slow and painful death though is every year in the NFL Draft. The SEC has had the most players drafted every year for nearly two decades.
That annual process started up once again last week at the combine when 114 players from the league received an invite. That was 30 more than any other conference. Will that translate into having the most picks once again? That will take a month or two more to play out. In the meantime here are three players shooting up draft boards and potentially landing in the first round of this year’s draft.
Georgia OL Monroe Freeling
Nobody made themselves more money in Indianapolis than Freeling. He put up one of best all-around combines for an offensive lineman in the history of the event. His measurements were exactly what a prototypical left tackle should look like – 6-foot-7, 315 pounds with 34.75-inch arms. He excelled in the on-field events, as well as with a 33.5-inch vertical and a 1.71 ten yard split that ranked second at the position this year.
His overall RAS score was No. 2 all-time out of 1512 offensive tackles in the last 40 years of the combine. He went from being a fringe first rounder to a consensus top ten pick.
Monroe Freeling is a OT prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored an unofficial 9.99 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 2 out of 1512 OT from 1987 to 2026.
Pending agilities and bench, times unofficial.https://t.co/TsSacgEVNo pic.twitter.com/DutErsaTuh
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 1, 2026
Alabama QB Ty Simpson
The surprise from some folks around Simpson’s continued stock soaring is somewhat as comical as it is shocking. Simpson turned down an NIL package reportedly worth $4 to $6 million to enter the draft. He most likely wouldn’t have done that without a first round grade. His arm talent was on full display at the NFL Combine, and his interviews went extremely well.
The biggest thing that Simpson has going for him right now though is his health. Multiple reports came out after the Alabama season was over that Simpson was playing through multiple injuries and a lot of pain. Luckily none of the injuries are the type that can be long-term and/or detrimental to his draft stock. It may have limited his play at times in the last two months of the season, but his ability to play through it and still put out the kind of tape he was able to has made him a favorite among plenty around this year’s draft.
Alabama QB Ty Simpson: 30 Big Time Throws Last Season 🎯
🐘 Tied for the MOST in College Football@AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/UjdsuKO2r9
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 4, 2026
South Carolina DB Brandon Cisse
Cisse has shown that he is one of the most explosive defensive backs in the draft. At 6-foot-1 and long arms, he has ideal size for a boundary corner. As good as he was last year at South Carolina, he’s still scratching the surface of his potential. The 37 inch vertical and near 11 foot broad jump seem to have helped plant him in the back half of the first round across most mock drafts. Cisse would become the seventh South Carolina DB drafted in the last six years.
Brandon Cisse | CB | 6-0 189 LBS
Explosive, physical w/ press strength, long speed & downhill burst. Disrupts at the catch point and supports the run. Raw in zone with inconsistent instincts, tackling and ball skills.
Shades of: Coby Bryant pic.twitter.com/Cf1D2Lfe4s
— Price Carter (@priceacarter) March 2, 2026
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