Maryland Football: Big Ten dominates first round of NFL Draft

The NFL Draft may not have had a Big Ten flavor early on, but it certainly did when the dust settled.

The Midwest-based conference ended up seeing seven players picked in the opening round of Thursday’s draft in Philadelphia.

Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore was the highest Big Ten player as he came off the board at No. 11 to the New Orleans Saints. Lattimore was pegged by many draft analysts to go in the top five, but hamstring issues may have derailed his stock a little bit.

The Buckeyes also saw safety Malik Hooker go at No. 15 to the Indianapolis Colts.

One of the most shocking selections was cornerback Gaeron Conley go to the Oakland Raiders with the 24th overall pick. Conley was projected to be a top 15 selection before he was accused of sexual assault earlier in the week.

Just one pick later, Michigan had their first player selected in do-it-all defensive back Jabrill Peppers. Peppers was scooped up by the Cleveland Browns, who obtained the pick from the Houston Texans in an earlier first round trade.

The Wolverines also saw defensive Taco Charlton picked by the Dallas Cowboys at No. 28.

The first round saw two Big Ten players selected in the final three picks of the first day. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt went to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 30 and offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk was taken by the Saints with the final selection of Day 1.

There could be even more Big Ten players selected in the second round.

ESPN has Michigan cornerback Jourdan Lewis as the eighth-best player available. They also have Michigan State defensive tackle Malik McDowell as the No. 12 player available and Ohio State wideout Curtis Samuel right behind him at No. 13.

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Maryland’s best chance at having a player picked is still cornerback Will Likely. Likely would be a Day 3 selection if he does hear his name called.