NFL Research offers the best nuggets from the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
» Joe Burrow was selected No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft. Burrow led all FBS passers with a 76.3 completion percentage, 5,671 pass yards, and a single-season FBS-record 60 pass touchdowns as he led LSU to an undefeated season and a national championship. Burrow is the fifth quarterback selected with the first overall pick in the last six drafts -- Myles Garrett (2017) is the only non-quarterback selected first overall since 2015.
» Chase Young was selected second overall by the Washington Redskins, joining linebacker LaVar Arrington (second overall in 2000) as the highest-drafted defensive players by the Redskins in the common-draft era (since 1967). Young is the third player from Ohio State to be selected by Washington in the last two drafts. He joins quarterback Dwayne Haskins (15th overall) and wide receiver Terry McLaurin (76th overall) in the 2019 NFL Draft.
» The Miami Dolphins drafted Tua Tagovailoa fifth overall. Hall of Famer Dan Marino was the last Dolphins quarterback to be selected to a Pro Bowl, doing so in the 1995 season. Miami has the longest active quarterback Pro Bowl drought in the NFL. Tagovailoa holds the Alabama school record for career pass touchdowns with 87, but the injuries he dealt with during his college career led to many questioning his 2020 draft status.
» Justin Herbert was selected sixth overall by the Los Angeles Chargers, making him the fifth Oregon quarterback drafted in the first round in the common-draft era (since 1967).
» The Arizona Cardinals selected Isaiah Simmons eighth overall. Simmons had 107 tackles, 8.0 sacks and three interceptions in 2019. The last FBS player with at least 100 tackles, at least 8.0 sacks and at least three interceptions in a season was Buffalo's Khalil Mack in 2013.
» The Raiders' first pick in their new city was Henry Ruggs III, whom Las Vegas selected 12th overall. Ruggs is the seventh wide receiver since 2003 to run sub-4.30 (4.27) in the 40-yard dash, but none of the prior six players have had 2,500 receiving yards in their career.
» CeeDee Lamb was selected 17th overall by the Dallas Cowboys. Lamb is the sixth offensive player the Cowboys have selected in the first round since 2010 ... and the previous five have combined for 24 Pro Bowl selections.
» The Green Bay Packers drafted Jordan Love in the 2020 NFL Draft, which might be bigger news for Aaron Rodgers than you would think. The last time the Packers drafted a quarterback in the first round, a 35-year-old Brett Favre was their starting quarterback and he had 49,734 career pass yards and 376 career pass touchdowns ... and Green Bay selected Rodgers 24th overall. Rodgers is currently 36 years old, with 46,946 career pass yards and 364 career pass touchdowns and when did they take Love? With the 26th overall pick.
» The Carolina Panthers are the first team in the common-draft era (since 1967) to use all their picks in a single draft on defensive players. The Panthers selected seven defensive players in the 2020 NFL Draft after allowing 29.4 points per game in 2019 (31st in the NFL). Carolina is the second team to make at least seven picks and use all of them on one side of the ball, joining the 1985 Browns who selected seven offensive players. This is the eighth time a team has used all their picks on one side of the ball in a draft, with all other instances being offensive players.
» The Cincinnati Bengals selected Tee Higgins 33rd overall to kick off Day 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft. Higgins had 27 receiving touchdowns in his Clemson career, tied for the most in school history. Who is he tied with? Just Sammy Watkins (2011-2013) and DeAndre Hopkins (2010-2012).
» Antoine Winfield Jr. was selected 45th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. His father, Antoine Winfield Sr., was selected 23rd overall in the 1999 NFL Draft -- he played 14 NFL seasons and was selected to two Pro Bowls. Winfield Sr. intercepted new Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady in Week 9, 2001 (the Patriots defeated the Bills 21-11).
» Jalen Hurts was selected 53rd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. Hurts (2019) was the fourth FBS player since 2000 to record at least 30 pass touchdowns and at least 20 rush touchdowns in a single season. He joined Lamar Jackson (2016), Cam Newton (2010) and Tim Tebow (2007) as the only FBS players to do so.
» Jacob Eason was selected 122nd overall by the Indianapolis Colts. Eason is the third quarterback selected in the first four rounds by the Colts in the last 30 drafts, joining a pair of No. one overall picks: Andrew Luck (2012) and Peyton Manning (1998).
» Six wide receivers were selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, tied for the second-most in the common-draft era. Henry Ruggs III (12th), Jerry Jeudy (15th), CeeDee Lamb (17th), Jalen Reagor (21st), Justin Jefferson (22nd) and Brandon Aiyuk (25th) were all drafted. Only the 2004 NFL Draft saw more wide receivers selected in the first round, highlighted by the third overall pick Larry Fitzgerald.
» There were 13 wide receivers selected in the first two rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft, the most in a single draft in the common-draft era (since 1967).
» The SEC had a record-breaking day with 15 players being selected in the first round, the most by a conference in a single draft all-time. In addition, six of the top 10 picks were players from SEC schools, marking the most top 10 picks from a conference in a single draft all-time.
» The SEC's domination of the draft continued after Day 1, with 40 players from SEC schools selected in the first three rounds, the most by a conference in the first three rounds of a single draft all-time. In total, 63 players from SEC schools were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, tying itself in 2013 for the second-most players from a conference selected in a single draft all-time (Note: the SEC also holds the record for the most, with 64 players selected in the 2019 NFL Draft).
» Alabama had four players selected in the top 20 draft picks for the first time in school history, joining USC in 1968 as the only other school in the common-draft era (since 1967) to have four offensive players selected in the first round of a single draft. Tua Tagovailoa (fifth), Jedrick Wills (10th), Henry Ruggs III (12th) and Jerry Jeudy (15th) were all selected.
» LSU had 10 players selected in the first three rounds of the draft, tying Ohio State in 2016 for most by a school in the first three rounds in a single draft all-time. LSU had 14 players selected in the entire 2020 NFL Draft, tying Ohio State (2004) and USC (1977, 1975) for the fifth-most players selected from a school in a single draft all-time.
