Which ACC Team Really Did the Best in the NFL Draft

Florida State sent more players to the NFL Draft than any other ACC school this year, but all draft picks aren’t created equal.

The first Seminole off the board was Kelvin Benjamin, at 28th overall. But clearly, if we’re discussing draft success, that shouldn’t be treated on the same level as Clemson’s Sammy Watkins getting taken with the fourth overall pick.  

NFL teams already have a way to solve that problem–the draft pick chart. Each pick is given a point value, and teams use the chart to evaluate whether a trade offer is fair and equal. 

One problem: Since compensatory picks can’t be traded, teams don’t assign them point values. So there are 32 picks at the end of the draft with no value. Since the last pick on the chart (number 224) has a value of 2, we just assigned a value of  1.5 points each to picks 225 to 256. 

Based on the chart, Watkins’ pick gives Clemson 2200 points. Benjamin is only worth 660 for Florida State. 

School

Total Points

Worth of average draft pick

Clemson

2056.2

411

Florida State

1971

282

North Carolina

1587.5

318

Pittsburgh

1221.5

407

Va Tech

1172.6

391

Ga Tech

411.3

137

Virginia

308.4

103

Syracuse

244.2

122

Maryland

190

190

Miami

144.5

48

Boston College

111

28

Duke

76

76

NC State

43

43

Wake Forest

4.2

4

 Clemson had two fewer players drafted but ended up with 85 more points than Florida State. That’s the equivalent of an early fourth rounder, or two early fifth rounders. 

Also, since Florida State was shut out of the high points at the start of the draft, the Seminoles’ average pick was only the fifth-highest in the league, behind Clemson, Pitt, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. 

Before Clemson celebrates its position atop the ACC Draft, however, they may want to look to the future. Notre Dame and Louisville weren’t included in the ACC numbers, but starting next season, they will be. Here’s how the two future ACC members did in the draft: 

School

Total Points

Worth of average draft pick

Louisville

2415

604

Notre Dame

2208.9

276