The 2021 NFL Draft is Thursday-Saturday, April 29-May 1 in Cleveland, Ohio, and the ACC is poised to have one of its most successful showings.  The first round is slated to begin Thursday at 8 p.m. with ESPN and NFL Network broadcasting the event.  Rounds two and three will start Friday at 7 p.m. and rounds four through seven are Saturday, starting at noon.

Most NFL draft experts expect Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to be the third ACC player to be selected No. 1 overall, joining Jameis Winston (2015, Florida State) and Mario Williams (2006, NC State). In addition to Lawrence, several other ACC players have made appearances in NFL Draft experts' mock drafts.  

In CBSsports.com's latest three-round mock draft, 26 ACC players are expected to be selected in the early rounds, including seven first-rounders.

In Peter Schrager's NFL Mock Draft published April 20 on NFL.com, seven ACC players are predicted to be picked in the first round. Schrager has Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence at No. 1 to Jacksonville, Miami DE Jaelan Phillips at No. 14 to Minnesota, Virginia Tech OL Christian Darrisaw at No. 16 to Detroit, Clemson RB Travis Etienne at No. 19 to Washington, Virginia Tech DB Caleb Farley at No. 23 to the New York Jets, Miami DE Gregory Rousseau at No. 26 to Cleveland, and Florida State DB Asante Samuel Jr. at No. 30 to Buffalo. In addition, 2021 ACC Defensive Player of the Year Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah of Notre Dame is Schrager's No. 22 pick to Tennessee.

ACC NFL DRAFT NOTES

• Current ACC teams have had a total of nine players chosen as the first overall selection in the NFL Draft. The most recent was Florida State’s Jameis Winston, who was tabbed first in 2015 by the Tampa Bay Bucs. Miami (Vinny Testaverde, 1987, Tampa Bay; and Russell Maryland, 1991, Dallas) and Virginia Tech (Bruce Smith, 1985, Buffalo; and Michael Vick, 2001, Atlanta) each had two top selections while Florida State (Jameis Winston, 2015, Bucs), NC State (Mario Williams, 2006, Texans), Virginia (Bill Dudley, 1942, Steelers) and Syracuse (Ernie Davis, 1962, Redskins) each had one. Also, NC State’s Roman Gabriel, the No. 2 overall selection in the 1962 draft, was chosen No. 1 in the AFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders.

• Since the 2005 season, the ACC has had 570 players chosen in the NFL Draft, including 89 first-round picks, the second highest totals of any conference.

• The ACC has had 289 players selected since 2013 - the second-highest total among all conferences - and has had 40 or more players picked in four of the last seven drafts. The ACC’s 45 draftees in 2018 was its third-highest ever.

• In the 2015 Draft, 47 ACC players were selected, the second-highest in league history, bettered only by the total of 51 in 2006, when the conference set a record for a 12-team league.

• The last time all 14 schools had a player drafted in the same season was 2014. 
   
• Miami has had at least one player selected in every NFL Draft since 1974, a string of 46 consecutive years, the longest current streak in the ACC. The next longest streak belongs to Florida State, who has had at least one player chosen in every NFL Draft beginning in 1984, a span of 37 straight years. 

• Lawrence would be the 14th first-round selection from Clemson in the 13 seasons since Dabo Swinney became the full-time head coach. Running back Travis Etienne could also become a first-round selection.  Clemson produced a total of 18 first-round selections in the previous 42 seasons of the Common Draft Era (since 1967).

• Swinney (64) is second among active head coaches in total draft picks since the 2009 NFL Draft, trailing only Alabama’s Nick Saban.

• In the 31 NFL Drafts during Mack Brown's time as a head coach, the NFL has picked 110 of his student-athletes, and at least one was selected in 28 straight drafts. In fact, Brown has had a player selected in the NFL Draft in 30 of his 31 drafts as a head coach. He had 20 players selected in the first round of the draft from 1998 to 2013. At Carolina, Brown has mentored 51 Tar Heels who have heard their names called in the NFL Draft, including 21 in the first three rounds.
   
• From ESPN Stats and Data: Jaelan Phillips and/or Gregory Rousseau could be Miami’s first first-round draft pick since 2017. Despite that drought, Miami has 60 first-round picks in the Common Draft Era (since 1967), the third most of any program.
   
  Most First-Round Picks – Common Draft Era
  Ohio State           71
  USC                       71
  Miami                   60
  Alabama              58
  >>Entering 2021 NFL Draft

 
ACC Draft Picks (since 2015)
2015: 47
2016: 26
2017: 43
2018: 45
2019: 28
2020: 27

Most ACC Players Selected in first two Rounds of NFL Draft
2006: 19
2011: 15
1997: 13
2015 : 13
 
ACC Draft Records
Most players selected: 51 in 2005
Most first-round draft picks: 12 in 2005
Most players selected: 11 by three teams 11 by Maryland, 1975 11 by Florida State, 2013 & 2015
Most first-round picks: 4 by Florida State, 1997, 2006