With the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft in the books, four players from schools in the ACC were selected to continue their pro careers. It started with former FSU star Jalen Ramsey, who was selected fifth overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars and continued with Louisville DT Sheldon Rankins (12th to New Orleans), Clemson DE Shaq Lawson (19th to Buffalo) and Miami DB Artie Burns (25th to Pittsburgh.
While still quite the impressive number for any conference, it is noticeably down from the nine players who were selected in the 2015 NFL Draft from the ACC. Over the past 10 drafts before the 2016 edition, the ACC had 60 former players taken in the first round, the second most of any conference and highlights by first overall picks Mario Williams (2006) and Jameis Winston (2015).