NEW ORLEANS – Eleven of the 32 players selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft had connections to the Allstate Sugar Bowl while 40 players who were on Allstate Sugar Bowl rosters, including nine first-round picks, were selected in the Draft overall. Over the last seven years, 251 Sugar Bowlers have been selected in the NFL Draft.
 
While nine of this year's first-round picks were members of teams in either the 2019, 2020 or 2021 Sugar Bowls, two first-rounders had other connections to the Sugar Bowl. 
 
The No. 1 overall pick in this year's Draft (selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars), Georgia defensive end Travon Walker, collected three tackles as a true freshman for the Bulldogs in their 26-14 victory over Baylor in the 2020 Allstate Sugar Bowl. He is the fifth straight No. 1 pick with Sugar Bowl connections – last year's No. 1, Trevor Lawrence from Clemson, played in the 2021 Sugar Bowl. The top picks in the 2018 (Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma), 2019 (Kyler Murray, Oklahoma) and 2020 (Joe Burrow, LSU) Drafts were all Manning Award winners, the award for the top collegiate quarterback in the nation presented by the Sugar Bowl. Mayfield also starred in the 2017 Sugar Bowl, earning the Miller-Digby Award as the game's Most Outstanding Player, while Burrow also won the Sugar Bowl's Corbett Award for the top amateur athlete in the state of Louisiana.
 
Derek Stingley, Jr., the No. 3 overall pick by the Houston Texans, was an All-American cornerback for LSU when the Tigers captured the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship, hosted by the Sugar Bowl and other groups in New Orleans. In addition, Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett, the top quarterback selected in the Draft (No. 20 overall by the Steelers), was a four-time Manning Award Star of the Week and a finalist for the 2021 Manning Award.
 
The 251 Sugar Bowlers (only includes players on Sugar Bowl rosters, not Manning Award winners or participants in other Sugar Bowl events) selected in the last seven NFL Drafts include 57 first-rounders (nine this year, eight last year, nine in 2020, eight in 2019, five in 2018, eight in 2017 and 10 in 2016). Prior to the 40 picks in this year's Draft, the Sugar Bowl saw 34 picks last year and 36 in 2020, as well as 40 alums selected in 2019, 35 in 2018, 32 in 2017 and 34 in 2016.
 
In the 2022 Draft, Georgia led the way with 16 Sugar Bowlers drafted, including six in the first round (including Jermaine Johnson, who played for the Bulldogs in the 2020 Sugar Bowl before transferring to Florida State). Ohio State, which played in the 2021 Allstate Sugar Bowl, had Sugar Bowl players drafted. Baylor, which played in the 2020 and 2022 Sugar Bowls, and Ole Miss, which played in the 2022 Sugar Bowl, each had six players drafted.

Allstate Sugar Bowlers in the 2022 NFL Draft

Name	School	Sugar Bowl(s)	NFL Team	Round (Overall)
Travon Walker	Georgia	2020	Jacksonville Jaguars	1 (1)
Garrett Wilson	Ohio State	2021	New York Jets	1 (10)
Chris Olave	Ohio State	2021	New Orleans Saints	1 (11)
Jameson Williams	Ohio State%	2021	Detroit Lions	1 (12)
Jordan Davis	Georgia	2019#, 2020	Philadelphia Eagles	1 (13)
Quay Walker	Georgia	2019#, 2020#	Green Bay Packers	1 (22)
Jermaine Johnson	Georgia*	2020	New York Jets	1 (26)
Devonte Wyatt	Georgia	2019, 2020	Green Bay Packers	1 (28)
Lewis Cine	Georgia	2020	Minnesota Vikings	1 (32)
Jalen Pitre	Baylor	2020#, 2022	Houston Texans	2 (37)
Andrew Booth, Jr.	Clemson	2021	Minnesota Vikings	2 (42)
Phidarian Mathis	Alabama	2018#	Washington Commanders	2 (47)
Tyquan Thornton	Baylor	2020, 2022	New England Patriots	2 (50)
George Pickens	Georgia	2020	Pittsburgh Steelers	2 (52)
Sam Williams	Ole Miss	2022	Dallas Cowboys	2 (56)
James Cook	Georgia	2019#, 2020	Buffalo Bills	2 (63)
Nicholas Petit-Frere	Ohio State	2021	Tennessee Titans	3 (69)
JT Woods	Baylor	2020, 2022	Los Angeles Chargers	3 (79)
Nakobe Dean	Georgia	2020	Philadelphia Eagles	3 (83)
Terrel Bernard	Baylor	2020, 2022	Buffalo Bills	3 (89)
Matt Corral	Ole Miss	2022	Carolina Panthers	3 (94)
Brian Robinson	Alabama	2018	Washington Commanders	3 (98)
Jeremy Ruckert	Ohio State	2021	New York Jets	3 (101)
Channing Tindall	Georgia	2019, 2020	Miami Dolphins	3 (102)
Zamir White	Georgia	2019, 2020	Las Vegas Raiders	4 (122)
Jake Comarda	Georgia	2019, 2020	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	4 (133)
Snoop Conner	Ole Miss	2022	Jacksonville Jaguars	5 (154)
Tyreke Smith	Ohio State	2021	Seattle Seahawks	5 (158)
Justin Shaffer	Georgia	2019#, 2020#	Atlanta Falcons	6 (190)
Jamaree Salyer	Georgia	2019, 2020	Los Angeles Chargers	6 (195)
Cade Mays	Georgia&	2019, 2020	Carolina Panthers	6 (199)
Trestan Ebner	Baylor	2020, 2022	Chicago Bears	6 (203)
Derion Kendrick	Clemson@	2021	Los Angeles Rams	6 (212)
John FitzPatrick	Georgia	2019#, 2020#	Atlanta Falcons	6 (213)
Chance Campbell	Ole Miss	2022	Tennessee Titans	6 (219)
Mark Robinson	Ole Miss	2022	Pittsburgh Steelers	7 (225)
Baylon Spector	Clemson	2021	Buffalo Bills	7 (231)
Deane Leonard	Ole Miss	2022	Los Angeles Chargers	7 (236)
Thayer Munford	Ohio State	2021	Las Vegas Raiders	7 (238)
Kalon Barnes	Baylor	2020, 2022	Carolina Panthers	7 (242)

% Williams finished his career at Alabama
* Johnson finished his career at Florida State
& Mays finished his career at Tennessee
@ Kendrick finished his career at Georgia
# On team but did not participate in Bowl
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 100 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 20 Heisman Trophy winners in its 88-year history. The 89th annual Sugar Bowl Classic is scheduled to be played on Saturday, December 31, 2022. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.2 billion into the local economy in the last decade.