Auburn football used to be an NFL factory. Under Gus Malzahn, from 2014-2021, there was consistently at least a third-round draft pick. Not only that, but Malzahn sent four first-round picks to the league.
Since Malzahn left, that first-round pick count is a whopping goose egg. The 2024 draft's earliest pick via Auburn was in the fifth round.
There's no way around it: AU has an NFL draft problem. Luckily, 247 Sports' Jason Caldwell believes the Tigers' draft woes could be turning a corner considering the work Hugh Freeze has done to fortify his talent base.
"For much of the last decade, Auburn has still been tough and that shows when you're at home. They just haven't been talented enough on the lines of scrimmage to compete with the likes of Georgia or Alabama when they go on the road. Adding some key guys on both sides of the ball along with returning players and signees has the line of scrimmage miles ahead of what it was just a few years ago," Caldwell wrote.
"There's nothing more important than talent and Auburn is beginning to acquire more and more. In the last four NFL Drafts, there have been only two Tigers selected before the third round. Roger McCreary went in the second round in 2021, and Derick Hall was a second-round guy in 2022. That has shown up on the field. This roster will be much more talented, and we'll find out next fall how much of a difference that will make. It takes more than talent to win and win at a high level, but if you don't have it then it's next to impossible to get there."
If there's one thing Auburn fans are sick of, or at least should be, it's the promise that things will turn around on the Plains because of good recruiting. Freeze has done well in the transfer portal since taking the head coaching job in November 2022, but the past two seasons were a poor utilization of that talent. At best.
Freeze needs to develop his talent. It's something he's been criticized for by his former players.
On3 graphics and social media celebrations are nice. Winning football games is nicer.