Nine Straight NFL Drafts Of Maryland Terrapins Selected

The Maryland football program may not have had the on-field success it is looking for in recent years, but the players who come from it find success at the next level.

Oct 11, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins band performs before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The 2026 NFL Draft went as quickly as it came, as the headline Fernando Mendoza kicked off the draft by being selected No. 1 overall by the Las Vegas Raiders. This year, only one Maryland Terrapin was selected in the seven-round process, and that was safety Jalen Huskey, who the Jacksonville Jaguars took with the 100th pick, which was the final pick on Day Two. However, four of six total Terps found new homes as undrafted free agents:

Nine straight drafts ✅
25 Terps selected ✅#ProTerps 🐢 pic.twitter.com/a9QYUPWw7J

— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) April 28, 2026

Player	Team	Position	Date Of Signing
Octavian Smith Jr.	Baltimore Ravens	Wide Receiver	April 25th
Shaleak Knotts	Minnesota Vikings	Wide Receiver	April 25th
Jalil Farooq	Baltimore Ravens	Wide Receiver	April 26th
Alan Herron	New Orleans Saints	Offensive Lineman	April 25th

Defensive lineman Cam Rice and long snapper Ethan Gough are the final two undrafted free agents and are still looking for teams to join.

Despite on-field struggles as a program in recent years, the best finishes in College Park came in a three-year span (2021-2023), when former quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa led them to Bowl wins each season.

Even so, players who have played under the Terps program have had their names called on Draft Night for the past nine years, highlighting its success in producing NFL-level talent. Some of the more notable names that have made it to the next level out of College Park over those years are....

• 2018 NFL Draft wide receiver DJ Moore (1st Round, No. 24th overall)- Carolina Panthers

• 2019 NFL Draft defensive back Darnell Savage (1st round, No. 21st overall)- Green Bay Packers and running back Ty Johnson (6th round, No. 186th overall)- Detroit Lions.

• During the 2020 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected two Terp teammates in the fourth (running back Anthony McFarland Jr.) and sixth (linebacker Antoine Brooks) rounds, respectively.

• 2021 NFL Draft running back Jake Funk was the lone Terp selected in the seventh round by the Los Angeles Rams.

• 2022 NFL Draft safety Nick Cross went in the third round as the No. 96th overall player to the Indianapolis Colts, and tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo went to the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round, No. 143rd overall. These two are among the most prominent Terps players to succeed in the NFL and become quality starters for their teams.

• 2023 NFL Draft defensive backs Deonte Banks Jr. (New York Giants: 1st Round, No. 24th overall) and Jakorian Bennett (Las Vegas Raiders: 4th round, No. 104th overall) were both selected and carved out roles for their teams in their rookie seasons.

• The Las Vegas Raiders took offensive lineman Delmar Glaze in the third round as the No. 77th overall pick during the 2024 NFL Draft. Marking back-to-back seasons that Terps landed in Las Vegas. Defensive back Tarheeb Still went to the division rival Los Angeles Chargers in the fifth round and is a key contributor to their secondary outside and in the slot.

• Receiver Tai Felton was the first off the board in the 2025 NFL Draft, selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the third round. The Miami Dolphins selected both defensive tackle Jordan Phillips and safety Dante Trader Jr., who saw some substantial playing time during the season.

If there is one thing that Maryland Football has done right throughout its program history, it is preparing and setting up players for the draft. It speaks volumes about the coaching staff and the competition that they endure in their collegiate career.

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