No One Has Been Better Than The Texas Longhorns In The NFL Draft Over This Period

Texas has now had at least six players drafted for the third straight year.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian gestures after a game against the Georgia Bulldogs. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Almost every Longhorn fan is familiar with the so-called “dark years” of the program — when quality wins were scarce, mediocrity was the norm and Texas football felt far removed from its national standard.

Luckily for Texas fans, that narrative is officially dead.

Thanks to the consistency brought on by Steve Sarkisian, the Longhorns have reestablished themselves as perennial contenders every fall. And it all starts with talent, both brought in and sent out.

After the 2026 NFL Draft wrapped up, Texas is now tied with Georgia and Ohio State for the most NFL Draft picks over the last three years with 29. 

That puts Texas ahead of powerhouses like Alabama and Michigan — and it says everything about what Sarkisian has built.

Sarkisian has rebuilt the NFL pipeline

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian shares laughs with actor Matthew McConaughey. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

When the NFL Draft rolls around, hearing the names of Texas players called has become the expectation.

And that expectation reflects a program that has produced a 2023 Big 12 championship and back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances in 2023 and 2024 while consistently developing NFL-caliber talent.

But that was not always the case.

For years, one of the biggest criticisms surrounding Texas was simple: elite recruiting classes were arriving in Austin, but not enough players were leaving as NFL Draft picks.

But then came Sarkisian, who brought elite recruiting, player development, cultural stability and structure to a program that had lacked all of the above during its lean years. Now, development has become one of the strongest selling points on the Forty Acres, and the fruits have been evident in the draft. 

From Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy to Ja'Tavion Sanders, Byron Murphy II and T'Vondre Sweat, Texas has consistently produced pro-level talent. 

This year, six more players joined that list:

• Anthony Hill Jr. (Round 2, No. 60, Tennessee Titans)
• Malik Muhammad (Round 4, No. 124, Chicago Bears)
• Trey Moore (Round 4, No. 130, Miami Dolphins)
• Michael Taaffe (Round 5, No. 158, Miami Dolphins)
• DJ Campbell (Round 6, No. 200, Miami Dolphins)
• Jack Endries (Round 7, No. 221, Cincinnati Bengals)

Texas has now had at least six players drafted for the third straight year after having only four previous drafts of that many since the NFL Draft moved to seven rounds in 1994.

Before Sarkisian arrived, Texas spent a decade struggling to consistently produce NFL talent. From 2012 to 2021, the program had just 27 total draft picks and only two first-round selections.

Under Sarkisian, Texas has produced 34 draft picks in five drafts and six first-rounders, compared to just 14 in the four years prior to his arrival. Even more telling, from 2017 to 2021, Texas had zero first-round picks.

Since then, the Longhorns have become one of only a handful of programs that regularly send players into Round 1. Texas had three first-rounders in 2025 alone, tied for the second most in the nation with Georgia and Michigan.

The Longhorns also lead the nation in combined draft picks from the 2024 and 2025 drafts with 23 and rank among the national leaders in first- and second-round selections.

It is one of the clearest signs yet that the era Sarkisian brought to Austin is working -- and probably here to stay.

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