Ranking college football teams with most NFL Draft picks all-time

The college football factories where NFL teams turn for their draft talent.

Scenes from a college football game. / © Joshua L. Jones via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Talent is the lifeblood of any college football program and the ability to recruit the best players, develop their potential, and ship them off to the NFL Draft has long been a big way we judge the health of any football program over time.

And, as is usually the case, that talent tends to consolidate into the hands of a very lucky few. 

Which schools have done the best job of turning out pro football talent, and what teams have done the best in more recent years?

Scroll through to see which schools have produced the most NFL skill.

College football teams with most NFL Draft picks all-time, ranked

15. UCLA

Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

NFL Draft picks: 339

Westwood has produced 36 total first-round draft picks in school history, starting in 1946 with Cal Rossi, who was actually the first player to be drafted twice, going again in the opening round in 1947.

Troy Aikman, who transferred to UCLA from Oklahoma, was and remains UCLA's single No. 1 overall draft pick, going in 1989 to the Dallas Cowboys, where he went on to win three Super Bowl championships.

Six former Bruins were selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, with tight end Greg Dulcich being the school's highest pick, and four more were taken in 2023.

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14. Miami

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NFL Draft picks: 362

An astounding eight former Hurricanes that were taken in the NFL Draft were eventually selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Ted Hendricks (1969), Jim Kelly (1983), Michael Irvin (1988), Cortez Kennedy (1990), Warren Sapp (1995), Ray Lewis (1996), Edgerrin James (1999), and Ed Reed (2002).

A ninth, Jim Otto, was taken in the 1960 AFL Draft. At least one Miami player has been taken in a draft for 49 straight years and the 2001 national championship team made a record with an eventual 16 first round draft selections.

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13. Tennessee

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NFL Draft picks: 363

Two future Hall of Famers went through the NFL Draft from Rocky Top, including defensive end Doug Atkins, the No. 11 overall pick by Cleveland in 1953 and made his impact during a legendary career with the Chicago Bears, helping to forever change the edge rusher position for the modern era.

Tennessee produced another revolutionary player in quarterback Peyton Manning, the No. 1 overall pick in 1998, winning two Super Bowl championships, claiming five NFL MVP honors, seven First-Team All Pro honors, 14 Pro Bowl selections, and earning three records: most TD passes in a season (55), in a game (7), and passing yards in a season (5,477).

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T-11. Texas

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NFL Draft picks: 368

Four former Longhorns who were taken in the NFL Draft went onto Hall of Fame careers, including the likes of Tom Landry, a former defensive back who won two Super Bowls and an NFL championship as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.

Running back Earl Campbell was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 1978, taking his aggressive running style to the professional ranks, rushing for over 1,300 yards in five of his six seasons with the Houston Oilers, and was named a State Hero of Texas by the state legislature.

Vince Young, who famously led Texas to its most recent national championship, was the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2006 to the Tennessee Titans.

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T-11. Nebraska

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NFL Draft picks: 368

This may not be the college football powerhouse it was in the 90s or the 70s — Nebraska hasn't produced a first-rounder since Prince Amukamara in 2011 — but the Cornhuskers are still among the very best in terms of total NFL Draft output.

Notably, Nebraska turned out both the No. 1 and No. 2 pick in 1984. The Huskers put out a pair of second-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

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10. Florida

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NFL Draft picks: 373

Florida produced a pair of top-five picks in the last few years, including Kyle Pitts, who went to Atlanta with the No. 4 in the 2021 draft. Dante Fowler was the third-overall selection to Jacksonville in 2015.

Florida had eight total draft picks in 2021, the program's most in six years, and it was third in the SEC with six picks in 2023.

NFL all-time rushing yards leader Emmitt Smith came out of Gainesville as the No. 17 overall pick in 1990. Florida had six first-round picks in the last five years.

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9. Georgia

Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK

NFL Draft picks: 379

The presence of head coach Kirby Smart has singlehandedly supercharged Georgia’s footprint on the NFL Draft since his arrival in 2016.

Since then, the Bulldogs have produced 63 draft selections, including 42 picks over the last four years, steadily climbing into the top 10 among college football programs all-time.

A total of 17 former Georgia players have been selected in the first round since 2018 alone, a figure that matches the team’s total since the turn of the century before then.

In 2022, defending national champion Georgia produced 15 total NFL Draft selections, establishing a new all-time record and breaking the former mark held by Ohio State in 2004 and LSU in 2020, with 14 players taken those years.

As repeat national champs in the 2023 draft, the Bulldogs shared the national lead with 10 players selected.

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8. LSU

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NFL Draft picks: 381

LSU has produced 15 first-round draft picks in the last decade alone, five of which came off its 2019 national championship team.

LSU placed second overall with 10 selections in 2022, behind only Georgia, and had 155 players taken in the NFL Draft since the start of the century, the fourth-most.

Three former Tigers were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, including star quarterback Jayden Daniels, the eventual Rookie of the Year, in addition to wide receivers Malik Nabers (6th) and Brian Thomas (23rd).

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7. Penn State

Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

NFL Draft picks: 389

NFL teams took a chance on six former Penn Staters in 2021, including Micah Parsons, the latest in a long line to come out of Linebacker U, and Penn State was second in the Big Ten, tied with Ohio State, with six draftees in 2023.

Running back Saquon Barkley was the No. 2 overall pick in 2018, the first first-rounder for PSU in eight years. Washington took Lions wideout Jahan Dotson in the first round in 2022, one of eight selections, the Big Ten's best mark.

But the Nittany Lions’ best turnout in the modern draft era may have been 2024, when the school had eight players selected, including first-rounders like tackle Olu Fashanu and linebacker Chop Robinson.

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6. Alabama

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NFL Draft picks: 411

Alabama produced a school-record six first-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, and had 10 players go overall in each of the 2022 and 2023 drafts, sharing a lead with Georgia with the most players taken in the '23 event. 

That includes three former Crimson Tide players in the first round the last two years each, with three of those in the top 10.

Alabama has totaled 49 first-round selections since 2000 and has a streak of eight straight NFL Drafts with multiple first-round picks. Quarterback Bryce Young was the Crimson Tide's first No. 1 overall selection in the common draft era.

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5. Michigan

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NFL Draft picks: 415

Seven-time Super Bowl champion — and the consensus greatest player in NFL history — Tom Brady highlights Michigan's all-time NFL Draft class since being taken in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.

But the Wolverines also produced 13 NFL Draft selections in 2024, the most of any college football program, and led the Big Ten with nine picks in 2023. Michigan is seventh all-time with 52 first-round picks.

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4. Oklahoma

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NFL Draft picks: 417

Six former Sooners have been taken at No. 1 overall, including three quarterbacks since 2010 (Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, and Kyler Murray). 

Other first-overall picks including running back Billy Sims and defensive end Lee Roy Selmon. Oklahoma is top-10 among college football programs with 51 first-round picks all-time.

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3. Ohio State

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NFL Draft picks: 489

One of the college football programs that has consistently turned out NFL Draft talent for decades, the Buckeyes have produced first-rounders in every event since 2015. 

Ohio State also ranks first all-time with 91 total first-round draft selections, including one in each of the last nine drafts, and its 167 players taken since 2000 are also the most of any program.

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2. USC

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NFL Draft picks: 530

One of two programs to turn out more than 500 draft picks all-time, USC is also second with 86 first-round selections, and has produced five No. 1 overall picks. 

Carson Palmer, O.J. Simpson, Keyshawn Johnson, Rickey Bell, Ron Yary, and most recently Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams hold the distinction of going No. 1 overall out of Troy.

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1. Notre Dame

Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

NFL Draft picks: 532

Notre Dame has built a football pedigree over generations that still leads the pack in producing NFL talent, just edging rival USC in the total number of players taken. 

Five former Golden Domers have gone No. 1 overall, but the last was in 1972, and Notre Dame has turned out a draft class of six or more players six times in the last decade, and tied with Georgia for third overall with nine selections in the 2021 NFL Draft.

ND ranks fourth all-time with 71 first-round NFL Draft selections, most recently star offensive tackle Joe Alt, who was taken as the No. 5 overall pick by the Chargers.

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