From St. Frances to Archbishop Spalding: Maryland High Schools Made an Impact in the 2026 NFL Draft

With the the 2026 NFL calendar progressing through OTAs and the countdown to training camp underway, the growing status of Maryland high school football as an NFL pipeline is worth noting.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, a Bowie native, was the top overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

In 2023, Maryland produced three first-round NFL Draft selections in Jordan Addison (Tuscarora High School), Deonte Banks (Edgewood High School) and Bryan Bresee (Damascus High School).

St. Frances Academy Continues NFL Tradition

St. Frances Academy in Baltimore produced four selections during the 2026 NFL Draft.

IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, is the only high school in the nation that can boast more 2026 NFL Draft picks than St. Frances Academy. IMG Academy had five former players drafted this year.

St. Frances Academy alumni Derrick Moore (Detroit Lions), Jaishawn Barham (Dallas Cowboys), Jude Bowry (Buffalo Bills) and Elijah Surratt (Baltimore Ravens) were all selected during the 2026 NFL Draft.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Gary Brightwell, who graduated from St. Frances Academy in 2017, was the first former SFA student-athlete selected in the NFL Draft. Brightwell was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Mansoor Delane Makes Spalding History

Meanwhile, Archbishop Spalding in Severn, Maryland produced two NFL Draft selections this year including Mansoor Delane who was chosen in the first round by the Kansas City Chiefs with the sixth overall pick and Zakee Wheatley who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round with overall pick No. 151.

Delane, a Silver Spring native, was rated as the top cornerback in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Delane began his high school career at the Landon School in Bethesda before transferring to Archbishop Spalding where he became the school’s first NFL Draft selection.

In an exclusive interview with High School On SI, University of Maryland assistant coach and former Archbishop Spalding head coach Kyle Schmitt described Delane as someone who had a passion for the game.

“He’s just a real technician,” recalled Schmitt, the tight ends coach at Maryland, “and he was a developing athlete at Spalding that I think hit his peak the COVIDE-19 shortened 2020 season, really changed his body and he became a really good player in 2021 and actually played safety for us that year because of his tackling skills and his ability to really cover, run the alley, play some middle of the field. He was just such a rangy football player we wanted to take advantage of that and not leave him at corner[back] at our level but he was a total student of the game.”

In 2022, the Tennessee Titans signed former Archbishop Spalding standout Julius Chesnut as an undrafted free agent but Schmitt said Delane is the first former Archbishop Spalding student-athlete to actually get selected in the NFL Draft.

“It was very cool,” admitted Schmitt. “It was a great moment for us.”

Quince Orchard, McDonogh Also Represented

Jalen Huskey, who won a state championship at Middletown High School in 2019 and two years later helped Quince Orchard High School win a state championship, was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round at pick No. 100.

However, Chop Robinson became Quince Orchard’s first NFL draftee in 2024 when the Miami Dolphins selected the Gaithersburg, Maryland native in the first round with the 21st overall pick.

Dani Dennis-Sutton (Green Bay Packers), Trey Smack (Green Bay Packers) and Anthony Smith (Dallas Cowboys) also played high school football in the Crab state.

This year, Dani Dennis-Sutton, a linebacker who attended McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, was selected in the fourth round with overall pick No. 120 and his new teammate Trey Smack, a kicker who attended Severna Park High School in Severna Park, Maryland, was a sixth-round selection at No. 216.

Dani Dennis-Sutton participated in multiple sports during his high school days including football, basketball and track and field. A five-star recruit, Dennis-Sutton was selected to play in the 2022 All-American Bowl held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Trey Smack played high school football and lacrosse and was rated among the nation’s top kickers and punters according to Kohl’s Kicking.

Anthony Smith, a wide receiver who attended Huntingtown High School in Huntingtown, Maryland, was a seventh-round selection and the 218th overall pick in the draft. Smith participated in high school football and track and field and was named an all-state wide receiver during his senior campaign. He also won a pair of state championships in track and field in the 55-meter and 300-meter events.

Maryland's Long NFL Legacy

Over the years, the state of Maryland has produced various first round NFL Draft selections including Winston Churchill High School (Potomac, Maryland) products Brian Holloway and Paul Palmer along with Shawn Springs (Springbrook High School, Silver Spring, Maryland) who was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the third overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft and Shawne Merriman (Frederick Douglass High School, Upper Marlboro, Maryland) who was selected by the San Diego Chargers with the 12th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

A Recruiting Hotbed for the Future

There’s no doubt that the entire state of Maryland including Prince George’s County, Montgomery County and the Baltimore area has become a recruiting hotbed for major college coaches.

“There’s high-level football and high-level players,” said Schmitt, “and I think you’re going to see more and more guys drafted out of this area in the next few years.”

Add us as a preferred source on Google