The 2026 NFL Draft will showcase the top college football programs with the most all-time selections. Notre Dame, Ohio State, and USC have surpassed 500 picks, leading the rankings.
Key points
Notre Dame, Ohio State, and USC have over 500 NFL Draft picks.
More than 27,000 players have been selected since 1936.
Alabama, Michigan, and Oklahoma are notable programs below 500 picks.
Roughly 80 programs have reached the 100-pick mark.
The 2026 NFL Draft starts Thursday in Pittsburgh.
Notre DameOhio StateUSCAlabama
2025 CFP National Championship - Ohio State v Notre Dame
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Since the first NFL Draft way back in 1936, more than 27,000 players have been selected from nearly 800 college programs, ranging from perennial blue bloods to small-school standouts at the Division III level and below. Each April, the draft offers a snapshot of which schools produce NFL-ready talent and sustain success at the sport's highest level.
Only three programs -- Notre Dame, Ohio State and USC -- have reached the 500-pick milestone, setting themselves apart from the rest of the field. The next tier includes programs such as Alabama, Michigan and Oklahoma, which sit well behind the leaders on the all-time list. Roughly 80 programs -- most from today's Power Four conferences -- have reached the 100-pick mark and account for the vast majority of all draft selections in NFL history.
With the 2026 NFL Draft set to begin Thursday in Pittsburgh, the all-time leaderboard could see movement once again, particularly among programs clustered below the top tier. Here is a look at the top 50 programs in NFL Draft history entering this year's draft.
Q&A
Which college football programs have the most all-time NFL Draft selections?
Notre Dame, Ohio State, and USC are the only programs to exceed 500 all-time NFL Draft selections.
How many players have been selected in the NFL Draft since its inception?
More than 27,000 players have been selected from nearly 800 college programs since the NFL Draft began in 1936.
What are the top college football programs below the 500-pick milestone?
Programs like Alabama, Michigan, and Oklahoma are among the top college football programs below the 500-pick milestone.
When does the 2026 NFL Draft start and where is it held?
The 2026 NFL Draft is set to begin on Thursday in Pittsburgh.
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1. Notre Dame
NFL Draft picks: 538
Notre Dame added to its all-time total last year with six players selected in the NFL Draft, extending its lead among college programs. The Fighting Irish have had at least one player drafted every year since 1978, a streak that goes back even further when including the supplemental draft. Since the draft began in 1936, Notre Dame has been shut out only twice -- in 1937 and 1977. The program also ranks fourth all-time with 71 first-round selections.
[2026 NFL Draft: Ranking the top 32 prospects based on their college football careers
USC remains second all-time in NFL Draft selections, though the margin narrowed slightly. The Trojans added three picks to their total last year, while producing seven selections in the 2024 draft -- their highest single-year output since 2011. The program also moved into sole possession of another milestone. Quarterback Caleb Williams was taken No. 1 overall by the Chicago Bears, giving USC the most top overall picks in NFL Draft history.
Ohio State paced the nation in the 2025 NFL Draft, with 14 players from its national championship roster selected. The total matched a program record previously set in 2004. It also tied its own Big Ten record for most selections in a single draft. The Buckeyes also continued their dominance at the top of the board. Four players went in the first round, pushing the program's all-time total to 95. Ohio State has now produced multiple first-round picks in eight of the past 10 drafts and has had at least one first-round selection in 10 consecutive years.
Michigan has maintained a steady pipeline to the NFL in recent years, with at least five players selected in every draft since 2019. The Wolverines set a program record with 13 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft following their national championship season. That momentum has carried to the top of the draft as well. Michigan has produced 11 first-round selections in the past seven years, including three in 2025 -- matching previous program highs set in 1995 and 2001.
Oklahoma has seen a dip in overall draft numbers recently, with five players selected across the past two NFL drafts -- its lowest two-year total in more than two decades. Still, the program owns the second-most No. 1 overall picks in draft history, highlighted by back-to-back selections of Heisman Trophy winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in 2018 and 2019. Oklahoma also carries an active streak of 30 consecutive years with at least one player drafted, along with six first-round picks since 2018.
Alabama's run of NFL Draft success under Nick Saban and now Kalen DeBoer is unmatched in the modern era. The Crimson Tide owns an active streak of 17 consecutive drafts with at least one first-round pick, the longest in the country. Alabama has produced multiple first-round selections in nine straight drafts, totaling 31 players over that span and 49 since 2009. Before Saban's arrival, the program had gone eight years without a first-round pick and had just 33 in its history.
Only three programs -- Alabama, Georgia and Penn State -- have produced at least five NFL Draft picks in each of the past eight years. Penn State has totaled 50 draft selections over that eight-year span, its highest output in a comparable stretch since the late 1980s and early 1990s. During that run, former coach James Franklin oversaw one of the nation's most productive secondary units, with 16 defensive backs drafted -- the most by any active FBS coach in that timeframe.
Since Kirby Smart took over at Georgia in 2016, it has become a pipeline of talent for the NFL Draft. The Bulldogs have produced 76 draft picks in that span, including 23 first-round selections. The program has recorded at least one first-round pick in eight straight years and has totaled 13 first-rounders over the past four drafts alone.
LSU continues to rank among the nation's most reliable sources of NFL talent, with a steady flow of draft picks and high-end prospects. Since 2000, the Tigers have produced 161 selections, which ranks fourth-most among FBS teams behind Ohio State (182), Alabama (171) and Georgia (170). LSU has remained a fixture near the top of the draft board in recent years, with nine top-10 picks since 2017.
Florida has slipped in the all-time rankings in recent years but still maintains one of the sport's longest-running draft streaks, with at least one selection every year since 1967 -- tied with USC and Michigan and the best among SEC programs. The Gators have had smaller draft classes lately, including just one pick in 2024 with Ricky Pearsall. Even so, Florida's 59 first-round selections rank sixth most.
Texas has re-emerged as one of college football's most active programs in the NFL Draft in recent years. The Longhorns set a program record with 12 selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, topping the mark they set the year before. In fact, no program has matched Texas' overall draft volume over the past two seasons, as the Longhorns led the nation in total selections (23) during that span. They are also one of just four programs to produce multiple first-round picks in each of the last two drafts and led college football with 10 combined first- and second-round selections over that stretch.
