The article reviews the schools with the most NFL Draft picks in a single year, highlighting Georgia in 2022 and LSU in 2020. It emphasizes the ongoing talent distribution across college football programs.
Key points
Georgia had the most NFL Draft picks in 2022
LSU had a significant number of picks in 2020
Largest classes account for less than six percent of total picks
National champions are often well-represented in the draft
Talent distribution varies across college football programs
Each NFL Draft makes it clear there is talent all over the country.
Even the largest draft classes from one school in the seven-round era have accounted for less than six percent of picks in a given year. Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, LSU and more will seemingly always send players to the NFL year in and year out, but NFL teams look all over for an edge on draft day.
At the same time, college football fans know very well some schools just have more talent than others. National champions tend to be well-represented in the draft, and some of college football's best teams in recent memory also sent the largest number of players to the NFL.
Here's a look at the biggest NFL Draft classes from one school, from Georgia to LSU.
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Georgia set an NFL Draft record with 15 drafted players in 2022. Each player was a member of the Bulldogs' 2021 national championship team, which went 14-1 and avenged an SEC championship loss to Alabama by dethroning the Crimson Tide in the title game.
While it was only the program's first national championship in 41 years, Georgia's title-winning team has a case to rank among the best ever. The Bulldogs allowed just 10.2 points per game thanks to an utterly dominant defense, winning a championship despite using two different quarterbacks during the season.
Georgia not only sent 15 players to the NFL in 2022, but even more premier talent from that team — including Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith — was drafted in the years that followed.
Georgia saw five defensive players come off the board in the first round, followed by four more selections on Day 2 of the draft.
As would likely be the case with any grouping of a dozen or more NFL Draft picks, the results were mixed. Injuries derailed Cine's tenure with the Vikings, while Davis had a hard time finding his footing initially with the Eagles. Pickens, Cook and Dean, however, have proven to be strong Day 2 finds, even if Pickens causes headaches for the Steelers.
Georgia broke the record, held by LSU and Ohio State, with 15 players drafted in 2022. The Bulldogs' 2021 roster was loaded with NFL talent, some of which didn't enter the league until 2023 or 2024, and the result was the program's first national championship.
Pass-rusher Travon Walker was selected No. 1 overall by the Jaguars, and Georgia saw five defensive players taken in the first round as a whole.
Ohio State, 2025, 14 players
Ohio State threatened Georgia's record with 14 players from its national championship team hearing their name called in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Buckeyes had four first-rounders in WR Emeka Egbuka, OG Donovan Jackson, DT Tyleik Williams and OT Josh Simmons Running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson came off the board early in the second round, and the talent kept coming with all 14 players selected within the first 185 picks of the draft.
LSU, 2020, 14 players
LSU's 2019 championship team will go down in college football history, so it's no surprise the roster was well-represented in the remote 2020 draft.
Ohio State set a record (at the time) with 14 players drafted in 2004, and the Buckeyes still hold the record for most players drafted despite not winning a national championship the previous season.
DE Will Smith, CB Chris Gamble and WR Michael Jenkins were first-round picks in 2004, and they would be the only Ohio State players drafted within the first two rounds. The Buckeyes saw the rest of their players come off the board in the mid-to-late rounds, and Smith was the only Pro-Bowler from the group.
Georgia, 2025, 13 players
Georgia was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the expanded College Football Playoff in 2024, but Kirby Smart sent 13 players to the NFL in the ensuing draft. Edge rushers Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker were both first-round picks, as was S Malaki Starks.
Three Georgia offensive linemen came off the board on Day 2, led by guard Tate Ratledge, and seven more Bulldogs heard their name called on Day 3.
Michigan, 2024, 13 players
Michigan's 2023 national championship team saw 13 players drafted in 2024, which was two shy of the record and one shy of the Big Ten record.
The Wolverines only had one first-round pick in QB J.J. McCarthy, who was taken No. 10 overall by the Vikings, but they saw six players come off the board on Day 2 — including three in a row when Blake Corum, Roman Wilson and Zak Zinter were taken consecutively in the third round.
Two players had the distinction of being drafted by the man who coached them at Michigan, as Jim Harbaugh's Chargers selected LB Junior Colson and WR Cornelius Johnson.
Texas, 2025, 12 players
Texas fell to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the end of the 2024 season, and a stunning 25 players from that game were drafted less than four months later.
The Longhorns had three first-round picks in OT Kelvin Banks Jr., CB Jahdae Barron and WR Matthew Golden, but they didn't stop there with three defenders selected on Day 2. The total could have been even higher, but projected Day 2 pick Isaiah Bond went undrafted amid an ongoing sexual assault investigation.
Alabama, 2018, 12 players
Alabama got the better of Georgia in a thrilling national championship game to close out the 2017 season, and the Crimson Tide were unsurprisingly well-represented in the NFL Draft the following spring.
Ohio State won a national championship in the 2014 season, but it took an additional year for its talent to manifest itself in the NFL Draft. The Buckeyes had three players drafted within the top 10 picks in Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott and Eli Apple, and they produced two more first-round picks in Taylor Decker and Darron Lee.
Second-round picks Michael Thomas and Vonn Bell also turned into long-term NFL starters, with Thomas earning an Offensive Player of the Year award.
Ohio State finished 12-1 with a Fiesta Bowl win in 2015, falling below championship expectations, but the Buckeyes' surprise run to the title a season earlier eased the blow.
College success rarely guarantees NFL success, and the largest draft classes prove it.
Among the biggest classes, it's hard to find a more successful one than LSU in 2020. The Tigers saw two Hall of Fame-caliber talents drafted in Burrow and Jefferson, along with a handful of strong NFL starters including Queen, Delpit and Lewis.
Even that class, though, had its flops. No. 20 overall pick K'Lavon Chaisson never emerged as a useful player with the Jaguars, while No. 32 pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire struggled to prove himself as a long-term featured back in Kansas City.
Other classes, including 2004 Ohio State, were loaded with mid-to-late round picks, where the success rate is already low. The Buckeyes' class, which set a record at the time, featured only one Pro-Bowler.
Few large draft classes were more successful than Miami's in 2002, as the Hurricanes' 11 selections included Ed Reed, Clinton Portis, Jeremy Shockey and Bryant McKinnie.
Role of coaching and development on creating draft picks
The largest draft classes are headlined by first-round picks, but they all have one thing in common: a bevy of late-round picks.
Many five-star recruits or even high-level transfer additions don't necessarily need too much development to get drafted, but those players are the exception, not the rule. College programs reach 12, 13, 14 or 15 picks in one draft because talented players have been molded into late-round picks over three or four seasons at the collegiate level, and some coaches do that better than others.
Alabama certainly brought in high-level talent each year during the Nick Saban era, but NFL front offices undoubtedly saw how successful some of his players were at the professional level and knew they could trust that he would have his players ready to go. Bill Belichick famously had a penchant for drafting Rutgers players because of his faith in Greg Schiano.
Coaches and programs that earn the trust of NFL teams could absolutely give their fringe draft prospects a better chance of getting picked.
Does NIL impact NFL Draft classes?
The money and frequent movement in college football naturally could allow teams to stockpile talent and have more draft picks, regardless of whether that team actually wins a championship.
Take 2025 for example: three schools produced 12 or more draft picks, whereas a class of 12 or more players from one team had only happened six times before.
Because there are more than 250 selections in each draft, adding the right player could be equivalent to adding a draft pick. When USC poached Jordan Addison from Pittsburgh in 2022, there was virtually no chance of Addison not being drafted. Even in the event of a major injury or severe underperformance, Addison had showed so much skill at Pitt that USC knew he was going to be drafted.
The same could be said for recent Ohio State additions. Quinshon Judkins, who came to the Buckeyes from Ole Miss before the 2024 season, was only a complementary running back in Columbus but gave Ohio State two future draft picks at the position rather than one.
It could take some time to see the full effects, but a consolidation of talent could result in Georgia's record being matched or broken in the years ahead.
