Nebraska’s Drafted Players Tell the Tale of a Struggling Program

Nebraska isn’t just behind the conference’s elite programs—it’s stuck near the bottom, grouped with teams that lack its historical pedigree, financial backing, and facilities. That’s the jarring part. This isn’t a resource problem.

In fact, it makes the situation even harder to justify when you consider that Nebraska’s recruiting classes over this same span ranked around sixth in the conference. The talent, at least on paper, has been good enough to produce far more NFL prospects than this.

Somewhere between signing day and draft day, something is going wrong.

Development, or lack thereof

The NFL Draft is more than a talent showcase—it’s a developmental report card. It reflects how well a program takes raw recruits and turns them into polished, pro-ready players. Right now, Nebraska is failing that test.

It’s not that there are no good players in Lincoln. It’s that too few of them are getting better at the rate required to become legitimate draft prospects. That gap—between potential and outcome—is where programs either rise or stall.

For Nebraska, it has meant years of middling results on the field paired with underwhelming representation in the draft.

Going forward

If Nebraska wants to return to being a consistent top-tier program, this trend has to change. And quickly.

That starts with coaching. Not just at the head coach level, but across the entire staff. Elite programs separate themselves by having position coaches who can take good players and make them great—who can refine technique, build consistency, and prepare athletes for the next level.

There’s a fair argument that Nebraska hasn’t consistently invested at that level. Too often, it has felt like the staff was built around availability rather than aggressively pursuing top-tier developers. That approach shows up in the results.

There are signs the current coaching structure may be stronger than in recent years, but that’s only meaningful if it translates into tangible outcomes—more draft picks, higher draft picks, and players who clearly improved during their time in the program.

Until then, skepticism is warranted.

Because right now, the NFL Draft isn’t just a missed opportunity for Nebraska—it’s a warning sign.