Discover Which Elite Colleges are Secretly NFL Draft Factories

As the NFL gears up for the annual spectacle of the Draft this Thursday, one question keeps surfacing: Where does the real talent truly come from, and how do these young players end up on the biggest stage? Well, let’s take a little jog down the memory lane of college football prowess, with the Ohio State Buckeyes leading the pack—not with a meager tally, but with an impressive 91 first-round draft picks in history! I mean, if football were a nursery school, Ohio State would be the one turning out more “NFL-ready “kindergartners” than a department store toy aisle on Black Friday. And while we’re at it, how about we address the elephant in the room? Christie Brinkley at 71 is looking so good that even the national brand programs might want to take notes on recruiting such timeless talent LEARN MORE.

Thursday marks the beginning of the NFL Draft, where over 200 of the best college players in the national will hear their names called. It’s the reward for a great college career, and some of the best teams in the nation will be represented well on the biggest stage.

Some schools have simply put more players into the league than others, and the numbers show it. Many of the top schools with national championship trophies and Heisman winners also do well when it comes to getting players into the NFL itself.

Among colleges, Ohio State has produced the most first-round draft picks in history with 91 heading into Thursday’s event. Following in second is USC with 85, and Alabama comes in third with 81.

Powerhouses like Ohio State and Alabama are slated to add to their collection of players drafted in the first round on Thursday.

Which schools have produced the most first round picks in NFL Draft history? Here’s the top 10: pic.twitter.com/LpufpotmWu

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) April 23, 2025

Many of college football’s perennial powerhouses are on this list, showing that the top talent tends to make their way to the best campuses for their particular advantages and benefits.

Programs like Notre Dame, Miami, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma and Georgia all play in major conferences, have prominent national brands, and have some of the most state-of-the-art facilities in the sport.

The charm of smaller teams finding a way to produce NFL-level talent makes for a great story, but it’s clear that players want to go where schools have an NIL budget and a vested interest for whatever athletic endeavor is going on at them. Some players make their way to bigger schools through the transfer portal.

That was the case for former Miami quarterback and projected No. 1 pick Cam Ward, who joined the team after first playing at FCS Incarnate Word and then on the FBS level in the Pac-12 with Washington State.

Transferring to Miami was the boost that Ward’s career needed to propel him to the top overall pick. As the transfer portal continues to heat up in college football, pay attention to some of the players that head to bigger schools.

As we’ve seen with Ward, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts and others, making the move to a new school can set you up for success at the NFL level, giving a more clear picture of what the transfer portal can do for college football players.

Related: Shedeur Sanders Gets Bad News Before First Round Of NFL Draft