With the 2024 NFL Draft wrapped, there’s no time wasted looking ahead to 2025, but the process of picking up the pieces from the seven-round extravaganza includes some highlights and lowlights for the biggest programs in college football.
It was a banner weekend for the reigning champion Michigan Wolverines, who had seven players selected in the first three rounds and led all schools with 13 selections. It makes sense that the culmination of a three-year run that included three Big Ten titles, three College Football Playoff appearances and a national championship included some star power at the top of the depth chart. And that CFP success tracks with 2023 playoff participants Texas (11), Washington (10) and Alabama (10), all finishing with double-digit selections in the draft.
The SEC once again led all conferences with 59 picks in the 257-player draft, but the Pac-12 had the second-most at 43. That headline is met with some melancholy, however, with the historic West Coast league losing 10 schools this summer to the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.
If you want a further breakdown of the 2024 NFL Draft by conference and school, we’ve got you covered. But to dive a little bit deeper than the player is to reveal some interesting storylines and developments coming out of the weekend. And while most of our takeaways are more directly tied to the current state of these programs, we begin with an incredible note on one of the game’s greatest coaches who just recently announced his retirement.
Winner: Nick Saban
The NFL Draft production from Tuscaloosa under Saban set a new standard in college football. Alabama has produced 133 draft picks since 2009, the most of any program in that span, and the Tide have had at least seven draft picks for…
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