Which player has the most career home runs? Who has the single-season passing touchdown record? Which country has won the most World Cups?
These are just some of the most mainstream, widely known stats in sports; but why settle for mainstream sports stats (yuck!) when you can impress your friends with USELESS STATS?! Nothing else screams “my life is definitely not an empty shell and I am certainly an interesting person” like interjecting a sports discussion with some of the most useless, trivial stats ever compiled.
Strap in and get ready for the Elias Sports Bureau to eat your ass with this knowledge thanks to your friends at The Bench Wire!
Which College Does Each NFL Team Draft From The Most?
My interest in this question really stems from a point in the mid-to-late 2010s when it felt like a good chunk of the New England Patriot’s defense, at least their secondary, was made up of Rutgers alumni. In 2010, the Patriots selected DB Devin McCourty, and in 2013 they drafted DB Logan Ryan, DB Duron Harmon, and LB Steve Beauharnais.
After a quick google search of “Patriots Rutgers,” I realized that I wasn’t alone in noticing this odd trend as The Boston Globe pointed this out following the Patriots’ trade for former Rutgers wide-out Mohammed Sanu.
Naturally, I became curious to see if there were any other colleges that have a similar “college-pro” fraternity and thought to figure out which college does each specific NFL team favor the most come draft time.
Procedure
To eliminate the old AFL’s regional drafts from diluting the results, I’ve decided to only count draft picks starting from 1967, which marks the first draft following the merger of the NFL and AFL and coincides with what is commonly known as the “Modern” or “Super Bowl Era” of the NFL.
The results include draft picks from 1967 through 2020.
Results
(In alphabetical order)
| NFL Team | College | # of Draft Picks |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | LSU | 13 |
| Arizona/St. Louis Cardinals | Oklahoma | 16 |
| Baltimore Ravens | Alabama/Oklahoma | 11 |
| Buffalo Bills | North Carolina | 15 |
| Carolina Panthers | Auburn/Georgia/Stanford | 6 |
| Chicago Bears | Notre Dame | 20 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | Ohio State | 20 |
| Cleveland Browns | Miami (FL) | 16 |
| Dallas Cowboys | Tennessee | 17 |
| Denver Broncos | Florida | 14 |
| Detroit Lions | USC | 15 |
| Green Bay Packers | USC | 15 |
| Houston Texans | LSU | 6 |
| Indianapolis/Baltimore Colts | Ohio State | 16 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Florida | 12 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | LSU/Georgia/Tennessee | 11 |
| Las Vegas/Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders | USC | 18 |
| Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers | Notre Dame/USC | 14 |
| Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams | UCLA | 22 |
| Miami Dolphins | Miami (FL) | 16 |
| Minnesota Vikings | Minnesota | 15 |
| New England Patriots | Michigan | 17 |
| New Orleans Saints | Nebraska/USC | 17 |
| New York Giants | Miami (FL)/Michigan | 13 |
| New York Jets | Penn State | 19 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | Florida/Notre Dame/Ohio State | 12 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Penn State | 16 |
| San Francisco 49ers | Florida | 16 |
| Seattle Seahawks | Miami (FL) | 15 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Alabama | 14 |
| Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers | Penn State | 14 |
| Washington Football Team | Nebraska/Penn State | 12 |
Analysis
Here are a few takeaways from the results.
NFL Teams With The Shortest Distance From Their Most Drafted College
Tie – 1. Miami Dolphins – Miami (FL) – 0 miles
Tie – 1. Minnesota Vikings – Minnesota – 0 miles
Tie – 1. Los Angeles Chargers – UCLA – 0 miles
Tie – 1. Los Angeles Rams – USC – 0 miles
5. Jacksonville Jaguars – Florida – 72.2 miles
NFL Teams With The Longest Distance From Their Most Drafted College
1. Seattle Seahawks – Miami (FL) – 3,297 miles
2. San Francisco 49ers – Florida – 2,775 miles
3. Carolina Panthers – Stanford – 2,687.6 miles
4. Detroit Lions – USC – 2,281.1 miles
5. Green Bay Packers – USC – 2,113.7 miles
NFL Teams Which Drafted Most From Their Most Drafted College
1. Los Angeles Rams – UCLA – 22 draft picks
2. Chicago Bears – Notre Dame – 20 draft picks
2. Cincinnati Bengals – Ohio State – 20 draft picks
4. New York Jets – Penn State – 19 draft picks
5. Las Vegas Raiders – USC – 18 draft picks
Colleges Which Were NFL Teams’ Most Drafted
1. USC – 5 NFL teams
Tie-2. Florida – 4 NFL teams
Tie-2. Miami (FL) – 4 NFL teams
Tie-4. LSU – 3 NFL teams
Tie-4. Notre Dame – 3 NFL teams
Tie-4. Ohio State – 3 NFL teams
Overall, only 15 of the 32 NFL teams since 1967 have drafted most from a “regional” college, as I defined as within 400 miles of each other. All other teams drafted from traditional NFL draft producers such as USC, Florida, and Miami (FL). The Minnesota Vikings and the Los Angeles Chargers were the only two NFL teams that had non-traditional NFL draft producers as their most drafted colleges.
Interestingly, even though Florida and Miami (FL) both rank #9 and #11 respectively in most NFL draft picks from a school, they are both tied for 2nd most frequent top drafted college by an NFL team.
Four (4) teams drafted the most players out of their own backyard/general area, including from traditional power programs such as Miami (Dolphins), Chargers (USC), and the Rams (UCLA). Good on the Vikings for sticking with their hometown squad, even though they’ve spent a better part of the last half-century living in the Big Ten basement.
Lastly, although the state produces the 3rd most NFL players, not a single Texas college was listed as any pro team’s most drafted college.
