Two college football programs are feeling awfully good after the conclusion of this year's NFL Draft. Michigan and Texas made draft history with the amount of players selected in the event, per The Spun.
Michigan football had 13 players selected after winning the national championship in college football. Texas had 11 players, and both schools saw record-highs. Both schools also had players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Texas also reached the College Football Playoff this past season, but lost in the semi-finals to Washington.
Michigan and Texas players drafted
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was selected 10th overall, by the Minnesota Vikings. He was the first player from either school taken in this year's draft. Michigan also had six other players taken in the second and third rounds, while the remaining players were taken on the final day of the event.
Texas had better luck in the first round, with two players going off the board. The Longhorns saw cornerback Byron Murphy going to Seattle with the 16th pick. Soon after, the Kansas City Chiefs took flashy wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Worthy went 26th overall to the defending Super Bowl Champions. The Longhorns also had players taken throughout the three-day event.
Michigan and Texas were trailed closely by Washington, Alabama and Florida State, which all had 10 selections. All five programs were either in the CFP this past season, or knocking on the door in a New Year's Six bowl game. Several other schools from power 5 conferences had multiple players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
A Historic NFL Draft
The NFL Draft made history this year, as the event saw a record high number of attendees. More than 700,000 fans swarmed into Detroit for the festivities. It broke a record that had been set in Nashville for the 2019 Draft.
“We have shown the world what the Motor City is all about,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, per the Associated Press.
The 2024 event also saw 14 straight offensive players taken in the first round, with the first defensive player taken with pick no. 15. Three straight quarterbacks were taken in the first three picks, with USC gunslinger Caleb Williams going first to the Chicago Bears.
The NFL is moving the draft from city to city year to year, in an effort to expand the league's footprint across the United States. The 2025 event is in Green Bay, Wisconsin. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is also bringing more league games to international cities, hoping to make American football more popular in overseas markets. The league is hosting games in England, Germany and Brazil in recent years. Goodell is also toying with the idea of bringing the NFL Super Bowl to an international city.
It certainly looks like the future is bright for professional American football.
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