History of Penn State players in the NFL Draft

Posted: Apr 16, 2024 / 04:00 PM EDT

Updated: Apr 16, 2024 / 04:00 PM EDT

(WHTM) – Over a dozen Penn State players are hoping to fulfill their dreams and be selected at the 2024 NFL Draft.

Those drafted will join the almost 400 alumni who have been chosen in the last 83 years of the NFL Draft.

Penn State ranks seventh for the most players drafted among Division I programs. The Nittany Lions have had 381 Nittany Lions drafted, beginning in the 1940 NFL Draft when Leon Gajecki went to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 16th round to become the first Penn State player drafted.

Since 2006, there has been at least one Nittany Lion drafted every year. Within that streak, Penn State has produced four first-round picks including Saquon Barkley, Micah Parsons, Odafe Oweh, and Jahan Dotson.

Last year, Penn State just missed the first round, with the first Nittany Lion selection coming at 32nd overall with Joey Porter Jr. going to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the history of the program, 40 Penn State players have been drafted in the first round.

46 players have been drafted since head coach James Franklin’s arrival in 2015.

This is the history of the last five NFL Drafts and the Nittany Lions chosen:

2023 NFL Draft

Joey Porter Jr., 32nd overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Brenton Strange, 61st overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars
Juice Scruggs, 62nd overall to the Houston Texans
Ji’Ayir Brown, 87th overall to the San Francisco 49ers
Sean Clifford, 149th overall to the Green Bay Packers
Parker Washington, 185th overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars

This was the first time in Penn State history that there have been three straight years where three or more players were chosen in the first two rounds.