In 2015, High School Football America began what is now a National Football League Draft Weekend tradition of tracking where every draft pick played high school football. Starting Thursday night, HSFA will celebrate the 2021 NFL Draft with round-by-round coverage that will also include which state sends the most players into the pro ranks.
Looking back over the past six years, Florida has led the draft three times with the most players selected. The Sunshine State has been the top dog in producing talent in 2015, 2018 and 2019.
Texas has led the way twice, including last year. Georgia was the leader in talent production in 2017.
Year-by-Year Leader in NFL Draft Picks
2020 Texas – 33 players
2019 Florida – 34 players
2018 Florida – 35 players
2017 Georgia – 29 players
2016 Texas – 32 players
2015 Florida – 39 players
Florida has also produced the most NFL draft picks since 2015 with 187 former Sunshine State high schoolers hearing their name called. Texas is second with 170, followed by California (149 players), Georgia (120) and Ohio (69).
In all, 46 states have had players chosen. The only states without a pick during the last six years are Alaska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont.
15 players have been picked having never played high school football in the states. Australia and Canada have had five players each picked. American Samoa and Germany had two each. One player hailed from Nigeria.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter (@HSFBamerica) for the first round pick-by-pick.
Overall NFL Draft Picks by State since 2015
Florida – 187
Texas – 170
California – 149
Georgia – 120
Ohio – 69
Louisiana – 59
Alabama, North Carolina – 57
Pennsylvania – 56
Illinois, New Jersey – 44
Virginia – 41
Mississippi – 38
Maryland, Michigan – 37
Tennessee – 34
South Carolina – 29
Arizona – 23
Missouri, Washington – 22
Wisconsin, Utah – 18
Indiana – 16
New York – 14
Iowa, Minnesota – 13
Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma – 11
Colorado, Nevada – 10
Connecticut, Oregon – 9
Hawaii, Washington, D.C. – 8
Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts – 7
Nebraska – 5
South Dakota – 3
Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming – 2
Idaho, Maine, New Mexico – 1
Countries
Australia – 5
Canada – 5
American Samoa – 2
Germany – 2
Nigeria – 1
