There were 19 players each from Houston (Texas) and Miami (Florida) high schools on Kickoff Weekend rosters, tied for the most of any city. Detroit (Michigan) produced the third-most players (16) in 2022 followed by Tampa (Florida) with 15 players.
“Coming from Miami–the competition is just different,” said Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper. “There is a high-level of competition, so by the time you get to college a lot of guys from other states have a huge adjustment period because the game speeds up for them. What I have noticed from my experience and talking to a lot of other Miami guys is that they never have that adjustment period going into college. As a matter of fact, some guys say that when they get to college, things get a little bit easier because they played against so many rising stars from other states growing up as opposed to just playing against people in the Miami area. The high level of competition playing football in Miami prepares us for the next level.”
“High school football is the foundation for the development of our sport,” said Roman Oben, NFL Vice President of Football Development and Gonzaga College High School (Washington, DC) & Fork Union (VA) Military Academy Alum. “We are excited to see the growth of players coming to the NFL from the traditional states that produce many college and NFL players, but extremely excited to see athletes making teams from the nontraditional regions, because it takes talent from all areas to make up the Kickoff Weekend roster.”
HIGH SCHOOL CITIES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
| Hometown | NFL Players | Hometown | NFL Players |
| Houston, TX | 19 | Cleveland, OH | 12 |
| Miami, FL | 19 | Plantation, FL | 11 |
| Detroit, MI | 16 | Austin, TX | 10 |
| Tampa, FL | 15 | Cincinnati, OH | 10 |
| Bradenton, FL | 14 | Ft. Lauderdale, FL | 10 |
| Atlanta, GA | 13 | Philadelphia, PA | 10 |
| New Orleans, LA | 13 | St. Louis, MO | 10 |
With 14 cities producing at least four players on Kickoff Weekend rosters, Texas surpassed Florida to lead the league in home states. More NFL players (199) graduated from Texas than any other state. Florida (185), California (166) and Georgia (151) each produced over 100 NFL players.
STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS
| State | NFL Players | State | NFL Players |
| Texas | 199 | Pennsylvania | 58 |
| Florida | 185 | Illinois | 56 |
| California | 166 | New Jersey | 50 |
| Georgia | 151 | Michigan | 46 |
| Ohio | 74 | Maryland | 45 |
| Louisiana | 65 | Virginia | 41 |
| Alabama | 58 | Tennessee | 37 |
| North Carolina | 58 | Mississippi | 36 |
IMG Academy in Bradenton FL produced the most NFL players on 2022 NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters. South Florida continues to produce a plethora of NFL talent as well, as the top four high schools with the most NFL players each hail from the region.
HIGH SCHOOLS WITH THE MOST NFL PLAYERS
| High School, City, State | Number | NFL Players |
| IMG Academy; Bradenton, FL | 14 | Andre Cisco, JAX; Grant Delpit, CLE; Daniel Faalele, BAL; Hjalte Froholdt, CLE; Robert Hainsey, TB; K.J. Hamler, DEN; Tony Jones, NO; Joshua Kaindoh, KC; Tre’ McKitty, LAC; Kellen Mond, CLE; Evan Neal, NYG; Greg Newsome, CLE; K.J. Osborn, MIN; Cesar Ruiz, NO. |
| American Heritage; Plantation, FL | 9 | Brian Burns, CAR; Tyson Campbell, JAX; Khalil Herbert, CHI; Isaiah McKenzie, BUF; Sony Michel, LAC; Anthony Schwartz, CLE; Tedarrell Slaton, GB; Pat Surtain II, DEN; Marco Wilson, AZ. |
| Saint Thomas Aquinas High School;Fort Lauderdale, FL | 9 | Giovani Bernard, TB; Nik Bonitto, DEN; Joey Bosa, LAC; Nick Bosa, SF; Phillip Dorsett, HOU; Bobby Hart, BUF; Lamarcus Joyner, NYJ; Elijah Moore, NYJ; Josh Palmer, LAC. |
| Miami Northwestern Senior High School;Miami, FL | 7 | Tutu Atwell, LAR; Teddy Bridgewater, MIA; Artie Burns, SEA; Amari Cooper, CLE; Lavonte David, TB; Demetrius Taylor, DET; Rachad Wildgoose, WAS. |
| Allen High School; Allen, TX | 6 | Bobby Evans, LAR; Jalen Guyton, LAC; Jaylon Jones, CHI; Greg Little, MIA; Kyler Murray, AZ; Jonathan Williams, WAS. |
| Desoto High School; Desoto, TX | 6 | A.J. Green, CLE; Ed Ingram, MIN; Von Miller, BUF; Jalen Mills, NE; James Proche, BAL; Laviska Shenault, CAR. |
| Neville High School; Monroe, LA | 5 | Justin Ellis, NYG; Rashard Lawrence, AZ; Phidarian Mathis, WAS; Max Mitchell, NYJ; Kavontae Turpin, DAL. |
| Westlake High School; Austin, TX | 5 | Calvin Anderson, DEN; Sam Ehlinger, IND; Nick Foles, IND; Kylen Granson, IND; Justin Tucker, BAL. |
24 high schools had four players on NFL Kickoff Weekend rosters this year:
| High School; City, State | High School; City, State |
| Bingham High School; South Jordan, UT | Lakewood High School, Saint Petersburg, FL |
| Cass Technical High School; Detroit, MI | Long Beach Poly High School; Long Beach, CA |
| Deerfield Beach High School; Deerfield Beach, FL | Loyola High School; Los Angeles, CA |
| Dematha Catholic High School; Hyattsville, MD | Miramar High School; Miramar, FL |
| Don Bosco Preparatory High School; Ramsey, NJ | Norcross High School; Norcross, GA |
| East Lake High School; Tarpon Springs, FL | Peachtree Ridge High School; Suwanee, GA |
| Glenville High School; Cleveland, OH | Riverdale Baptist High School; Upper Marlboro, MD |
| Greater Atlanta Christian; Norcross, GA | Saint Louis High School; Honolulu, HI |
| Hebron High School; Carrollton, TX | St. Augustine High School; New Orleans, LA |
| Hillgrove High School; Powder Springs, GA | St. Ignatius High School; Cleveland, OH |
| Hillsborough High School; Tampa Bay, FL | Stephenson High School; Stone Mountain, GA |
| Klein High School; Spring, TX | Wylie High School; Wylie, TX |
Overall, NFL players hail from high schools in 47 states and the District of Columbia, four countries – Australia, Canada, England and the United States – and a U.S. territory (American Samoa). The totals are based on the 1,728 players on Kickoff Weekend rosters.
NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA: Georgia, with one NFL player for every 70,940 residents, leads the list of NFL players per capita. Louisiana (one in 71,658) and Mississippi (one in 82,258) round out the top three. The national average is one NFL player per 191,811 U.S. residents.
STATES WITH MOST NFL PLAYERS PER CAPITA
| State | Population * | NFL Players | NFL Players Per Capita |
| Georgia | 10,711,908 | 151 | 1 NFL player per 70,940 people |
| Louisiana | 4,657,757 | 65 | 1 NFL player per 71,658 people |
| Mississippi | 2,961,279 | 36 | 1 NFL player per 82,258 people |
| Alabama | 5,024,279 | 58 | 1 NFL player per 86,626 people |
| Florida | 21,538,187 | 185 | 1 NFL player per 116,423 people |
| Utah | 3,271,616 | 25 | 1 NFL player per 130,865 people |
| Maryland | 6,177,224 | 45 | 1 NFL player per 137,272 people |
| Delaware | 989,948 | 7 | 1 NFL player per 141,421 people |
| Texas | 29,145,505 | 199 | 1 NFL player per 146,460 people |
| South Carolina | 5,118,425 | 34 | 1 NFL player per 150,542 people |
| United States | 331,449,281 | 1,728 | 1 NFL player per 191,811 people |
*Based on most recent published U.S. Census Data (2020)
The above story is from NFL Play Football
