College football’s active coaches who have produced the most all-time NFL Draft selections
When it comes to developing next-level talent, these coaches are college football’s best
By
Brad Crawford
Apr 23, 2026
at
9:24 am ET
•
7 min read
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Prepare yourself for the onslaught of infographics and player mockups throughout the weekend from your favorite college football accounts — the 2026 NFL Draft is here. This is the moment every offseason that schools get to tout their coaching staffs and recruiting departments for identifying and developing talent, with the culmination of years of preparation coming to a head at the draft.
Active coaches who produce NFL Draft picks at a high rate of return have an edge in multiple areas, none more important than resources and signing ready-made recruits who already possess expansive skill sets and athleticism the moment they step on campus.
Look at any recent cycle’s first-round selections, and most are former five-star or elite-level prospects who were scoped out early as future pros. Every active FBS coach was included in this research, many of whom had multiple career stops. We’re not counting drafts for those who led on an interim basis the season prior to taking over; however, that only affected a few.
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Some have more skin in the game than others, and that matters.
1. Kirk Ferentz (94)
A longevity award as much as it is a credit to high-level recruiting and player development, Ferentz is the winningest coach in program history with a pair of Big Ten titles and several coach of the year honors since taking over in December 1998. Early in his Iowa tenure, Dallas Clark, Robert Gallery and Chad Greenway were Ferentz’s first three Day 1 picks as a coach, and there have been 10 others since, including Lukas Van Ness and Jack Campbell in 2023.
2. Dabo Swinney (86)
Swinney has done it his way at Clemson, en route to a pair of national championships and the utmost respect on draft day. Not only has Swinney dominated in-state recruiting while expanding the Tigers’ geographical footprint to a national scale during his tenure, but staff continuity has also played an integral role in player development and overall success. Swinney’s 18 first-round picks with the Tigers include quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson and seven defensive linemen.
3. Kirby Smart (76)
The answer to most NFL Draft trivia questions involving first-round picks is that Smart has elevated Georgia’s recruiting over the last decade-plus. A healthy number of former five-star signees were three-and-out players between the hedges, and Smart, as a two-time national champion, made sure they were NFL-ready when he was done with them. Georgia produced five first-round picks on defense in 2022, two the following cycle and three more last spring.
4. James Franklin (66)
With seven first-round picks at Penn State since 2021, including a pair over the last two cycles, Franklin had no trouble acquiring elite talent in Happy Valley and making sure they were NFL-bound in short order. Abdul Carter, Micah Parsons and Saquon Barkley are his most notable NFL alums, and he hopes to keep it going at his new post in the ACC at Virginia Tech.
5. Kyle Whittingham (57)
For the last two decades, Whittingham was the face of Utah’s football program, and now, he takes over one of the nation’s bluebloods that has produced a plethora of NFL talent in recent years. He brought a couple of former Utes to Michigan through the portal, who will undoubtedly hear their names called in future cycles.
6. Bret Bielema (56)
Bielema has led three Power Four programs — Wisconsin, Arkansas and Illinois — with varying levels of success, but has routinely identified and developed future pros in the trenches. Few are more adept at finding program fits and then getting the best out of their respective abilities.
7. Lane Kiffin (51)
Ten former FAU players have been selected all-time, and three were coached by Kiffin — Devin Singletary, Kerrith Whyte (2019) and Harrison Bryant (2020). Most of Kiffin’s career draft picks came at Ole Miss, where he won 32 games over the last three years and boosted recruiting through the transfer portal. At LSU, Kiffin has the resources to quickly move up this ranking.
8. Ryan Day (50)
Only seven seasons into his coaching career with the Buckeyes, Day has continued Ohio State’s impressive streak as one of the nation’s draft factories. At the wideout position, none have been better with five first-round picks since 2022. Carnell Tate should be the Buckeyes’ sixth this week, and Jeremiah Smith No. 7 in 2027. Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud were notable Day 1 picks at quarterback during Day’s time in Columbus.
Ryan Day has developed 50 NFL Draft picks during his tenure at Ohio State.
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9. Steve Sarkisian (47)
Since arriving at Texas, Sarkisian’s teams have produced 28 draft picks, including six first-rounders. Ironically, following his 5-7 campaign during Year 1 in 2021, Texas didn’t have a single player selected in the following cycle, only the fourth time in NFL history and the second since 1937. With nine draft picks at Washington and 10 at USC, Sarkisian is inside the top 10 with 47 in his career.
10. Lincoln Riley (42)
With twice the number of draft picks at Oklahoma (28) than his current stop at USC, Riley does have a feather in his cap that these other active coaches do not — three former quarterbacks who went No. 1 overall and another who won a Super Bowl. No offensive mastermind has developed signal callers quite like Riley at the collegiate level in recent years.
T-11. Mario Cristobal (32)
Over stints at FIU, Oregon and now Miami, Mario Cristobal has an eye for talent, especially at the line of scrimmage. The Hurricanes produced seven draft picks and could surpass that number this week, including expected first-rounders Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor along the defensive front.
T-11. Sonny Dykes (32)
A quarter of Dykes’ career selections came following TCU’s appearance in the national championship game to end the 2022 season, when eight players got the call the following April. Wideout Quentin Johnson was the only first-round pick, and Heisman finalist Max Duggan went No. 239 overall as the last quarterback selected.
13. Pat Narduzzi (31)
A year after Aaron Donald went No. 13 overall in 2014, Narduzzi took over at Pittsburgh. Heisman finalist quarterback Kenny Pickett (2022) and All-ACC pass rusher Calijah Kancey (2023) are the program’s only Day 1 picks since, but the Panthers have produced.
14. Dave Doeren (29)
One of the ACC’s longest-tenured coaches, Doeren has three top-25 finishes across 13 seasons at NC State and has more than two dozen draft picks to show for it, including three first-rounders — Bradley Chubb (2018), Garrett Bradbury (2019) and Ikem Ekwonu (2022).
15. Luke Fickell (27)
After leading Cincinnati to the playoff as the Group of Five’s first representative, nine Bearcats were picked in the 2022 cycle — the most ever for a non-Power Four program. He has fallen on hard times since at Wisconsin and is anticipating the 2026 campaign to begin the turnaround for the Badgers.
Beyond the top 15, there are more than a dozen coaches with at least 13 draft selections in their careers, which vary by length.
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More than half of Mike Norvell’s 18 total selections during his tenure at Florida State came during the 2024 draft cycle after the Seminoles went 13-0 and won the ACC before being left out of the playoff.
No up-and-comer is producing more NFL talent than Dan Lanning at Oregon. The former Georgia defensive coordinator has already placed 24 former players in the draft over four seasons with the Ducks.
Kalen DeBoer is well on his way if he has staying power at Alabama. His 2024 class at Washington included a program-record 10 selections coming off the Huskies’ national title game loss to Michigan.
Matt Campbell always managed to do more with less at Iowa State, but he’ll have an opportunity to land a different caliber of recruit as a coach at Penn State.
Coach
Total NFL Draft picks
Mike Norvell (Memphis, Florida State)
26
Jeff Brohm (WKU, Purdue, Louisville)
25
Dan Lanning (Oregon)
24
Josh Heupel (UCF, Tennessee)
24
Greg Schiano (Rutgers)
24
P.J. Fleck (Western Michigan, Minnesota)
24
Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia, Michigan, Arizona)
23
Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern)
20
Kalen DeBoer (Fresno State, Washington, Alabama)
18
Mike Locksley (Maryland)
18
Shane Beamer (South Carolina)
17
Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame)
16
Matt Campbell (Iowa State)
15
Kalani Sitake (BYU)
13
Matt Rhule (Temple, Baylor, Nebraska)
13
As if more proof were needed, Curt Cignetti gets the most out of talent. The reigning national champion at Indiana has four total draft picks in his 15-year head coaching career — one from Elon, one at James Madison and two in last year’s cycle with the Hoosiers. That’s going to change this week when Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza likely goes No. 1 overall, kickstarting a run on talent out of the program. D’Angelo Ponds, Pat Coogan, Elijah Sarratt and Aiden Fisher are just a few others who will likely triple Cignetti’s all-time draft picks number in a single class.
Joey McGuire has five career draft picks at Texas Tech, a number that will grow in the coming years, given how well the Red Raiders have tapped the transfer portal to acquire talent. Former pass rusher David Bailey is currently the favorite to be the No. 2 overall pick on Thursday. He would be McGuire’s second first-rounder of his career, joining former defender Tyree Wilson (2023).
