Highest NFL Draft pick produced by every B1G team in the CFB Playoff era
Producing NFL talent hasn’t been a problem for the B1G, which has developed some of the top professional prospects for several years. Every year at the NFL Draft, several talented prospects from the conference hear their names called.
With the NFL Draft coming up on Thursday, we thought it’d be fun to take a look at how successful each team has been recently in the NFL Draft. With the College Football Playoff celebrating its fifth anniversary last January, that seems like as good a timeline as any.
The first College Football Playoff was held in January 2015, following the 2014 season. So, we’ve decided to include the last four years (2015-18) of the NFL Draft in our process.
Six B1G teams have produced at least one first-round pick and 12 of the 14 programs have a first- or second-round pick since 2015. Every team in the conference has produced at least one draft pick.
Here’s each team’s highest NFL Draft pick in the College Football Playoff era:
Illinois Fighting Illini
Highest draft pick: Jihad Ward, DE (2016)
Team: Oakland Raiders
Selection: 2nd round, 13th pick
Overall: 44th
Indiana Hoosiers
Highest draft pick: Jason Spriggs, OT (2016)
Team: Green Bay Packers
Selection: 2nd round, 17th pick
Overall: 48th
Iowa Hawkeyes
Highest draft pick: Brandon Scherff, OT (2015)
Team: Washington Redskins
Selection: 1st round, 5th pick
Overall: 5th
Maryland Terrapins
Highest draft pick: D.J. Moore, WR (2018)
Team: Carolina Panthers
Selection: 1st round, 24th pick
Overall: 24th
Michigan Wolverines
Highest draft pick: Jabrill Peppers, S (2017)
Team: Cleveland Browns
Selection: 1st round, 25th pick
Overall: 25th
Michigan State Spartans
Highest draft pick: Jack Conklin, OT (2016)
Team: Tennessee Titans
Selection: 1st round, 8th pick
Overall: 8th
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Highest draft pick: Maxx Williams, TE (2015)
Team: Baltimore Ravens
Selection: 2nd round, 23rd pick
Overall: 55th
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Highest draft pick: Ameer Abdullah, RB (2015)
Team: Detroit Lions
Selection: 2nd round, 22nd pick
Overall: 54th
Northwestern Wildcats
Highest draft pick: Ibraheim Campbell, DB (2015)
Team: Cleveland Browns
Selection: 4th round, 16th pick
Overall: 115th
Ohio State Buckeyes
Highest draft pick: Joey Bosa, DE (2016)
Team: San Diego Chargers
Selection: 1st round, 3rd pick
Overall: 3rd
Penn State Nittany Lions
Highest draft pick: Saquon Barkley, RB (2018)
Team: New York Giants
Selection: 1st round, 2nd pick
Overall: 2nd
Purdue Boilermakers
Highest draft pick: Ja’Whaun Bentley, LB (2018)
Team: New England Patriots
Selection: 5th round, 6th pick
Overall: 143rd
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Highest draft pick: Kemoko Turay, DE (2018)
Team: Indianapolis Colts
Selection: 2nd round, 20th pick
Overall: 52nd
Wisconsin Badgers
Highest draft pick: Melvin Gordon, RB (2015)
Team: San Diego Chargers
Selection: 1st round, 15th pick
Overall: 15th