NCAA Programs Who Have Provided The Most Late-Round NFL Talent In The Last 10 Years

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Programs that have produced the most late-round value in the last 10 years


By Brad Edwards | ESPN Insider
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There are approximately 250 players selected each year in the seven-round NFL draft, but most of the emphasis, as you've probably noticed, is on the first 20 to 30 picks.

That's when the big names -- the players believed to be future faces of franchises -- are all taken. Of course, there are also a few players with first-round talent who slide into the second round, and a lot of fans still watch this part of the draft with interest, hoping their team will scoop one up and perhaps steal the next Drew Brees or Maurice Jones-Drew.

By the time the third round comes along, however, the television viewers are no longer hanging on every pick. Most of the selections aren't even being announced live for the broadcast audience, as the conversation on the TV set shifts to team needs, overall class evaluations and interviews with coaches.

While most people are paying little attention, this is when NFL teams are really being assembled. The bulk of a typical roster comes from Rounds 3-7 of the draft, and even though the occasional diamond in the rough can be found here, most coaches and general managers are simply looking for the less-celebrated gems. For some teams, the later rounds of the draft are the ideal time to take a chance on a guy who showed exceptional speed, quickness or strength at the combine. For others, it's an opportunity to roll the dice on a player from a smaller college program whose biggest question mark is quality of competition.
And then there's the school of thought that it's hard to go wrong with anyone who was productive at the highest level of college football.

There must be quite a few teams in that last camp, because the SEC has had 87 players picked in the final five rounds of the three most recent drafts. The conference with the next-highest number in this category is the ACC with 68.
This trust in the SEC seems to have paid off for many franchises, because a top-five list of the college programs that have produced the most regular NFL starters from Rounds 3-7 in the past 10 years shows four SEC teams. Since the 2002 draft, Florida and Tennessee have each had six players chosen after Round 2 who averaged eight or more starts per season in their NFL careers. Georgia has had seven. LSU has had eight.
NFL pipeline programs

Most players drafted in Rounds 3 through 7 who've averaged at least eight starts per season in their NFL careers (since '02 draft).

<table><thead><tr><th>
School​
</th><th>
Players​
</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr class="last"><td>
Purdue​
</td><td>
9​
</td></tr><tr class="last"><td>
LSU​
</td><td>
8​
</td></tr><tr class="last"><td>
Georgia​
</td><td>
7​
</td></tr><tr class="last"><td>
Florida​
</td><td>
6​
</td></tr><tr class="last"><td>
Tennessee​
</td><td>
6​
</td></tr></tbody></table>

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What's surprising, if not borderline shocking, is that the program ranking first in this category is Purdue with nine. The Boilermakers have rarely even been in the Big Ten title conversation in the past 10 years, but they've done as good a job as anyone in the country of producing midlevel NFL talent during that span (see chart).

What's even more impressive is looking at the success rate of Purdue players who are drafted in the later rounds. In the past 10 years, only 22 Boilermakers have been drafted in Rounds 3-7, which means more than 40 percent of them have gone on to start eight or more games per season in the NFL. Compare that with LSU (19.5 percent), Georgia (17.1 percent), Florida (18.2 percent) and Tennessee (18.2 percent).

Purdue's crop is highlighted by Nick Hardwick and Shaun Phillips, who were both drafted by the Chargers in 2004. Hardwick was taken in the third round and has since started 103 games at center. Phillips went in the fourth round and has started 92 times at outside linebacker and defensive end. The Purdue nine have all been in the league at least five years, except for Cliff Avril of the Lions, who has started 44 times at defensive end in four seasons.

The question for Purdue is whether the pipeline has dried up. In the past two drafts, the Boilers have had one first-round pick, one second-round pick and no players taken in the final five rounds. And it might not get any better this year. Scouts Inc.'s newly released seven-round mock draft doesn't project any Purdue players to be selected this weekend.

Perhaps the Iowa Hawkeyes will step into this void. They have produced four solid late-round picks in the past five years, led by Panthers safety Charles Godfrey, who has started 57 games in the past four seasons. A total of 13 Iowa players have been picked in Rounds 3-7 of the past three NFL drafts, and Scouts Inc. predicts as many as six to go in that range this year, including Mike Daniels, Adam Gettis, Marvin McNutt and Shaun Prater. And if the recent Iowa trend continues, one of those guys is likely to become a regular starter within the next two years.
Every NFL team would love to have the next Tom Brady fall into its lap in the later rounds of this NFL draft, but would also be thrilled just to find the next Ahmad Bradshaw (seventh-round pick of the Giants in 2007). Guys like that can help win a Super Bowl, too.
 

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