PSU Football

NFL Draft April 23-25, 2026, in Pittsburgh

Penn State Players in 2026 NFL Draft

Vega Ioane OG—Baltimore Ravens 1st Round #14 overall pick—1st Guard selected in draft—4th OL drafted out of 9 total in 1st Round—45th 1st Rounder in PSU history—34th PSU Guard drafted all-time—21st straight year with at least one PSU pick in the 1st three rounds—Per PFF: 0 sacks allowed in 2025 season on 310 passing snaps played—Ioane was also one of a record 5 players of Polynesian descent drafted in the 1st Round (per the Polynesian Bowl)—Signed by Ravens/will wear #71 (same as PSU)

Note: Ioane was 8th PSU OL taken in 1st Round all-time—He joins Keith Dorney OT 1979, Sean Farrell OG 1982, Mike Munchak OG 1982, Andre Johnson OT 1996, Jeff Hartings OG 1996, Levi Brown OT 2007, & Olu Fashanu OT 2024

Drew Allar QB—Pittsburgh Steelers 3rd Round #76 overall pick—4th QB selected overall in 2026 (still coming back from broken ankle in week 6 of 2025 season)—Highest drafted PSU regular starting QB since Christian Hackenberg (a Bill O’Brien recruit) in 2016 (NY Jets 2nd Round #51 overall pick)—Highest James Franklin QB recruit drafted was Will Levis (made 2 starts at PSU 2018-20/transferred to Kentucky in 2021) by Tennessee Titans in 2023 2nd Round 33rd overall pick (FYI-Sean Clifford was a 5th Rounder/Tracy McSorley was 6th Rounder/Tommy Stevens was 7th Rounder)—Allar live draft announcement was made by both Joey Porter Jr. & Sr.—Will wear #16 with Steelers

Note: None of the receivers who started for PSU in the 2024 & 25 seasons, and were eligible for the 2026 draft, were selected

Drew Shelton OT—Dallas Cowboys 4th Round #112 overall pick—first of six Day 3 selections

Dani Dennis-Sutton DE—Green Bay Packers 4th Round #120 overall pick—joins Micah Parsons LB

Zakee Wheatley S—Carolina Panthers 5th Round #151 overall pick—Carolina traded up to draft Wheatley—400th PSU draft pick all-time

Nick Singleton RB—Tennessee Titans 5th Round #165 overall pick (still recovering from broken right foot suffered at Senior Bowl practice)—resumed running April 9 per Rich Scarcella of Reading Eagle—Signed by Titans/will wear #32

Zane Durant DT—Buffalo Bills 5th Round #181 overall pick (last selection of this round)

Kaytron Allen RB—Washington Commanders 6th Round #187 overall pick—37th RB drafted all-time (Allen & Singleton are first pair of Penn State RBs taken in same draft since Mike Archie & Stephen Pitts in 1996)—Signed by Commanders/will wear #31 (reverse of his PSU #13)

Jordan van den Berg DT (transferred to Georgia Tech for 2024-25 seasons)—Chicago Bears 6th Round #213 overall pick

Note: PSU has had 5 or more players selected in 9 straight drafts which is a Penn State best (2018-26)—PSU had 8 draftees for 3rd time in Franklin-era (2022, 2024, 2026) with the ‘22 & ‘26 drafts following 7-6 seasons

Undrafted Free Agent Signings—Devonte Ross WR (LA Chargers), Trebor Pena WR (Jacksonville Jags), Khalil Dinkins TE (San Francisco 49ers), Nick Dawkins C (Baltimore Ravens), Tyler Duzansky LS (LV Raiders), Nolan Rucci OT (Indianapolis Colts), & Dom DeLuca LB (Baltimore Ravens)-DeLuca was PWO at PSU, Kyron Hudson WR (Chicago Bears/was also in Baltimore Ravens Rookie Camp)

Former PSU Players Signed as UDFAs—Harrison Wallace III WR (Ole Miss 2025) with Cardinals, Omari Evans WR (Washington 2025) with Chiefs, Malick Meiga WR (Coastal Carolina 2024-25) with Panthers, Malik McClain WR (Arizona State 2024-25) with NY Jets, & Cam Miller CB (Rutgers 2025) with Panthers

Players invited to Rookie Mini-Camps—Gabe Nwosu P/K (Pittsburgh Steelers), Liam Clifford WR (Indianapolis Colts)

Other Available PSU Post-Draft Free Agents—Alonzo Ford DT & Riley Thompson P

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Penn State Players in 2025 NFL Draft

Abdul Carter DE—New York Giants 1st Round #3 overall pick—highest PSU draft pick since Saquon Barkley went #2 in 2018 to the NY Giants & 3rd PSU D-Lineman taken in top 5 all-time (Bruce Clark DT 1980 #4 Packers & Courtney Brown DE 2000 #1 Browns)

Tyler Warren TE—Indianapolis Colts 1st Round #14 overall pick—3rd PSU TE all-time taken in 1st Round (Ted Kwalick 1969 #7 49ers & Kyle Brady 1995 #9 Jets)

(Note: 2025 is 11th draft to see 2 or more PSU players selected in 1st Round—3rd draft under James Franklin with 2 or more 1st Rounders along with 2021 & 2024)

KJ Winston S—Tennessee Titans 3rd Round #82 overall pick

KeAndre Lambert-Smith WR (transferred to Auburn for 2024 season)—LA Chargers 5th Round #158 overall pick

Jaylen Reed S—Houston Texans 6th Round #187 overall pick

Kobe King LB—Minnesota Vikings 6th Round #201 overall pick—72nd PSU LB drafted/5th under Franklin (most LBs in NFL history)

Notable undrafted player—Amin Vanover DE

Through the 2025 draft, PSU has had 5 or more players selected in 8 straight drafts which is a Penn State first (matching Georgia & Alabama in this same timeframe 2018-25)

NOTE: 2025 saw a Penn State first when Nittany Lions were taken in the 1st Round of the NFL Draft (Carter & Warren), the 1st Round of the NBA Draft (Yanic Konan-Niederhauser C #30 to LA Clippers), the 1st Round of the NHL Entry Draft (Jackson Smith D #14 to Columbus Blue Jackets), and the 1st Round of the Premiere Lacrosse League (PLL) Draft (Matt Traynor MF #6 to New York Atlas) - Penn State never had an NBA or NHL first rounder before 2025‍

Penn State Players in 2024 NFL Draft

Olu Fashanu LT—NY Jets 1st Round #11 overall pick—then highest PSU draft pick since Saquon Barkley went #2 in 2018—Olu is 4th PSU OT all-time taken in 1st Round (Keith Dorney 1979 Lions, Andre Johnson 1996 Redskins, & Levi Brown 2007 Cardinals)

Chop Robinson DE—Miami Dolphins 1st Round #21 overall pick

(Note: Fashanu & Robinson were first pair of PSU players taken in 1st Round since 2021 when Micah Parsons #12 overall & Odafe “Jayson” Oweh #31 were drafted by the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Ravens respectively—Fashanu & Robinson were also first group of Penn Staters taken among top 25 picks since 2003 when Jimmy Kennedy #12 overall, Michael Haynes #14, & Bryant Johnson #17 were selected)

Caedan Wallace OT—New England Patriot 3rd Round #68 overall pick

Adisa Isaac DE—Baltimore Ravens 3rd Round #93 overall pick

Theo Johnson TE—New York Giants 4th Round #107 overall pick

Hunter Nourzad C—Kansas City Chiefs 5th Round #159 overall pick

Daequan Hardy CB—Buffalo Bills 6th Round #219 overall pick

Kalen King CB—Green Bay Packers 7th Round #255 overall pick (only 2 selections ahead of “Mr. Irrelevant”)

Surprise undrafted players—Curtis Jacobs LB was projected 4th Rounder & Johnny Dixon CB (injured at Senior Bowl)

PSU’s 8 selections in 2024 NFL Draft were tied for highest total in 21st century and in the James Franklin-era (tied with 2022 Draft Class that featured first rounder Jahan Dotson WR Commanders)—2024 was 7th straight draft to see 5 or more PSU players taken (only similar stretch was from 1978-1984 under Joe Paterno)

Penn State Draft Class Records

Modern 7-round Draft/Most PSU Selections—10 in 1996 Draft (1st Rounders—Jeff Hartings OG Lions & Andre Johnson OT Redskins)

All-time NFL Draft/Most PSU selections—13 in 1987’s 12-Round Draft (1st Rounders—Shane Conlan LB Bills & DJ Dozier RB Vikings)—4 of the 13 picks were taken later than the 7th Round

Most Penn State 1st Rounders selected in single NFL Draft—4 in 2003—Jimmy Kennedy DT #12 Rams, Michael Haynes DE #14 Bears, Bryant Johnson FL #17 Cardinals, & Larry Johnson TB #27 Chiefs—The 2003 draft saw a total of 6 Nittany Lions taken (all in the first 2 rounds)—3 in 1995 (all in top 10)—Ki-Jana Carter TB #1 to Bengals, Kerry Collins QB #5 Panthers, & Kyle Brady TE #9 Jets (see Nittany Notes section at bottom)

Most Penn State players selected in succession by NFL teams in same draft—3 in a row in 2021 draft—7th round, picks 246 through 248—Shaka Toney DE (Washington Football Team/later Commanders), Michal Menet C (Arizona Cardinals), & Will Fries OL (Indianapolis Colts)—Penn State has also had back-to-back selections in 6 other NFL Drafts (1962, 1981, 1987, 1991, 2000, 2023)

Penn State Draft History

Through 2026 NFL Draft (dates to 1936)—45 first round picks all-time/403 total selections

First Penn State 1st Round NFL Draft Pick—Lenny Moore HB 1956 #9 overall to the Baltimore Colts

First Penn Stater taken in NFL Draft (began 1936)—Leon Gajecki C/LB in 1940 (actually Dec. 1939) by the Pittsburgh Steelers (16th round, #142 overall)-Gajecki remained at Penn State for his All-America senior season in 1940 and never played in the NFL—Note: Chuck Cherundolo C/LB (PS 1933-36) was surprisingly passed over the in 1937 NFL Draft (or he might have been Penn State’s first pick), but he would sign with the Cleveland Rams for their NFL debut season (former Nittany Lion Head Coach Hugo Bezdek coached the Rams in 1937 & part of 1938)

First Penn State 1st Round Draft Pick of the “Common NFL-AFL Draft era” (began 1967)—Ted Kwalick TE 1969 #7 overall to the San Francisco 49ers—also first 1st Rounder under Paterno

First Penn Stater taken in the “Common NFL-AFL Draft era” (1967 Draft)—Dave Rowe DT in 2nd Round #53 overall by the New Orleans Saints

First NFL Draft with 2 or more PSU 1st Rounders—2 in 1974—Ed O’Neil LB #8 to the Detroit Lions & John Cappelletti TB #11 to the LA Rams

Penn Staters who were #1 overall NFL Draft Picks (2)—Ki-Jana Carter TB 1995 to Cincinnati Bengals & Courtney Brown DE 2000 to Cleveland Browns (2000 was only year in which PSU had both the #1 & #2 overall picks with LaVar Arrington LB #2 to Washington Redskins)

First Penn Stater selected by the AFL in its Inaugural 1960 Draft (which was actually held in Nov.-Dec. 1959)—Richie Lucas QB #1 by Buffalo Bills (Lucas was technically assigned #1 to Buffalo ahead of the draft as part of a protected territorial allotment of certain top players, so he wasn’t the true overall AFL #1)—Lucas was also selected #4 overall by the Washington Redskins in the 1960 (Dec. 1959) NFL Draft but opted to sign with the AFL Bills (Lucas was PSU’s 2nd all-time NFL 1st Round pick after Lenny Moore in 1956)

Last Penn Stater drafted by the AFL prior to the Common Draft era debut in 1967—Glenn Ressler G 1965 3rd Round #17 overall by the Denver Broncos—was also last PSU player drafted by both leagues (drafted by NFL’s Baltimore Colts in 3rd Round #36 overall)