PSU Football
2026 NFL Draft
NFL Draft April 23-25, 2026, in Pittsburgh
Penn State Players in 2026 NFL Draft
Vega Ioane OG—Projected 1st Rounder
Dani Dennis-Sutton DE—Projected 2nd Rounder
Drew Allar QB—Projected as high as 2nd Round pick (still coming back from broken ankle in week 6 of 2025 season)
Kaytron Allen RB—Projected as high as 3rd Round pick
Zakee Wheatley S—Projected as high as 3rd Round pick
Drew Shelton OT—Projected as high as 3rd Round pick
Nick Singleton RB—Projected as 4th Round pick (still recovering from broken right foot at Senior Bowl)—resumed running April 9 and has visited with Eagles & Giants per Rich Scarcella of Reading Eagle
Zane Durant DT—Projected as high as 4th Round pick
Additional Draft Candidates—Nolan Rucci OT, Nick Dawkins C (also former WR Harrison Wallace III of Ole Miss)
Potential Post-Draft Free Agent Signees—Gabe Nwosu P/K, Tyler Duzansky LS, Khalil Dinkins TE, Devonte Ross WR, Trebor Pena WR, Kyron Hudson WR
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 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)—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 Selections—10 Penn State selections 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 picks 13 were taken later than the 7th Round
Most Penn State 1st Rounders selected in single 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
First Penn State 1st Round NFL Draft Pick—Lenny Moore HB 1956 #9 overall to the Baltimore Colts
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—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 1960 Inaugural Draft (which was actually held in Nov. 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 plan, so he wasn’t a true overall AFL #1)—Lucas was also selected #4 overall by the Washington Redskins in the 1960 NFL Draft but opted to play for Bills (Lucas was PSU’s 2nd all-time NFL 1st Round pick after Lenny Moore)
NOTE: Earl “Bud” Kohlhaas G (PSU 1957-59) might be the lone Penn Stater to have been drafted by a team that technically never existed—In the first phase of the 1960 AFL Draft, Kohlhaas was selected by the unnamed Minneapolis franchise which withdrew from the league two months later so the city could accept an NFL franchise for the 1961 season—Minneapolis was quickly replaced by the Oakland Raiders which inherited many, but not all, of the Minneapolis draft picks (and would actually play its first 2 seasons in San Francisco)—Kohlhaas (who never signed with Oakland) was also drafted by the NFL’s Redskins a week after the AFL Draft, briefly signed with Montreal of the CFL, and with the AFL’s Buffalo Bills for training camp, but he never played for any of those teams in ‘60, or ever.
