Cal Sports Report

Pac-12 Football: NFL Draft Reflects Each Team's 2023 Success

Washington had the most players drafted and won the conference, Oregon had the second-most players drafted and finished second. And so on. It correlates on the national level too. Michigan had the most players drafted and was national champion.

Jake Curtis

Apr 26, 2024; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons first round draft pick quarterback Michael
Apr 26, 2024; Flowery Branch, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons first round draft pick quarterback Michael / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

How well does the NFL draft reflect the strength of college football programs? The correlation is rather scary – at least in the 2024 NFL draft.

The simple fact is that the college teams with the most NFL-caliber players are the best college teams.  This may sound obvious, but the notion that strategy or teamwork or team unity or heart is the vital part of winning in college football is marginalized by the plain truth – the best talent win.

Which school had the most players taken in the draft that ended Saturday? Michigan, and the Wolverines won the national championship, and the correlation goes right down the line.

It works for the Pac-12 as well.  Here is a ranking of the number of players drafted from each Pac-12 team, listed from most to fewest draftees, and then where that team finished in the 2023 standings.

--- 1. Washington – 10 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 9-0, first, won conference championship game

--- 2. Oregon – 8 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 8-1, second, lost in conference championship game

--- 3. USC – 7 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 5-4, tied for fourth

--- 4. Utah – 5 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 5-4, tied for fourth

--- 5. Arizona – 3 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 7-2, third

--- 5. Oregon State – 3 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 5-4, tied for fourth

--- 5. Washington State – 3 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 2-7, tied for ninth

--- 8. UCLA – 2 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 4-5, tied for seventh

--- 9. Cal – 1 player drafted. Pac-12 finish: 4-5, tied for seventh

--- 9. Stanford – 1 player drafted. Pac-12 finish: 2-7, tied for ninth

--- 11. Arizona State – 0 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 2-7, tied for ninth

--- 12. Colorado – 0 players drafted. Pac-12 finish: 1-8, last place

It goes nearly right down the line of the teams’ standing correlating with the number of players drafted.  The only slight exceptions are Arizona, which slightly exceeded its draft number, and Washington State, which did slightly worse than its draft number. You could make the case that USC should have finished higher with seven players drafted, and critics said all season the Trojans were underachieving based on itheir talent.

The correlation extends to the national level.

Here’s a rundown of the schools that had the most players drafted this year, and how each team did in the 2023 season:

---1. Michigan – 13 players drafted: National champion

---2. Texas – 11 players drafted: National semifinalist, losing to Washington by six points after getting to the Washington 11-yard line in the closing seconds.

---3. Washington – 10 players drafted: National runnerup

---3. Alabama – 10 players drafted: National semifinalist, losing to Michigan in overtime.

---3. Florida State – 10 players drafted: Still annoyed it wasn’t invited to the four-team national playoffs despite going unbeaten in the regular season

---6. Georgia – 8 players drafted: Bulldogs were unbeaten and ranked No. 1 nearly the entire season before losing to Alabama in the SEC title game. Ranked 4th in final AP poll.

--- 6. Oregon – 8 players drafted: Missed out on a berth in the four-team national championship playoff when it lost to Washington by three points in the Pac-12 title game.

--- 6. Penn State – 8 players drafted: Ranked 10th in final CFP rankings.

The top seven teams in the final AP poll were among the top seven teams in number of players drafted.

Case closed.

If you're interested, here is the draft breakdown by conference in the final year of the Pac-12:

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.