The 2026 NFL Draft begins on Thursday, April 23, with hundreds of prospects set to take the next step in their football journey, including members of Florida State's program.
The Seminoles program has produced over 300 drafted players in the team's history. FSU has had at least one player picked in the NFL draft every year since 1984, with defensive tackle Darrell Jackson set to be the next player to be drafted from the program.
It's an impressive run for a program that has often competed at the highest level of college football during that time. However, the Seminoles have struggled in recent seasons, with a combined 7-17 record since an undefeated 13-0 regular season in 2023.
Head coach Mike Norvell has had 18 draft picks during his tenure with the Seminoles and is guaranteed at least one more in the 2026 NFL Draft with Jackson. Let's take a look at Norvell's drafted players and how the number of players picked has fluctuated in his six-year tenure.
The 2023 Seminoles, led by Jordan Travis, Jared Verse, Trey Benson, Keon Coleman, and Braden Fiske, among others, remain Norvell's best team and one of the best in FSU's program history.
It was only the fourth undefeated regular season in program history, and while it ultimately ended in a college playoff snub and Orange Bowl blowout, the Seminoles produced 10 draft picks in the 2024 NFL Draft and six in the first three rounds. It was the most players picked since the 2015 draft, when Jameis Winston went first overall.
For Norvell, it's the peak of his time in Tallahassee, both in on-field results and production of draftees.
Verse was selected in the first round, only the second first-round pick of Norvell's tenure, joining Jermaine Johnson II, and it was only the second time more than two players were drafted under Norvell. Travis was the first quarterback selected out of FSU since Winston in 2015, and only the fourth since 2010.
It's one of the best draft hauls in FSU's history, but how have drafts looked like outside of the 2024 season?
Only Johnson, Asante Samuel Jr and Azareye'h Thomas have been selected in the first three rounds of the draft outside of 2024.
Johnson and Samuel were both selected in the first two years of Norvell's tenure with the Seminoles, and the program produced five picks in those seasons.
The draft numbers have tanked for FSU since the departure of Jimbo Fisher, with Willie Taggart and Norvell combining for a total of 21 draft picks in eight seasons, two picks less than what Fisher produced from 2015-2018. FSU had only had a single player drafted in an NFL draft twice from 1975 to 2019, but since then, three drafts have been completed with one Seminole selected, and that number could increase to four if Jackson is the lone draftee in 2026.
FSU has struggled to recruit blue-chip talent to Tallahassee since the departure of Fisher, and while that doesn't fully equate to the fall off in draft picks, it's played a significant part. Of the 18 draft picks under Norvell, 11 were transfers, and of the seven non-transfers, including the four 2021 draftees, who all committed to play for Fisher or Taggart.
In 2026, the Seminoles will see Jackson selected, likely in the first five rounds, and could see offensive lineman Micah Pettus, Quarterback Tommy Castellanos, and defensive back Jerry Wilson potentially being considered for late-round picks.
When: Thursday, April 23 - 8 p.m. / Friday, April 24 - 7 p.m. / Saturday, April 25 - Noon
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football in NFL draft under Mike Norvell: How Seminoles have fared