1989 NFL Draft broken down by the college programs that produced each pick — first-rounders, conference totals, and the full board.

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NFL Draft History by college program

1989 NFL Draft broken down by the college programs that produced each pick — first-rounders, conference totals, and the full board.

Draft picks
12,927
Colleges
446
First-rounders
1,427
Hall of Famers
102
Pro Bowlers
1,326
Drafts covered
47
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Showing first-round picks from the 1989 draft out of the ACC · reset

Schools that produce the most NFL draft picks

Ranked by total picks within the current filters. Open a program for its full draft board.

  1. 1 Florida State ACC 2picks 2 Rd 1 · 1 Pro Bowlers · 1 HOF Florida State team hub
  2. 2 Miami ACC 2picks 2 Rd 1 · 0 Pro Bowlers Miami team hub
  3. 3 Pittsburgh ACC 2picks 2 Rd 1 · 0 Pro Bowlers Pittsburgh team hub
College programs ranked by NFL draft picks produced
# School Picks Rd 1 Pro Bowlers HOF Last 10
4 Boston College ACC · last pick 1989 1 1 00% 0 0
5 Clemson ACC · last pick 1989 1 1 1100% 0 0
6 Virginia ACC · last pick 1989 1 1 00% 0 0

Draft pick explorer

Showing 1–9 of 9 picks · filtered.

NFL draft picks with college, position, drafting team, and career outcome
Pick Player College Pos NFL team Career
1989 #5 · Rd 1 Deion Sanders HOF 6× All-Pro 8× Pro Bowl Florida State ACC DB ATL Atlanta Falcons 188 games · 12 yrs as starter 127 career AV
1989 #8 · Rd 1 Burt Grossman Pittsburgh ACC DE LAC San Diego Chargers 86 games · 5 yrs as starter 35 career AV
1989 #9 · Rd 1 Sammie Smith Florida State ACC RB MIA Miami Dolphins 44 games · 2 yrs as starter 13 career AV
1989 #11 · Rd 1 Donnell Woolford 1× Pro Bowl Clemson ACC DB CHI Chicago Bears 126 games · 9 yrs as starter 51 career AV
1989 #14 · Rd 1 Jeff Lageman Virginia ACC DE NYJ New York Jets 122 games · 7 yrs as starter 44 career AV
1989 #17 · Rd 1 Joe Wolf Boston College ACC T ARI Phoenix Cardinals 94 games · 2 yrs as starter 24 career AV
1989 #21 · Rd 1 Bill Hawkins Miami ACC DE LAR Los Angeles Rams 42 games · 1 yrs as starter 6 career AV
1989 #24 · Rd 1 Tom Ricketts Pittsburgh ACC G PIT Pittsburgh Steelers 53 games · 1 yrs as starter 9 career AV
1989 #26 · Rd 1 Cleveland Gary Miami ACC RB LAR Los Angeles Rams 68 games · 2 yrs as starter 25 career AV

Browse by draft class

Every year from 1980 to 2026 — school counts, conference splits, and the full first round.

All 47 draft years

NFL draft history guide

Last updated Aug 24, 2026

What this page tracks

NFL Draft History by College ranks every program by the NFL players it has produced since 1980. Browse 12,927 picks across 446 schools — first-rounders, Pro Bowl alumni, Hall of Famers, and recent draft classes — then open any school or year for the full board.

By the numbers

  • 12,927 drafted players from 446 colleges, 1980–2026.
  • 1,427 first-round selections across 47 drafts.
  • 1,326 of those picks made at least one Pro Bowl; 102 reached the Hall of Fame.
  • Most picks all-time: Florida State — 2
  • Most picks since 2017: Alabama — 95
  • Top conference: SEC — 2,760 picks
  • Most-drafted first-round position: DB — 181 picks

How to read the board

  1. Start with the school leaderboard — sort by total picks, first-rounders, Pro Bowls, or the last ten drafts.
  2. Use the round, conference, and position chips to isolate a pipeline, like SEC defensive backs in Round 1.
  3. Open a program for its full draft board, or a year for the complete class in pick order.

First round vs. career outcomes

Volume and quality are different signals. A program can lead in raw picks while another turns fewer selections into more Pro Bowlers. The Pro Bowler rate next to each school shows how often its picks became long-term NFL contributors, so read it alongside the Round 1 column rather than instead of it.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has produced the most NFL draft picks?

Florida State leads FantasyHQ’s archive with 2 NFL draft picks since 1980. Compare every program at https://fantasyhq.co/cfb-hq/draft-history.

How far back does FantasyHQ’s NFL draft history go?

The archive covers every NFL draft from 1980 through 2026 — 12,927 picks across 446 college programs. Open a school page or a draft class year for the full pick list.

Can I see first-round NFL draft picks by college?

Yes. Filter the board to Round 1, or sort schools by first-rounders. FantasyHQ lists 1,427 first-round selections since 1980. Start at https://fantasyhq.co/cfb-hq/draft-history.

Does the page show NFL career outcomes for drafted players?

Where available, each pick includes Pro Bowls, All-Pro selections, Hall of Fame status, games played, and Approximate Value. The archive currently tracks 1,326 Pro Bowl alumni and 102 Hall of Famers.

How is this different from a fantasy football mock draft?

This page is the real NFL draft pipeline — college programs to NFL clubs — not a fantasy league draft board. For fantasy mock drafts and rankings, use FantasyHQ’s fantasy tools. Draft history lives at https://fantasyhq.co/cfb-hq/draft-history.

How often is the draft history page updated?

New draft classes land when the board is published each spring. Career outcomes refresh as seasons complete. This page was last labeled Aug 24, 2026.