33 Days till Kickoff: Baylor is 33rd in the FBS with 248 NFL Draft Picks

As always, keep track of both the stats and roster countdowns in the Offseason Hub!

According to Winsipedia.com, a very fun college football data congregating and comparison site, the Baylor Bears have produced the 33rd most draft picks of any FBS program with 248.

Not only is draft picks a good way to see consistent high-level players through a program’s history, but recent success in this category is also key to recruiting. Showing high school prospects that the current coaching staff is well-versed in getting their players to the NFL is massive. It only gets better if the program has done it consistently before the current staff too.

The 33 teams with more draft picks than Baylor include only two current Big 12 teams (Oklahoma and Texas) and none of the new members entering next year. Put another way: Baylor has produced the most NFL draft picks in the Big 12 outside of the two national championship-winning programs that are leaving for more money and tougher schedules in the SEC.

Other notable takeaways from the Winsipedia rankings:

• 10 Big Ten teams are ahead of Baylor, 12 if you count USC and UCLA.
• 9 SEC teams in the top 32 (not including OU and UT)
• 6 PAC 12 teams in the top 32 including USC, UCLA, Colorado, and Arizona State
• 4 ACC teams above Baylor

Imagine a conference where the top 3 NFL-draft-pick-producing programs are Colorado, Arizona State and Baylor. I’m not sure how I feel about that currently, but Baylor is trending up.

With six draft picks last year, Aranda has gotten the Baylor-to-NFL pipeline flowing again. The Bears are gaining ground on many of the schools ahead of them, and with the number of quality NFL players that Aranda has coached up in his career, front offices have a trust or understanding of what they can get from his former players.