USC has produced six No. 1 overall NFL draft picks, more than any other school, and 87 first round selections, second only to Ohio State. Its total of more than 530 draftees trails only Notre Dame, and since the common draft began in 1967 no program has had more players taken. Makai Lemon, the 2025 Biletnikoff winner, went 20th to Philadelphia in April.
| Total draft picks all time | More than 530, second only to Notre Dame |
| Picks since 1967 | 369, the most of any school |
| First round picks all time | 87, second to Ohio State’s 99 |
| No. 1 overall picks | Six, the most of any school |
| Pro Football Hall of Famers | 14, the most of any school |
| Receivers drafted since 2010 | 14, four in the first round |
The Six No. 1 Picks
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | OT Ron Yary | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1969 | RB O.J. Simpson | Buffalo Bills |
| 1977 | RB Ricky Bell | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 1996 | WR Keyshawn Johnson | New York Jets |
| 2003 | QB Carson Palmer | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 2024 | QB Caleb Williams | Chicago Bears |
Yary and Simpson in consecutive years is a sequence only Oklahoma has matched, with Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in 2018 and 2019. Ricky Bell went first to John McKay, his college coach, in Tampa Bay’s second draft. Palmer and Williams were both Heisman winners. Our Heisman winners page covers all eight.
The 2026 Draft
Makai Lemon, a unanimous All-American who led every Power Four receiver with 1,156 yards and won the Biletnikoff Award, went 20th overall to the Philadelphia Eagles, USC’s 87th first round pick and its fourth receiver taken in the first round since 2010. Safety Kamari Ramsey went to Houston in the fifth round. Lemon was the first Trojan drafted by Philadelphia since 2021.
Wide Receiver U
USC has had fourteen receivers drafted since 2010, four of them in the first round: Nelson Agholor in 2015, Drake London at eighth overall in 2022, Jordan Addison at 23rd in 2023 and Lemon in 2026. Robert Woods, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Michael Pittman and Amon-Ra St. Brown came from the same pipeline in the rounds below. It is the most productive receiver line of any program over that span.
The Carroll Years
Pete Carroll’s nine seasons produced a run of first round picks unmatched in the program’s history, including Palmer, Troy Polamalu, Reggie Bush at second overall in 2006, Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez at fifth in 2009, Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews, and eleven players in the 2006 draft alone. Ohio State passed USC for the most first rounders all time only in the 2020s. Our head coaches page covers the era.
Tailback U in the Draft
Simpson, Bell, Charles White at 27th in 1980, Marcus Allen at tenth in 1982 and Bush at second are the running backs the program’s reputation rests on, and Frank Gifford, Ronnie Lott, Bruce Matthews, Anthony Munoz, Lynn Swann and Junior Seau are among the 14 Hall of Famers, the most from any school. Clay Matthews, Willie McGinest and Keyshawn Johnson extended the line through the 1990s.
The Bottom Line
USC has six No. 1 overall picks, more than any school, 87 first rounders and more than 530 selections, and it leads the sport in draft picks since the common draft began in 1967. Makai Lemon at 20th in 2026 was the program’s latest first rounder and its fourth receiver taken in the round this decade. Our All-Americans page covers the college honours behind the pipeline.