On the contrary, the NFL draft is a chance for less illustrious programs to emerge as producers of first-round talent. One program trying to prove it can produce first-round talent is Indiana, which has not pumped out a first-round pick since wide receiver Thomas Lewis in 1994.<\/p>\n
The Hoosiers should instantly break their 32-year drought without a first-round pick with Fernando Mendoza as the probable No. 1 pick to the Las Vegas Raiders. Mendoza threw for 3,535 yards, 41 touchdowns and six interceptions during his Heisman Trophy campaign at Indiana.<\/p>\n
Mendoza stands head and shoulders above what is considered a weak quarterback class. This weakness, coupled with the Raiders putting quarterback worries on the back burner in the years following Derek Carr’s departure, virtually guarantees Mendoza’s selection with the No. 1 overall pick.<\/p>\n
While Indiana will have no issue breaking the drought, most of its departing NFL draft talent is expected to be taken in later rounds.<\/p>\n
Wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. has been projected as a first-rounder in several mocks, although he has not received nearly as much praise as wide receivers such as Makai Lemon, Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson.<\/p>\n
What other programs are in the midst of long first-round droughts?![\"Scenes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/01kpv6v59ngh1qs5ge3h.jpg\" "\\"Scenes")
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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive back Omar Daniels (9) breaks up a pass intended for Syracuse Orange tight end Dan Villari (89) | Brett Davis-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
The longest first-round drought<\/a> heading into the 2026 NFL draft belongs to SMU, whose last first-round pick was running back Reggie Dupard in 1986. The Mustangs were handed the “death penalty<\/a>” by the NCAA in 1987, which brought about long-term damage to the program over the next two decades.<\/p>\n SMU and Indiana are the only programs with droughts spanning over 20 years, but there are plenty that have waited over a decade for a first-round selection. Kansas and Vanderbilt are both in the midst of 17-year droughts, but those two teams have combined for five winning seasons in that stretch.<\/p>\n Vanderbilt is coming off a 10-win season, but tight end Eli Stowers, the Commodores’ best prospect, is a likely second-round selection.<\/p>\n Virginia has the fifth-longest wait at 16 years. Winning seasons have been few and far between in that stretch, although the Cavaliers are coming off a 2025 campaign in which they won 11 games and played in an ACC Championship.<\/p>\n Georgia Tech and Rutgers have both gone 15 years without a first-round pick. The Yellow Jackets’ use of the triple option offense under Paul Johnson, coupled with their transition to a conventional offense after his departure, is part of the reason franchises have been deterred from drafting Georgia Tech prospects in early rounds.<\/p>\n Rutgers lost much of its value in conference expansion; the Scarlet Knights fell from a stable Big East program in the mid-2000s to a losing Big Ten program in the mid-2010s.<\/p>\n Nebraska (14 years), Syracuse (12 years) and Oklahoma State (11 years) are the last three programs with first-round droughts spanning over a decade.<\/p>\n All three have put together successful runs within the last 30 years, but they have all fallen into at least one dark stretch since 2010. <\/p>\n Syracuse has ended nine of its 13 seasons as an ACC member with a losing record, Nebraska is two years removed from a seven-year bowl hiatus, and Oklahoma State is a combined 4-20 in the last two seasons.<\/p>\n
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