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How many Missouri players were picked in NFL Draft? MU ties modern record
- Story byColumbia Daily Tribune
- How many Missouri players were picked in NFL Draft? MU ties modern record
The Tigers tied their modern NFL Draft record for the second time in three years.
Six Missouri football players heard their names called over the course of seven rounds and 257 total selections between Thursday and Saturday in the 2026 NFL Draft. That ties the Tigers' team record for draft picks in a single class since the draft went to a seven-round format in 1994.
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Former head coach Gary Pinkel did it twice, with his 2009 and 2015 teams both sending half-a-dozen players to the league via the draft.
Eli Drinkwitz has now matched that mark twice in the past three years as his 2026 squad joined his 2024 team as six-player draft classes.
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Defensive end Zion Young and linebacker Josiah Trotter went back-to-back in the second round to get the action rolling, with Young going to the Baltimore Ravens at No. 45 and Trotter getting picked up at No. 46 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers .
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The Tigers had two more Day 2 draft picks in the third round, as defensive tackle Chris McClellan went to the Green Bay Packers at No. 77 and right tackle Keagen Trost was picked by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 93.
And Mizzou wrapped up this year's draft class with a pair of St. Louis natives on Day 3. Wide receiver Kevin Coleman Jr. was a fifth-round pick by the Miami Dolphins at No. 177 overall, and cornerback Toriano Pride Jr. was selected at No. 220 in the seventh round by the Buffalo Bills .
All six of Mizzou's draft picks this year were transfers to Missouri.
Linebacker Josiah Trotter #40 of the Missouri Tigers celebrates a tackle against the Central Arkansas Bears in the first half at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on August 28, 2025 in Columbia, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
Missouri has had seven draft picks in a class before. In 1981, when the NFL Draft lasted 12 rounds, the Tigers sent seven players to the NFL as draft picks.
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But, 2026 tied the modern record, and Missouri has now sent 15 players to the league as draft picks in the past three years. That is the most in any three-year span since the NFL/AFL merger.
Missouri has had two first-round, four second-round and three third-round picks in that timespan.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: How many Missouri football players were picked in 2026 NFL draft?
