1st round NFL draft pick trend over 25 years illustrates USC's program greatness

Listening to certain fan bases, USC is a poverty program that has been irrelevant for centuries. In reality, the Trojans are and will always be one of the strongest national brands in the country.

Programs are judged first and foremost on championships. In that department, it has been since Pete Carroll that the Trojans were able to win it all. A secondary and additional measuring point is the draft. When players go from college to the NFL, some are able to make a career out of being an undrafted free agent, but having a team use one of their valuable selections on a player says a lot about how they view the potential talent.

Again, that isn't everything. There are always going to be deserving undrafted free agent rookies who go on to outperform those who did hear their name called. In fact, some from the most recent draft are slated to have a first-year impact as Projans.

In terms of measuring the strength of a program, however, draft picks, and specifically first-rounders, are a commonly used metric to evaluate schools and their development.

An interesting graphic was shared on X by the CFB Tracker account. It showed the amount of players taken in the first in 2000 and in 2025.

Some fell out of the allocated dozen, while others crept in. Interestingly enough, a certain Cardinal and Gold school could still be seen toward the top, a score and five later.

Yes, USC started the turn of the millennium with a one first-rounder edge over Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish, too, fell off in that regard; only their place is now two spots lower.

Overstated program demise (in a national sense) at USC

Credit to Ohio State, they surpassed everyone else and currently hold the top distinction in this category. Even so, Alabama is in third behind USC, and then there is something of a drop-off.

This graphic should show that even in the down years and with recruiting not being where it should have been, the Trojans still produced pro talent, and even when things aren't firing on all cylinders, their place in college football cannot be questioned.

Now with the reemphasis by coach Lincoln Riley and GM Chad Bowden, as long as the wins start to follow as well, USC will be positioned to make a dent in the current Buckeye lead.