FCS programs made the wrong kind of history at the NFL Draft in 2026. NIL money in college football is crushing their chances of getting a player drafted during the early rounds.
However, there is a nuance to it.
Many of the athletes who were drafted into the NFL on Thursday and Friday did not finish their college football career at the same place it started. Do their original programs get to claim the pick?
FCS made history at the NFL Draft.
The first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft came to a conclusion on Friday night. An FCS player was not selected with any of the first 100 picks for the first time in almost five decades.
It took until pick No. 104 for an FCS athlete to get drafted. The Arizona Cardinals selected Southeastern Louisiana defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor with the fourth pick of the fourth round. North Dakota State wide receiver Bryce Lance (the young brother of Trey Lance), Stephen F. Austin defensive back Charles Demmings and North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton are other names to watch.
What took so long? Great question.
In an era of college football where money has a direct impact on success, FBS programs are able to poach the most elite talent from the FCS at a relatively low cost. If an athlete has a good year at a school like Illinois State, he is likely to get paid 2X (or more) by a “Power Four” program to transfer up.
A vast majority of FCS players who are worth drafting already left their former schools to play FBS.
Who gets to claim FBS transfers?
Technically speaking, the FCS did get two players drafted in the first three rounds. They were not drafted directly out of the FCS but they at one point played FCS football and got drafted.
Jake Golday and Keagen Trost were selected within the first 96 picks.
Golday was selected with the No. 51 overall pick in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings. He began his career with three seasons Central Arkansas before he transferred to Cincinnati.
Trost was selected with the No. 93 overall pick in the third round by the Los Angeles Rams. He began his career at Morgan State, played four years at Indiana State, and then transferred up to the FBS with one year at Wake Forest and one year at Missouri.
So, to say that an FCS player was not drafted in the first three rounds is not entirely true. They were not drafted out of Central Arkansas, Morgan State or Indiana State but they were drafted.
Should that count?! This is a debate that will continue to exist because the transfer portal and NIL are not going anywhere. It is going to become more and more rare for a player to be drafted early out of the FCS.
That is the new reality of college football. The original programs, like Central Arkansas, Morgan State and Indiana State, should not be ignored!