State-by-state look at high schools of 2025 NFL Draft first-round selections

Texas has most first-round picks for first time since 2020 with six.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Zack Poff

By Zack Poff

Apr 25, 2025, 9:30am

Highlights of Collins Hill's 5-star athlete Travis Hunter in the Eagles 24-8 win over Milton in the Georgia AAAAAAA state championship. He had 10 receptions for 153 yards and a score while forcing a fumble on defense.

Highlights: 5-star Jackson State commit Travis Hunter GOES OFF in Georgia 7A state championship 135,271 views 2:29

In the opening round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night at Lambeau Field, Cam Ward got the state of Texas off to a hot start after being selected No. 1 overall by the Tennessee Titans.

Ward, who graduated from Columbia (West Columbia) in 2020, was one of six Texas high school football products taken in the first round. Ashton Jeanty, Kelvin Banks Jr., Jahdae Barron, Matthew Golden and Donovan Jackson were the other five selections from the Lone Star State.

Travis Hunter was selected at No. 2 and headlines the three players from Georgia.

The former Collins Hill (Suwanee) standout was named the MaxPreps Georgia Player of the Year as a junior and senior. He was also named the MaxPreps National Junior of the Year.

California, Florida and North Carolina tied Georgia with the second-most selections with three apiece.

Mason Graham and Tetairoa McMillan became the first high school teammates selected as they both graduated from Servite (Anaheim, Calif.) in 2022. McMillan was named the MaxPreps California Player of the Year as a senior after hauling in 88 receptions for 1,302 yards and 18 touchdowns to go with 35 tackles and eight interceptions on defense.

They joined J.C. Latham and J.J. McCarthy of IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) as the only set of high school teammates to be selected in the top 10 over the last decade.

The Ascenders added to their first round success with two more selections Thursday. The Cowboys took Tyler Booker at No. 12 while the Eagles selected Jihaad Campbell at No. 31. That gave IMG Academy eight first-round picks since 2020 and it was the fifth-straight year with at least one player go in the opening round.

The New York Giants traded back into the first round to select Jaxson Dart with the 25th pick. The former Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah) standout was named the MaxPreps National Player of the Year in 2020 after throwing for 4,691 yards and a state record 67 touchdowns. He added 1,195 yards rushing and 12 more scores while leading the Chargers to a 14-0 record.

Dart joined Kyler Murray, Derrick Brown and Bryce Young as former National Players of the Year to be selected in the first round.

In total, 16 different states had at least one first round selection. Michigan, Virginia and Washington all had two, while Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah had one.