Which colleges have the Bears drafted from most? originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
It was yet another big NFL draft for Nick Saban and the Alabama football program.
The 2021 NFL Draft came and went with a total of 10 Alabama products hearing their name called, tied for the most with Ohio State. A record-tying six of those 10 Crimson Tide selections came in the first round, with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, cornerback Patrick Surtain II, wideout DeVonta Smith, quarterback Mac Jones, offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood and running back Najee Harris all coming off the board in the first 24 picks.
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It marked the third time in the last four years that Alabama either had or was tied for the most total draft picks and the fourth time in the last five years that at least 10 ’Bama players were selected.
Alabama has certainly dominated the draft as of late, but here’s a look at the schools that the Chicago Bears have poached from most.
Which colleges have the Bears drafted from most?
Notre Dame (42), Ohio State (31), Oklahoma (26), Texas (26), Stanford (24)
One school stands way above the rest when it comes to Bears draft picks. Chicago has drafted a whopping 42 players from Notre Dame, headlined by Johnny Lujack, Bill Wightkin and Dave Duerson. That’s at least 11 more draft picks than any other school, despite the fact that the Bears went from 2002 to 2019 without picking a Fighting Irish player (the Cole Kmet pick last year snapped that streak).
The second most popular school is the one that produced the Bears’ current quarterback of the future: Ohio State. Justin Fields became the 31st Buckeye drafted by Chicago when the Bears traded up to No. 11 overall for the signal caller.
Behind Ohio State is a tie for third between two Big 12 rivals in Oklahoma and Texas with 26 draft picks each. Three-time Pro Bowler Tommie Harris is the most notable Bears draft pick out of Oklahoma, while Hall of Fame quarterback Bobby Layne had the most success of any Texas Longhorn picked by Chicago (although that success came elsewhere after playing just one season in the Windy City).
Stanford closes out the top five with 24 players drafted by the Bears, but Chicago’s best picks from the school came back in the early 1940s.
Which colleges have produced the most Bears first-round picks?
Texas (6), Ohio State (6), Michigan (5), Florida (5), USC (4)
The Justin Fields selection moved Ohio State into a tie with Texas for the most Bears first-round picks. Fields became the sixth Buckeye to be drafted in Round 1 by Chicago, and the first since Alonzo Spellman in 1992. The aforementioned Bobby Layne headlines the first-rounders out of Texas, with Cedric Benson being the most recent selection (2005).
Trailing Ohio State and Texas is a pair of schools each with five first-round picks in Florida and Michigan. Three of those Florida picks came in the 1980s (Wilber Marshall, Neal Anderson and Trace Armstrong) and they all went on to become Pro Bowlers. The next time Chicago used a first-round pick on a Gator? Rex Grossman in 2003. And speaking of quarterbacks, Jim Harbaugh was the lone Bears first-round pick from the University of Michigan to make a Pro Bowl.
Rounding out the top five is USC with four Bears first-rounders, three of whom were several-year starters in Chicago (Curtis Conway, three-time Pro Bowler Mark Carrier and Keith Van Horne).
Eric Mullin, Logan Reardon and Gaia De Simoni contributed to this story.
