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Drought day: Purdue has no selections in 2026 NFL draft

On3 imageby: Tom Dienhart04/26/26TomDienhart1

Purdue was shut out in the NFL draft. It wasn’t a surprise.

It marked the first time since 2019 that no Purdue players were selected, as the draft closed on Saturday in Pittsburgh. Since the draft started in 1936, Purdue never has gone two years in a row without an NFL pick.

After the draft, three Purdue players signed free-agent contracts: LB Mani Powell (Titans), WR EJ Horton (Colts) and DE CJ Nunnally (Falcons). Others with a good chance to follow suit: WR Michael Jackson and RB Devin Mockobee.

While no 2025 Boilermakers were picked, three players who began their careers in West Lafayette where tabbed.

• S Dillon Thieneman went in the first-round (25th overall) to the Bears. He spent his first two seasons at Purdue before playing in 2025 at Oregon after a coaching change in West Lafayette.

• TE Max Klare went in the second round (61st) to the Rams. He spent three seasons at Purdue before playing at Ohio State last season.

• WR Deion Burks was selected in the seventh round (254th) by the Colts after transferring from Purdue to Oklahoma after the 2023 season. He spent three years in West Lafayette.

There is one Purdue player who figures to be selected–but it will be in the Canadian Football League draft: OL Giordano Vaccaro. The CFL draft takes place April 28 in Toronto.

This year’s bleak NFL draft continues a recent trend for Purdue. Just one Boilermaker was selected in 2025: OL Marcus Mbow (5th round/Giants). The year before, only two Purdue players got picked: RB Tyrone Tracey (5th/Giants) and S Sanoussi Kane (7th/Ravens).

Purdue hasn’t had a player picked on the first two days of the draft (Thursday, first round; Friday, second-third round) since 2022, when DE George Karlaftis (1st/Chiefs) and WR David Bell (3rd/Browns) were tabbed.

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