Illinois football notches historic day in the 2024 NFL Draft

Over the past few seasons, the NFL Draft has been good to the Illinois football team.

While the first round didn’t bear fruit in 2024, the Illini managed to get a name called early in the second round. With pick No. 36 overall, the Washington Commanders selected Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton.

It was exciting to see Newton selected, but this would only be the beginning of a great Friday night for the Illini fanbase.

Round three started, and it didn’t take long for another Illinois football player to get called. With pick No. 70 overall, the Arizona Cardinals selected Illini offensive tackle Isaiah Adams.

Two players in the top three rounds was a bit surprising, but then the Cardinals moved up again in the draft and fired off another great pick. With pick No. 82 overall, Arizona selected Illinois tight end Tip Reiman.

Illinois football having three players selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft is a historical moment

It is crazy to think the Illini had three more players selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. In the Bret Bielema era, this is starting to become a trend.

Illinois has now had back-to-back NFL Drafts with three players selected in the first three rounds. That has happened one other time for the Illini since the draft started in 1936. Back in 2011 and 2012, Illinois had at least three players selected in the first three rounds in those drafts.

Let that soak in for a moment. In the 88 years of the NFL Draft, Illinois has had back-to-back drafts with three top three-round selections just twice, and one just happened on Friday night.

Having three players selected in the first three rounds is a rarity in general. Illinois has only had eight out of 88 NFL Drafts where three players were selected in the first three rounds. Two of those eight happened in the last two years. The years were 2024, 2023, 2012, 2011, 1996, 1986, 1965, and 1954.

It was a big night for Newton, Adams, and Reiman, but it was also a big night for the Illinois football program. We made history, as more players are getting to the NFL. Don’t expect this momentum to end any time soon either.