For the second year in a row, the number of Rose Bowl Game alumni drafted in the first round reached double digits.
 
Ten players that have played in or were on the roster for a team that played in a Rose Bowl Game heard their names called on Thursday night, the first night of the 2026 NFL Draft.
 
Ohio State had four first round selections, all within the first 11 picks. Alabama and Indiana, the two teams that played in the most recent Rose Bowl Game, each had two players picked. Penn State and Oregon had one player selected each.

At least one player was drafted from each of the last four Rose Bowl Games, including representation from both teams in the 2025 and 2026 games.

Among the notable selections, 2026 Offensive MVP and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza was chosen No, 1 overall. He was joined by teammate Omar Cooper Jr., marking the first time in program history that two Indiana has two first round picks in the same draft.
 
Mendoza became the first Rose Bowl Game alumni to be picked with the first pick since Bryce Young in 2023. Overall, the Rose Bowl Game has had ten first overall picks in the last 35 drafts, dating back to Steve Emtman in the 1992 Draft.
 
Two first round selections appeared in multiple Rose Bowl Games. Caleb Downs played in the 2024 Rose Bowl Game for Alabama and returned the next year in the 2025 for Ohio State. Kadyn Proctor, Downs' Alabama teammate in 2024, started again for Alabama in the 2026 edition of The Granddaddy of Them All.
 
The New York Jets were the only team to select multiple Rose Bowl Game alumni when they picked tight end Sadiq Kenyon (Oregon) at 16^th overall and Cooper Jr. at No. 30.

The Rose Bowl Game has now produced multiple top-ten picks in seven consecutive years and in ten of the last 12 drafts.


See the list of players drafted in the first round below.
 

Round	Pick	NFL Team	Player	College
1	1	LV	Fernando Mendoza	Indiana
1	4	TEN	Carnell Tate	Ohio State
1	5	NYG	Arvell Reese	Ohio State
1	7	WAS	Sonny Styles	Ohio State
1	11	DAL	Caleb Downs	Ohio State
1	12	MIA	Kadyn Proctor	Alabama
1	13	LAR	Ty Simpson	Alabama
1	14	BAL	Olaviavega Ioane	Penn State
1	16	NYJ	Sadiq Kenyon	Oregon
1	30	NYJ	Omar Cooper Jr.	Indiana