WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Sunshine State was well-represented during the 2023 NFL Draft.
Thirty-six players who hail from Florida were drafted, the most of all states, according to data provided by the NFL on Friday.
That's six more than Texas, which produced the second-most crop of draft picks from their respective states.
Georgia ranks third with 23 players, followed by California's 21 players.
No other states topped 20 players drafted.
Of the 36 players drafted, eight are from Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade counties, including Park Vista Community High School graduate A.T. Perry. The Wake Forest wide receiver was a sixth-round pick of the New Orleans Saints.
Florida also led all states with six first-round selections, followed by Georgia and Texas with four each.
The first-round picks who played high school football in the Sunshine State were Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson (No. 4 to the Indianapolis Colts), of Gainesville; Illinois cornerback Devon Witherspoon (No. 5 to the Seattle Seahawks), of Pensacola; Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter (No. 9 to the Philadelphia Eagles), of Apopka; Pittsburgh defensive end Calijah Kancey (No. 19 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), of Miami; Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers (No. 22 to the Baltimore Ravens), of Fort Lauderdale; and Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith (No. 30 to the Philadelphia Eagles), who grew up in Savannah, Georgia, but played at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
IMG Academy is the only school to have multiple players selected in each of the past five years and have produced a first-round pick for the fourth consecutive year.
This was the first draft since 2019 that the state finished with the most first-round picks. It was also the sixth time in the past decade that Florida has had the most picks in the first round.
