US State Facts and Local Sports News

Alaska, New Hampshire and Vermont are the only states that have not had a player selected in the NFL Draft over the past decade, according to a state-by-state analysis released by MaxPreps.

The analysis, which examined every player selected in the NFL Draft from 2015 through 2024, identified these three states as the only ones without a single draftee during that period. All other 47 states and the District of Columbia had at least one player chosen in the annual draft over the ten-year span.

The report highlighted specific examples from states with notable NFL Draft representation, including Frank Darby from Lincoln, New Jersey and Ihmir Smith-Marsette from Weequahic High School in Newark, New Jersey, illustrating the geographic diversity of talent that has entered the league in recent years.

New Hampshire and Vermont, both located in the New England region, join Alaska as the only states absent from the NFL Draft landscape over the last ten years. The findings underscore ongoing disparities in football participation and exposure across different regions of the United States.

The MaxPreps analysis provides a comprehensive view of where NFL talent has originated over the past decade, offering insight into regional trends in football development and recruitment. States with larger populations and stronger high school football traditions dominated the list of those producing draftees.

As of the report’s release, no players from Alaska, New Hampshire, or Vermont have been selected in the NFL Draft since 2014, marking a ten-year gap in representation from these states at the professional level.