NDSU's Remarkable NFL Draft Legacy Shines Before FCS Departure

Grey Zabel stood at the podium at the 2025 NFL Draft after the Seattle Seahawks called his name with the 18th overall pick, becoming the highest-drafted offensive lineman in FCS history and the third North Dakota State player taken in the first round in less than a decade. The selection crystallized what Opta Analyst documented in a comprehensive review of NDSU's draft history: the Bison built the most productive NFL pipeline in subdivision football, and they are carrying that legacy into the Mountain West Conference.

Since moving to Division I in 2004, NDSU has produced 17 NFL Draft picks, with 14 of those arriving after 2014. That 11-year run, Opta Analyst calculated, would tie for 69th among FBS programs. Three picks landed in the first round: Carson Wentz at No. 2 overall in 2016, Trey Lance at No. 3 in 2021, and Zabel last April. No other FCS program matched that first-round volume in the D-I era.

The offensive line is NDSU's most consistent export. Six Bison blockers have been drafted since Billy Turner went to the Miami Dolphins in the third round in 2014. Joe Haeg followed to Indianapolis in 2016, Dillon Radunz to the Tennessee Titans in 2021, Cordell Volson to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022, and Cody Mauch 48th overall to Tampa Bay in 2023. Zabel, who started 41 games across five seasons and allowed just four sacks in more than 2,700 career snaps, was the logical peak of that lineage. His Senior Bowl dominance, where he earned Overall Practice Player of the Week honors, confirmed what NDSU's offensive line development model consistently delivers: players who arrive in the NFL more polished than their subdivision résumés suggest.

The quarterback pipeline is equally striking. Cam Miller, selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the sixth round at pick No. 215, became the fourth straight NDSU starting quarterback drafted. The succession runs unbroken: Wentz (2016), Easton Stick (2019), Lance (2021), and Miller (2025). Four consecutive starters, four NFL selections, from a program in Fargo.

The Bison carry 10 FCS national titles and the reigning championship into their FBS transition, having placed a player in the draft in six of the last seven seasons. Wide receiver Bryce Lance, the younger brother of Trey and the top-ranked FCS wide receiver prospect in the 2026 draft class, represents one final pipeline entry before the subdivision era closes.

The Missouri Valley Football Conference absorbs that departure without a direct replacement. NDSU's pull on scheduling gravity, recruiting prestige, and national television attention will reshape the conference's identity. South Dakota State, which placed eight players on 2025 NFL rosters and won back-to-back FCS titles in 2022 and 2023, is best positioned to inherit the Bison's role as the MVFC's premier professional talent factory. But the standard NDSU set, 17 picks over two decades, three first-rounders, and six offensive linemen drafted in 11 years, will not be replicated quickly by anyone still playing in the subdivision.