UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A total of six Penn State football players were selected during the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27-29.
Players drafted include:
- Joey Porter Jr., cornerback — 2nd round, Pittsburgh Steelers (32nd pick)
- Brenton Strange, tight end — 2nd round, Jacksonville Jaguars (61st pick)
- Juice Scruggs, offensive lineman — 2nd round, Houston Texans (62nd pick)
- Ji'Ayir Brown, safety — 3rd round, San Francisco 49ers (87th pick)
- Sean Clifford, quarterback — 5th round, Green Bay Packers (149th pick)
- Parker Washington, wide receiver — 6th round, Jacksonville Jaguars (185th pick)
With three selections of Porter, Strange and Scruggs in the second round, it marked the first time in school history Penn State has had three-straight years with three or more selections in the first two rounds.
Penn State is one of only three schools who have had a player drafted in the first three rounds over the past 18 years. The other two schools are the University of Southern California and Louisiana State University.
With the six picks, Penn State is one of four schools to produce at least five picks in each of the last six NFL drafts, joining Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.
The Nittany Lions have a total of 37 players who have been drafted in the last six NFL drafts, the most in a six-year span for the program since 1992-97 (39 picks).
A total of 381 Nittany Lions have been selected all-time in the draft, which ranks seventh among Division I institutions. Penn State has had 46 players selected since James Franklin's arrival to the program in 2015, including 21 taken on the first two days of the draft.
In addition, a number of players signed with teams as unrestricted free agents, including:
- Jonathan Sutherland, linebacker — Seattle Seahawks
- Chris Stoll, long snapper — Seattle Seahawks
- Mitchell Tinsley, wide receiver — Washington Commanders
- PJ Mustipher, defensive tackle — Denver Broncos