As the NFL Draft comes to an end and players prepare for rookie minicamp and the start of OTAs, the Cincinnati Bearcats recent draft picks look towards their first season in the NFL. Since 2021, no one in the Big 12 has more NFL Draft picks than the Cincinnati Bearcats, and that even includes the "football powerhouses" like Texas Tech, Utah, and BYU.
The Bearcats have had 22 players drafted since 2021, four of them coming in '21, nine of them in '22, three players in '23, one player in '24, one player in '25, and four players in '26. The nine players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft were the most from one school in that year's draft, beating out schools like Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and Ohio State. Bearcat legends Sauce Gardner and Alec Peirce were selected in that draft, both are currently part of the Indianapolis Colts and are owed $58.5 Million combined per season, $234 Million in total across 4 seasons.
This past draft, Jake Golday was selected in the second round by the Minnesota Vikings, joining former Bearcat linebackers Ivan Pace Jr. and Eric Wilson, along with offensive lineman Gavin Gerhardt who was selected in the seventh round of this years draft as well.
Golday and Gerhardt weren't the only two bearcats selected in this year's draft; Cyrus Allen was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in round five, and Joe Royer was selected in round six by the Cleveland Browns. Allen joins former Bearcat Travis Kelce in Kansas City, along with teammates Jeff Caldwell and Logan Wilson, who were recently picked up as UDFA for the rookie minicamp. Royer joins former Bearcats James Hudson III and Jerome Ford in Cleveland.
It starts in Cincy.#BearcatsInTheNFL pic.twitter.com/jbCFEMbOfc
— Cincinnati Football (@GoBearcatsFB) May 4, 2026
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