The 2025 NFL Draft will begin on Thursday with the Tennessee Titans holding the first overall pick. The draft this year will take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
One year removed from the 2024 NFL Draft, which Mountaineer fans celebrated as the Pittsburgh Steelers selected West Virginia native center Zach Frazier with the 51st overall pick. Frazier would be the only Mountaineer drafted in 2024. However, a pair of Frazier’s college teammates - Beanie Bishop and Doug Nester -- signed as undrafted free agents with the Steelers, putting the trio on the same team once again.
According to Pro Football Reference.com, WVU has had 211 players hear their name called during NFL draft nights since 1936. Four-year contributor Wyatt Milum will likely add his name to the list this year. Milum, a Kenova, West Virginia, native, is projected to be a second-round pick, and it would be shocking if he is not selected by the end of Round Three.
Let’s review WVU players selected in the past 5 NFL Drafts
2020 NFL Draft
S Kenny Robinson Jr. and T Colton McKivitz
Robinson Jr. was the 152 overall pick (5th round) by the Carolina Panthers in the 2020 NFL Draft. Robinson Jr. made an immediate impact for WVU, as he was named to the All-Big 12 Conference Honorable Mention team decided by Big 12 coaches. As a true freshman, Robinson Jr. recorded a pick-six against Oklahoma State during the 2017 season. After the 2018 season, Robinson Jr. earned another conference accolade, being named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
Unfortunately, Robinson Jr.’s NFL career was not long-lived. He spent two seasons with the Panthers (2020-2021), appearing in only 19 games with one start). With only seasons in the NFL, he did not pile up many stats -- just 18 combined tackles, 12 solo and 6 assisted. After his two seasons with the Panthers, Robinson Jr. ended up in the UFL and won the UFL Championship with the Birmingham Stallions in 2024. Former WVU player Greg Jennings was also on the 2024 Birmingham Stallions roster.
WVU players went back-to-back with the 152nd and 153rd picks in the 2020 NFL Draft. McKivitz was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round, and remains with the 49ers to this day. He has played in 62 career NFL games and has started in 17 games in the previous two seasons with the 49ers. Earning a 72.2 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade, McKivitz ranks as the 37th tackle out of 140 tackles according to PFF.
While at WVU, McKivitz spent four seasons in Morgantown. He started his career by being named Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year in 2016. The accolades continued to pour in from that season until he was drafted in 2020. McKivitz's accomplishments include: 2019 All-Big 12 Conference First Team, 2019 Big 12 Conference Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year, and 2019 Walter Camp All-America Second Team.
2021 NFL Draft
LB Tony Fields II
In 2021, it was Fields II’s turn to be a WVU alum selected in the fifth round. With the 153rd overall pick, the Cleveland Browns selected Fields II. In four seasons with the Browns, Fields II has accumulated 88 tackles (48 solo, 40 assisted), one interception (returned for a touchdown), a fumble return for a touchdown, one tackle for loss, and one pass defended in 45 games played (10 starts).
As one of the better transfers in the history of WVU football, Fields only spent one season playing for WVU after three years in Arizona. His one season in Morgantown posted some good stats -- 88 total tackles (34 solo, 54 assisted), four tackles for loss, three passes defended, one sack, and one interception. Those stats were good enough to earn Fields II the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year Award along with All-Big 12 First Team honors.
2023 NFL Draft
DT Dante Sills
Sills is not the first from his family to go to WVU and then hear his name called on an NFL draft night. Many Mountaineer fans recognize the name Gary Stills, who played at WVU before being drafted and having a long NFL career. Playing the same position as his dad, Gary, Dante Stills was an impact defensive lineman and saw himself drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the 213th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
In his first two seasons in the NFL, the Fairmont, West Virginia, native has recorded 89 tackles (38 solo, 51 assisted), 11 quarterback hits, nine tackles for loss, eight sacks, and one forced fumble. He has started his NFL career on a pretty good foot, earning a 57 PFF grade, which ranks him 102nd out of 219 defensive linemen.
A two-time All-Big 12 First Team selection (2021, 2022), Stills played four seasons while in Morgantown. The Mountaineer legacy definitely lived up to his family name with super impressive numbers across his four seasons. The Fairmont native's numbers for his WVU career read 138 total tackles, a program record 52.5 tackles for loss, 23.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, and five passes defended. Stills had high expectations coming out of high school. He was the highest-ranked recruit out of West Virginia since 2004.
2024 NFL Draft
C Zach Frazier
As previously mentioned, Frazier was the 51st overall pick in last year's draft. It was the highest Mountaineer drafted since Karl Joseph was selected 14th overall in 2016. Frazier had a great rookie season last year, being named the Joe Greene Great Performance Award winner, an award given to the top rookie for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Spending all four seasons at WVU, something significantly rare in today’s college football environment, Frazier was committed to playing for his home state's flasgship school. WVU fans were witness to an all-time great offensive lineman at WVU in Frazier, a two-time All-American in 2021 and 2023.