Syracuse, NY — The Syracuse football team did not have a player taken in the NFL Draft when it concluded on Saturday.
Two-hundred and fifty-seven players were taken between Thursday’s first round and Saturday’s seventh round. It’s the second time in three years that the Orange didn’t have a player selected.
Syracuse did have two players chosen in 2023, when Matthew Bergeron and Garrett Williams were both selected in the first three rounds.
Defensive back Isaiah Johnson was widely considered Syracuse’s best bet to have a player selected although draft experts varied in whether they viewed him as a late-round pick or a priority free agent. Johnson and a handful of departing Syracuse players should still get a chance at making the NFL but they will have to go the more difficult route and make a team as an undrafted free agent.
Players that seem likely to sign as free agents include Chris Bleich, Caleb Okechukwu and Jason Simmons. Quarterback Garrett Shrader will be an interesting case since he is still recovering from surgery.
Syracuse was one of just three teams that played in the ACC last season that didn’t have a player selected, joining Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Among the league’s new additions, Southern Methodist also did not have a player chosen.
Florida State led all ACC teams with nine players who were drafted, including six of the Top 100 players. Clemson had six players taken. The Seminoles won the ACC, finished unbeaten and were one of the best teams in the country last year, missing the playoffs because of an injury to quarterback Jordan Travis.
Former Syracuse running back Jawhar Jordan, who was behind star Sean Tucker on the depth chart and transferred after two seasons, was taken in the 6th round. He finished his career at Louisville and was one of four Cardinals that were drafted. The Cardinals finished second in the league to Florida State.
Upgrading Syracuse’s talent level was considered the most critical task for new coach Fran Brown and perhaps was the area that likely hurt former head coach Dino Babers the most during his tenure at Syracuse.
Brown appears to have gotten off to a strong start in that area, bringing in one of the top transfer classes in the country and helping the Orange to its highest-ranked high school recruiting class of the rankings era despite getting a late start on the group .
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