Aggies’ recruiting hasn’t translated to NFL Draft success

COLLEGE STATION — For the better part ten years, Texas A&M has struggled to produce NFL Draft picks in relation to its strong recruiting under Kevin Sumlin and Jimbo Fisher.

As Mike Elko enters his second season as coach of the Aggies, he sat down for an exclusive interview for Josh Pate’s College Football Show.

Texas A&M’s NFL Draft production hasn’t come close to matching their recruiting rankings

I asked Mike Elko why pic.twitter.com/D5geKLiZSf

— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) March 6, 2025

Texas A&M has produced a top-10 recruiting class in 5-of-6 seasons since 2019 including a No. 1 ranking in 2022. On the flip side, the Aggies recruiting hasn’t lived up to expectations and haven’t won more than nine games in a single season since 2012, its first year in the SEC.

Elko’s program has only produced four offensive draft picks since the 2021 draft and three of them were at skill positions. Along the defensive line, three Aggies should be picked up in the draft’s first two days in Shemar Stewart, Nic Scourton and Shemar Turner.

“We have to have more NFL talent on the roster playing for us down the stretch,” Elko said. “I think that when you look at where we are draft pick wise relative to where we need to be winning at the level Texas A&M should be winning, that that’s the biggest jump you have to make and that’s on so many levels.”

With so many top-10 classes, Elko believes the Aggies should be churning out more high-level talent to the league than what they currently are. He is focused on not only looking at player’s comp to the college level but also whether they can make it to the NFL.

“Evaluating the kids that you need to bring in the program, and every aspect of the kids that you’re bringing into the program, and not just are we getting the highest kids we can get, but are we getting we truly believe and project to be NFL Draft picks. At the end of the day, when you look at who wins the SEC, it’s the team with the most NFL Draft picks.”