The transfer portal has changed the landscape of college football forever with players being able to freely change schools with a free eligibility waiver under their belt.
Over the last couple cycles, 247Sports has paid special attention to transfers with our own player rankings and Team Transfer Rankings. We’re starting to see the trickle-up effect of the portal hit the NFL ranks, as 37 non-JUCO transfer portal players (from the FBS or FCS levels) were selected during the 2022 NFL Draft, a huge jump from 18 in 2021.
With more than 2,000 players overall in the portal for the 2022 cycle, look for that number to keep rising in the NFL draft for years to come.
The first transfer portal player off the board in the 2022 NFL Draft was Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams with the 12th overall pick in the first round to the Detroit Lions. Williams, a St. Louis (MO) native, spent two seasons at Ohio State in an extremely loaded receiver room before transferring to Alabama and lighting it up.
