The state of Wisconsin absolutely crushed the NFL Draft this last weekend. It was one of the biggest parties ever, and Green Bay can take a bow for how they hosted it and the impressive turnout. Hundreds of thousands of people came each day to take in the festivities, and former Badgers were heavily represented on the microphone, often wearing Wisconsin colors and clothing and flashing the "W" in pictures.
JUST IN: The NFL announces attendance for the 2025 NFL Draft is 600,000. Organizers were hoping for 250,000.
— Sam Kraemer (@SamKraemerTV) April 27, 2025
Here are the day splits:
Thursday - 205K
Friday - 175K
Saturday - 220K@Fox6now
Wisconsin came out in HUGE numbers for the NFL Draft but failed to produce many draft picks
Melvin Gordon, Montee Ball, Jonathan Taylor, James White, Stu Voight, Beau Allen, Tim Krumrie, Owen Daniels, Lee Evans, Travis Frederick, Joe Thomas, Alec Ingold, and Ryan Ramczyk were all there and doing Wisconsin proud.
The frustrating part was the limited representation of Wisconsin in the actual NFL Draft selections. There were only two Wisconsin Badgers picked in the NFL Draft, and both were selected in the seventh round. Offensive lineman Jack Nelson was selected third in the seventh round by the Atlanta Falcons, and safety Hunter Wohler was a few picks later by the Indianapolis Colts. That's it; no other Badgers were selected. There were a few who signed as undrafted free agents, and a couple more were invited to rookie mini camps, but it was sparse when it came to Wisconsin Badgers being selected.
It is what it is in many ways, but on a weekend in which Wisconsin completely showed off, it felt like the Badgers did not. It was one of the first times in decades the Badgers haven't had a selection until the seventh round. While there wasn't a big expectation for lots of Badgers to be selected, there was hope that Nelson and Wohler would be fourth or fifth-round picks and Joe Huber would go late. Instead, the state impressed, while Wisconsin Badger fans were reminded we need to get things going on the right track.
This isn't to say that Wisconsin has always been like this NFL factory of players, but for decades, the Badgers have consistently produced outstanding linemen, running backs, and linebackers. It would be great to see at least a return to form there.