Who was the oldest player ever picked in the NFL draft?

Success in the NFL draft is no longer necessarily about teams selecting the best young prospects emerging from the college ranks.

Players only become eligible for the draft after they’ve spent at least three years at the collegiate level. But many opt to see out their full four-year college eligibility before making the jump to the pros.

And after a shutdown of college sports during the Covid-19 pandemic meant student athletes were granted an extra year of eligibility, some stars of recent drafts have arrived in the NFL older than would ordinarily be expected.

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Last season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, turned 24 during his rookie season, for example. And Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos, another hugely successful signal caller from last year’s class, was already 24 before the campaign began.

One of the standout quarterbacks in the 2025 intake is even older. Tyler Shough, who starred for Louisville last year, was granted a total of three years of additional college eligibility due to the pandemic and two season-ending injuries. He’ll turn 26 in September.

But would Shough be the oldest player ever drafted?

The answer is no. That distinction belongs to another quarterback who was more than two years older.

Chris Weinke was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fourth round of the 2001 draft. On the day he was drafted, the former Florida State passer was aged 28 years and 264 days.

The reason Weinke was so old when he was drafted to the NFL was because he had initially been a top baseball prospect. He spent six years in the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league system before switching sports to play quarterback for Florida State University.

In his fourth and final year with the Gators, Weinke won the Heisman Trophy – the award given annually to the best player in college football – after throwing for 4,167 yards and 33 touchdowns.

Weinke was less successful in the NFL, however, where he served predominantly as a back-up during a seven-year career.

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