Lifestyle

Great NFL Players Have One Thing In Common: They're From Florida

by Adam Silvers

Believe it or not, the 2015 NFL season is now upon us.

Pre-season games have begun, which means we're all looking forward to seeing how our teams perform with a clean slate.

In particular, fans and coaches alike will have their eyes on the rookies who were selected just a few months ago in the NFL Draft; are any of them going to be big impact guys who will turn a franchise around or take a team to the next level?

But another question is, "Where does this cream of the crop come from?" No, not what college they attended, but where are they really from?

The states of California, Texas and Florida produce the most NFL talent, and of the 31 high schools that produce the most NFL draft picks, Florida high schools lead the way.

These are the 14 Florida high schools that have produced the most draft picks in the last 22 years.

14. Southeast (Bradenton, Florida): 7 Players

Buccaneers.com

Reggie Green, 1996, Round 6, Jacksonville Jaguars

Peter Warrick, 2000, Round 1, Cincinnati Bengals

Ahmad Miller, 2002, Round 7, Houston Texans

Todd Williams, 2003, Round 7, Tennessee Titans

Adrian McPherson, 2005, Round 5, New Orleans Saints

Mike Jenkins, 2008, Round 1, Dallas Cowboys

Jonathan Dowling, 2014, Round 7, Oakland Raiders

13. Raines (Jacksonville, Florida): 7 Players

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Derrick Alexander, 1995, Round 1, Minnesota Vikings

Patrick Sapp, 1996, Round 2, San Diego Chargers

Brian Dawkins, 1996, Round 2, Philadelphia Eagles

Rod Gardner, 2001, Round 1, Washington Redskins

Lito Sheppard, 2002, Round 1, Philadelphia Eagles

Jabar Gaffney, 2002, Round 2, Houston Texans

Louis Nix, 2014, Round 3, Houston Texans

12. Central (Miami, Florida): 7 Players

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Najeh Davenport, 2002, Round 4, Green Bay Packers

Willis McGahee, 2003, Round 1, Buffalo Bills

Demetrius Byrd, 2009, Round 7, San Diego Chargers

Rod Issac, 2011, Round 5, Jacksonville Jaguars

Stanley Jean-Baptiste, 2014, Round 2, New Orleans Saints

Devonta Freeman, 2014, Round 4, Atlanta Falcons

Kevin Pamphile, 2014, Round 5, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

11. Lincoln (Tallahassee, Florida): 7 Players

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Bernard Carter, 1994, Round 6, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Kevin Carter, 1995, Round 1, St. Louis Rams

Zach Piller,1999, Round 3, Tennessee Titans

Craphonso Thorpe, 2005, Round 4, Kansas City Chiefs

Antonio Cromartie, 2006, Round 1, San Diego Chargers

Pat Watkins, 2006, Round 5, Dallas Cowboys

B.J. Daniels, 2013, Round 7, San Francisco 49ers

10. Pahokee (Pahokee, Florida): 7 Players

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Kevin Bouie, 1995, Round 7, Philadelphia Eagles

Anquan Boldin, 2003, Round 2, Arizona Cardinals

Eric Moore, 2005, Round 6, New York Giants

Alphonso Smith, 2009, Round 2, Denver Broncos

Pernell McPhee, 2011, Round 5, Baltimore Ravens

Janoris Jenkins, 2012, Round 2, St. Louis Rams

Dwight Bentley, 2012, Round 3, Detroit Lions

9. Southridge (Miami, Florida): 8 Players

Steelers.com

Steve Everitt, 1993, Round 1, Cleveland Browns

Troy Davis, 1997, Round 3, New Orleans Saints

Shevin Smith, 1998, Round 6, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Jameel Cook, 2001, Round 6, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Courtland Bullard, 2002, Round 5, St. Louis Rams

Kevin Smith, 2008, Round 3, Detroit Lions

Curtis Holcomb, 2011, Round 7, San Francisco 49ers

Gerod Holliman, 2015, Round 7, Pittsburgh Steelers

8. Miami (Miami, Florida): 8 Players

Bills.com

Lonnie Johnson, 1994, Round 2, Buffalo Bills

Sedrick Irvin, 1999, Round 4, Detroit Lions

Michael Boireau, 2000, Round 2, Minnesota Vikings

Marquand Manuel, 2002, Round 6, Cincinnati Bengals

Andre Johnson, 2003, Round 1, Houston Texans

Blue Adams, 2003, Round 7, Detroit Lions

Roscoe Parrish, 2005, Round 2, Buffalo Bills

Chandler Williams, 2007, Round 7, Minnesota Vikings

7. Killian (Miami, Florida): 9 Players

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Jamie Brown, 1995, Round 4, Denver Broncos

Rod Payne, 1997, Round 3, Cincinnati Bengals

Tony Gaiter, 1997, Round 6, New England Patriots

Derrick Gibson, 2001, Round 1, Oakland Raiders

Andre Maddox, 2005, Round 5, New York Jets

Pat Thomas, 2005, Round 6, Jacksonville Jaguars

Stephen Tulloch, 2006, Round 4, Tennessee Titans

Kennard Cox, 2008, Round 7, Jacksonville Jaguars

Lamar Miller, 2012, Round 4, Miami Dolphins

Keith Reaser, 2014, Round 5, San Francisco 49ers

6. Dillard (Fort Lauderdale, Florida): 10 Players

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Isaac Bruce, 1994, Round 2, Los Angeles Rams

James Bostic, 1994, Round 3, Los Angeles Rams

Frank Sanders, 1995, Round 2, Arizona Cardinals

Josh Shaw, 2002, Round 5, San Francisco 49ers

Tron LaFavor, 2003, Round 5, Chicago Bears

Chris Gamble, 2004, Round 1, Carolina Panthers

Matthias Askew, 2004, Round 4, Cincinnati Bengals

Jovan Haye, 2005, Round 6, Carolina Panthers

Stanley McClover, 2006, Round 7, Carolina Panthers

Pat Sims, 2008, Round 3, Cincinnati Bengals

5. Norland (Miami, Florida): 11 Players

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Darrin Smith, 1993, Round 2, Dallas Cowboys

Mike McKenzie, 1999, Round 3, Green Bay Packers

Dwayne Bowe, 2007, Round 1, Kansas City Chiefs

Kareem Brown, 2007, Round 4, New England Patriots

Antwan Barnes, 2007, Round 4, Baltimore Ravens

Antonio Brown, 2010, Round 6, Pittsburgh Steelers

Richard Gordon, 2011, Round 6, Oakland Raiders

Xavier Rhodes, 2013, Round 1, Minnesota Vikings

Tourek Williams,  2013, Round 6, San Diego Chargers

Ereck Flowers, 2015, Round 1, New York Giants

Duke Johnson, 2015, Round 3, Cleveland Browns

4. Glades Central (Belle Glade, Florida): 12 Players

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Reidel Anthony, 1997, Round 1, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Johnny Rutledge, 1999, Round 2, Arizona Cardinals

Fred Taylor, 1998, Round 1, Jacksonville Jaguars

Roosevelt Blackmon, 1998, Round 4, Green Bay Packers

JaJuan Seider, 2000, Round 6, San Diego Chargers

James Jackson, 2001, Round 3, Cleveland Browns

Claude Harriott, 2004, Round 5, Chicago Bears

Santonio Holmes, 2006, Round 1, Pittsburgh Steelers

Ray McDonald, 2007, Round 3, San Francisco 49ers

Travis Benjamin, 2012, Round 4, Cleveland Browns

Kelvin Benjamin, 2014, Round 1, Carolina Panthers

Clive Walford, 2015, Round 3, Oakland Raiders

3. Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Florida): 12 Players

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Zack Crockett, 1995, Round 3, Indianapolis Colts

Henri Crockett, 1997, Round 4, Atlanta Falcons

Al Harris, 1997, Round 6, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Corey Simon, 2000, Round 1, Philadelphia Eagles

Tyrone Carter, 2000, Round 4, Minnesota Vikings

Jerome McDougle, 2003, Round 1, Philadelphia Eagles

Clint Session, 2007, Round 4, Indianapolis Colts

Joshua Moore, 2010, Round 5, Chicago Bears

Walter McFadden, 2010, Round 5, Oakland Raiders

Patrick Peterson, 2011, Round 1, Arizona Cardinals

J.T. Thomas, 2011, Round 6, Chicago Bears

Jabari Price, 2014, Round 7, Minnesota Vikings

2. Northwestern (Miami, Florida): 17 Players

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Marvin Jones, 1993, Round 1, New York Jets

Derrell Mitchell, 1994, Round 6, New Orleans Saints

Corey Moore, 2000, Round 3, Buffalo Bills

Nate Webster, 2000, Round 3, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Snoop Minnis, 2001, Round 3, Kansas City Chiefs

Antonio Bryant, 2002, Round 2, Dallas Cowboys

Torrie Cox, 2003, Round 6, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Vernon Carey, 2004, Round 1, Miami Dolphins

Vernand Morency, 2005, Round 3, Houston Texans

Anthony Gaitor, 2011, Round 7, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Lavonte David, 2012, Round 2, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Sean Spence, 2012, Round 3, Pittsburgh Steelers

Brandon Washington, 2012, Round 6, Philadelphia Eagles

Tommy Streeter, 2012, Round 6, Baltimore Ravens

Teddy Bridgewater, 2014, Round 1, Minnesota Vikings

Amari Cooper, 2015, Round 1, Oakland Raiders

Tray Walker, 2015, Round 4, Baltimore Ravens

1. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Florida): 21 Players

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Sterling Palmer, 1993, Round 4, Washington Redskins

Albert Connell, 1997, Round 4, Washington Redskins

Twan Russell, 1997, Round 5, Washington Redskins

Daryl Porter, 1997, Round 6, Pittsburgh Steelers

Leonard Myers, 2001, Round 6, New England Patriots

Nate Salley, 2006, Round 4, Carolina Panthers

Tavares Gooden, 2008, Round 3, Baltimore Ravens

Major Wright, 2010, Round 3, Chicago Bears

Geno Atkins, 2010, Round 4, Cincinnati Bengals

Sam Young, 2010, Round 6, Dallas Cowboys

Marcus Gilbert, 2011, Round 2, Pittsburgh Steelers

Leonard Hankerson, 2011, Round 3, Washington Redskins

Christian Thompson, 2012, Round 4, Baltimore Ravens

Andrew Datko, 2012, Round 7, Green Bay Packers

Giovani Bernard, 2013, Round 2, Cincinnati Bengals

Lamarcus Joyner, 2014, Round 2, St. Louis Rams

Dezmen Southward, 2014, Round 3, Atlanta Falcons

Brandon Linder, 2014, Round 3, Jacksonville Jaguars

James White, 2014, Round 4, New England Patriots

Phillip Dorsett, 2015, Round 1, Indianapolis Colts

Bobby Hart, 2015, Round 7, New York Giants