The Real 'Portal King' is NOT Who You Think and the NFL Draft Numbers Prove It

May 6May 6

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This is from a pay site, On3, and I cannot copy the whole article, but enough for you to enjoy!

The Real 'Portal King' is NOT Who You Think and the NFL Draft Numbers Prove It

We’ve handed the “Portal King” nickname to multiple coaches through the years. First, it was Florida State’s Mike Norvell. Then Lane Kiffin took the title.

But if the true ruler of the portal is the one who can win with transfers and put them into the NFL — which, in turn, will help attract even better transfers — then we need to pass the crown again.

Congratulations to Oregon’s Dan Lanning, who has had more transfer players drafted than any other coach since the NCAA changed the transfer rules and began allowing NIL payments.

Lanning has had 17 transfer players chosen in the past four drafts. The coach he replaced in Eugene, Miami’s Mario Cristobal, is tied for second with 12. Kiffin, who just left Ole Miss for LSU, is the other coach in second.

Following last month’s draft, I charted how many transfer players were drafted between 2023-26. I included only players who played for two or more four-year schools. Players who started in junior college and then played for one four-year school — a more traditional path — were grouped with the players who only played for one four-year school.

This produced a group of 333 players, and each year saw more transfers drafted. In 2023, NFL teams chose only 50 transfer players. That number rose to 75 in 2024, 91 in 2025 and 117 this year.

Lanning’s Ducks led the way with one of the more even distributions of transfer draftees. While other schools were heavier in certain years, Oregon had at least three transfers drafted in each of the four years in the sample. Some of the top draftees were one-year Ducks such as CB Christian Gonzalez (No. 17 overall in 2023), DT Derrick Harmon (No. 21 overall in 2025) and S Dillon Thieneman (No. 25 overall in 2026). Others, including 2024 first-round QB Bo Nix, played multiple seasons in Eugene after transferring.

Lanning has done this without sacrificing high school recruiting and long-term development of recruited players. In the same four-draft period, NFL teams took 14 players who signed with Oregon out of high school. The same offseason Oregon got Gonzalez in the portal from Colorado, the Ducks signed eventual 2025 first-rounder Josh Conerly out of high school.

The following year, Oregon signed 2026 first-rounder Kenyon Sadiq out of high school. That class also included defensive tackle A’mauri Washington, who has popped up on many 2027 way-too-early mock drafts.

This part probably helps the portal draft numbers. Oregon isn’t shy about spending top dollar in the portal, but the Ducks can focus that spending better because, when they do take transfers, it’s usually to fill a specific, immediate need, since homegrown players fill most of the roles.

Mr. OBD