NFL draft is another reminder of how far Nebraska has to go

Nebraska football fans were hoping to hear the name of Emmett Johnson called on Friday night in the 2026 NFL draft, but the third round came and went without the Cornhusker coming off the board.

Johnson was the Big Ten’s rushing leader. He had a breakout season for the Huskers, and despite people like Mel Kiper Jr. falling in love with Johnson, for good reason, he’ll have to wait for day three to get drafted.

Some NFL teams will regret that. Johnson can be a starter. He reminds me of former Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones. He’s not a massive dude, but his change of direction and his vision are uncanny.

Johnson doesn’t have the top-end speed some NFL teams want. But he will succeed. I’m sure of that. Still, it was frustrating to once again see two days of draft picks without a single Husker going, although former Nebraska tight end Nate Boerkircher was drafted in the second round after a season with Texas A&M.

Scott Frost had a first-round pick for UCF, too.

It’s not that surprising. Johnson was the only Nebraska football player who had the hope of getting drafted on Friday, outside of maybe Ceyair Wright, who should get picked on Saturday, too.

Deshon Singleton, Rocco Spindler, Dane Key, and Dasan McCullough could hear their names called, too, maybe even Henry Lutovsky, but it wouldn’t be shocking if Johnson was the only one.

Some fans will say he should have come back. Another season probably wouldn’t have improved his stock much, though. Yet, it would have taken more tread off the tires.

The bigger issue is that it serves as a reminder of how little talent Matt Rhule has acquired after three seasons as the head coach. Looking ahead to the 2027 NFL draft, what Huskers do you expect to go?

Elijah Pritchett? Nyziah Hunter? Justin Evans and Brendan Black, but outside of that, and Andrew Marshall, too, I still don’t see this team with a ton of draft picks. They may go earlier if all those guys play up to their potential, but it’s a problem that Nebraska needs to address.

11 Big Ten programs have at least one selection. Eight of them have two, while Ohio State (8), Indiana (4), Michigan (3), and Oregon (3) have three.

That’s the kind of talent you need to compete in the Big Ten. 13 teams in the SEC had at least one player go, so 24 of the 34 teams in the Power 2 had players picked ahead of Nebraska football.

It’s not some great mystery why Nebraska isn’t winning more games. The NFL draft tells you all you need to know.