Big 12 Football: Best Player Drafted For Every Program
Big 12 football has had a ton of players drafted over the years, but who is the best from each of the 14 programs? Here's a look with the 2016 NFL Draft approaching.
Which Big 12 football programs are the biggest NFL draft factories? Which ones crank out the most pro prospects, the best draft picks, and the bulk bodies for the big league?
The current Big 12 programs have more than their share of good all-time NFL players and draft picks, but the superstars aren’t there compared to the other top leagues. Even so, who are the best of all-time?
This isn’t a list of the top pro players to come from the Big 12 schools – these are the best draft picks.
That means no undrafted free agents, and it also means that guys who had great careers for someone other than the teams that drafted them get knocked down a peg, or aren’t on the list at all.
The goal for any draft pick is to get a player who performs at a high level for a long period of time, so longevity matters over one short burst of greatness. You’ll get the idea.
Baylor
LB Mike Singletary
1981, 2nd round, 38th pick overall, Chicago
Silver: DT Tom Sestak, 1962, 17th round, 132nd pick overall, Buffalo
Bronze: OT/DE Jimmy Ray Smith, 1954, 6th round, 64th pick overall, Cleveland
The Bears got their leader and quarterback for some of the greatest defenses in NFL history. The seven-time All-Pro went to the Pro Bowl in each of the last ten seasons of his 12-year Hall of Fame career while being named the 1985 and 1988 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Tom Sestak was a three-time All-Pro for Buffalo in the early 1960s. He only played seven years, but he was the anchor of the line. Jimmy Ray Smith played seven years for Cleveland as a mainstay of the O line at left guard. He was a three-time All-Pro and went to five Pro Bowls.
Iowa State
LB Matt Blair
1974, 2nd round, 51st pick overall, Minnesota
Silver: OG Keith Sims, 1990, 2nd round, 39th pick overall, Miami
Bronze: S Marcus Robertson, 1991, 4th round, 102nd pick overall, Houston
One of the leaders and stars of the amazing Purple People Eater defenses of the 1970s and 1980s, Blair played 12 years for the Vikings being named to the 1980 All-Pro team with six Pro Bowl appearances.
Keith Sims got to three straight Pro Bowls as a starting left guard for Miami for eight years, while Marcus Robertson was named an All-Pro for the Houston Oilers finishing with 22 interceptions in a ten-year run with the franchise.
Kansas
RB Gayle Sayers
1965, 1st round, 4th pick overall, Chicago
Silver: FS Nolan Cromwell, 1977, 2nd round, 21st pick overall, Los Angeles Rams
Bronze: QB John Hadl, 1962, 3rd round, 24th pick overall, San Diego
John Riggins is a Hall of Famer, but that’s mostly for what he did for Washington, not the New York Jets. The same goes for tackle Mike McCormack, a Hall of Famer for Cleveland after spending one year with the New York Yanks.
Nolan Cromwell was an all-star quarterback for the Jayhawks, but he turned into a three-time All-Pro safety for the Rams over his 11-year career. John Hadl spent 11 years with San Diego throwing for close to 27,000 yards with 201 touchdowns going to five Pro Bowls.
Kansas State
RB Larry Brown
1969, 8th round, 191st pick overall, Washington
Silver: QB Steve Grogan, 1975, 5th round, 116th pick overall, New England
Bronze: CB Terence Newman, 2003, 1st round, 5th pick overall, San Diego
Larry Brown only lasted eight years with Washington, but he was a two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler running for 5,875 yards and 35 scores. In 1972, he earned the NFL MVP honor running for 1,125 yards and five scores and catching 37 passes.
Steve Grogan was with New England for 16 years, and while he was never an elite quarterback, he finished with close to 27,000 yards with 182 touchdown passes. He also ran for 35 scores. Terence Newman was a slight disappointment for Dallas considering he was the fifth pick overall, but he went to two Pro Bowls and lasted nine years with the team making 32 interceptions.
Oklahoma
RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
2007, 1st round, 7th pick overall
Silver: DE/DT Lee Roy Selmon, 1976, 1st round, 1st pick overall, Tampa Bay
Bronze: CB Bobby Boyd, 1960, 10th round, 119th pick overall, Baltimore
Outside of the massive scandal, Adrian Peterson worked out just fine for the Vikings in his sure-thing Hall of Fame career, running for close to 12,000 yards in his first nine seasons while rushing for ten touchdowns or more in every year but the suspended 2014 campaign.
Lee Roy Selmon was the first ever draft pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and went on to have a nine-year Hall of Fame career with six straight Pro Bowl appearances and being named the 1979 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Bobby Boyd doesn’t have a highway named after him like Selmon, but the three-time All-Pro was among the best defensive backs of the 1960s coming up with 57 career interceptions.
Oklahoma State
RB Barry Sanders
1989, 1st round, 3rd pick overall, Detroit
Silver: DT Kevin Williams, 1st round, 9th pick overall, Minnesota
Bronze: RB Thurman Thomas, 2nd round, 40th pick overall, Buffalo
Barry Sanders is obvious – he would’ve finished his career as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher if he didn’t decide to get out early. The six-time All-Pro, ten-time Pro Bowler, and 1997 MVP closed out his career with 15,269 yards and 99 scores, retiring just a year after cranking out 2,053 yards.
The only problem with Thurman Thomas’s career is that he wasn’t Barry Sanders. The Hall of Famer went to four Super Bowls, earned two All-Pro spots, and was a five-time Pro Bowler in his 13 years. Kevin Williams is a sure-thing Hall of Famer spending 11 years with Minnesota going to six Pro Bowls and being named to five All-Pro teams.
TCU
1961, 1st round, 13th pick overall, Dallas Cowboys
Silver: RB LaDainian Tomlinson, 2001, 1st round, 5th pick overall, San Diego
Bronze: QB Sammy Baugh, 1937, 1st round, 6th pick overall, Washington
There might be plenty of strong Horned Frogs who went on to rock at the next level, but Bob Lilly would’ve made almost any school’s top three. The 14-year Hall of Fame star for Dallas went to 11 Pro Bowls and was a seven-time All-Pro.
LaDainian Tomlinson came up with a special nine years for San Diego running for 12,490 yards and 138 scores. The Hall of Famer and 2006 NFL MVP was named to three All-Pro teams and five Pro Bowls. Sammy Baugh played 16 years for Washington throwing for almost 22,000 yards in his Hall of Fame career.
Texas
RB Earl Campbell
1978, pick overall, 1st round, 1st pick overall, Houston
Silver: S Earl Thomas, 2010, 1st round, 14th pick overall, Seattle
Bronze: LB Tommy Nobis, 1966, 1st round, 1st pick overall, Atlanta
Earl Campbell had a short but special career for Houston, running for 9,407 yards and 74 touchdowns in his seven seasons going to six Pro Bowls while being named All-Pro in his first three years. He was the 1978 NFL Offensive Player of the Year in his rookie season, and followed it up by being named the 1979 NFL MVP and the 1980 Offensive Player of the Year.
Everyone’s trying to find an Earl Thomas type at safety. Over his first six years he’s been a five-time Pro Bowl performer being named to three straight All-Pro teams from 2012 to 2014. There might be several choices for the No. 3 spot. Tommy Nobis played 11 years for Atlanta going to five Pro Bowls and earning All-Pro honors in 1967.
Bobby Layne might be a Hall of Famer, but he quarterbacked Detroit after being drafted by Chicago and playing one year for the Bears.
Texas Tech
LB Zach Thomas
1996, 5th round, 154th pick overall, Miami
Silver: LB/C E.J. Holub, 1961, 1st round, 6th pick overall, Dallas Texans
Bronze: OT Joe Walter, 1985, 7th round, 181st overall, Cincinnati
Is Zach Thomas ever going to Canton? He played 12 years for Miami making 1,035 tackles going to seven Pro Bowls and being named to five All-Pro teams. Not bad for a fifth-rounder.
E.J. Holub was taken by both the Dallas Texans and the Cowboys. He went with the Texans and spent his entire career with the Texan/Kansas City Chief franchise going to five Pro Bowls and being named to the 1962 and 1963 All-Pro teams. Joe Walter was never an all-star, but he played 12 years for Cincinnati turning into a steady starter at right tackle. By the way, Wes Welker doesn’t count in this since he wasn’t drafted.
West Virginia
LB Sam Huff
1956, 3rd round, 30th pick overall, New York Giants
Silver: OT Joe Stydahar, 1936, 1st round, 6th pick overall, Chicago
Bronze: LB Darryl Talley, 1983, 2nd round, 39th pick overall, Buffalo
While Sam Huff played his last five years in Washington, he made his Hall of Fame career as a New York Giant going to four Pro Bowls and earning two All-Pro nods In 1958 and 1959.
Joe Stydahar went to the Hall of Fame after being named a four-time All-Pro in his nine years with Chicago. Part of the run to four Super Bowls, Darryl Talley was a two-time Pro Bowl performer in his 12 years with Buffalo making 1,095 tackles and 38 sacks.
