List of Kansas Jayhawks in the NFL draft
The University of Kansas Jayhawks football team has had 177 players drafted into the National Football League (NFL).[1][A 1][A 2] KU has seen nine players taken in the first round, including six top-10 picks: Gale Sayers, John Riggins, Ray Evans, Mike Butler, John Hadl, and David Verser. Sayers, a College and Pro Football Hall of Famer, was the highest pick from KU as the fourth overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft. Nine different Jayhawks have been drafted in the first round, Aqib Talib, who was drafted with the 20th overall selection in the 2008 NFL draft is the most recent Jayhawk to be drafted in the first round.
Through the annual NFL Draft each NFL franchise gets the chance to add new players to their teams. The current draft rules were established in 2009. The team with the worst record the previous year gets to pick first, then the next-worst team picks second, and so on. Teams that were not in the playoffs receive their draft order by their regular-season record. If 2 or more non-playoff teams have the same record the tie breaker used is their strength of schedule. Playoff teams receive their draft order after all the non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl).[3]
In 1944 the All-America Football Conference was established and it began play in 1946 in direct competition with the NFL. From 1946 to 1949 the two leagues fiercely competed for the top college football prospects with each league holding their own drafts, before the AAFC finally merged with the NFL at the end of the 1949 season.
Like the AAFC earlier, the American Football League (AFL) operated in direct competition with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a massive bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues would hold a multiple round "Common Draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the "Common Draft" simply became the NFL Draft.[2][4]
Sixteen former Jayhawks who were drafted have been selected to a Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star Game. Twelve former Jayhawks who were drafted have won a championship with their respective teams, one was named MVP, John Riggins in Super Bowl XVII.
Key
edit| B | Back | K | Kicker | NT | Nose tackle |
| C | Center | LB | Linebacker | DB | Defensive back |
| P | Punter | HB | Halfback | DE | Defensive end |
| QB | Quarterback | WR | Wide receiver | DT | Defensive tackle |
| RB | Running back | G | Guard | E | End |
| T | Offensive tackle | TE | Tight end | FB | Fullback |
| * | Selected to a Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star Game | ||||
| † | Won an NFL championship | ||||
| ‡ | Selected to a Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star Game and won an NFL championship | ||||
| ! | College Hall of Famer | ||||
| ± | NFL Hall of Famer | ||||
Selections
edit
.JPG)
Notable undrafted players
editBelow are players who played at least two seasons in the NFL.
Note: No drafts held before 1936
| Year | Player | Position | Debut Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Frank Wattelet | DB | New Orleans Saints | — |
| 1984 | Bobby Johnson | WR | New York Giants | Super Bowl champion (XXI) |
| 1984 | Elvis Patterson† | DB | New York Giants | Super Bowl champion (XXI, XXVIII) |
| 1987 | Steve Nave | LB | Cleveland Browns | — |
| 1992 | Doug Terry | S | Kansas City Chiefs | — |
| 1995 | Kwamie Lassiter | DB | Arizona Cardinals | — |
| 1998 | Tony Blevins | DB | San Francisco 49ers | — |
| 1999 | Dan Dercher | T | San Francisco 49ers | — |
| 2006 | Charles Gordon | DB | Minnesota Vikings | — |
| 2010 | Chris Harris Jr.‡ | S | Denver Broncos | Super Bowl Champion (50) Pro Bowl (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018) |
| 2013 | Bradley McDougald | S | Kansas City Chiefs | — |
| 2017 | Fish Smithson | S | Washington Redskins | — |
| 2019 | Steven Sims | WR | Washington Redskins | — |
See also
edit
Notes
edit- ^ The history of the AFL is officially recognized by the NFL and so this list includes the AFL Draft (1960–1966) and the Common Draft (1967–1969).[2]
- ^ The AAFC merged with the NFL at the end of the 1949 season and so this list includes the AAFC Draft (1946–1949).
- ^ From 1960 through 1966, teams with a superscript AFL denotes a player drafted in the AFL Draft and teams with a superscript NFL denotes a player drafted in the NFL Draft.
- ^ From 1946 through 1949, teams with a superscript AAFC denotes a player drafted in the All-America Football Conference and teams with a superscript NFL denotes a player drafted in the NFL Draft.
- ^ This is the team that drafted the player, not their most recent team.
References
edit- ^ "Kansas Drafted Players/Alumni". Sports Reference LLC. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Cross, B. Duane (January 22, 2001). "The AFL: A Football Legacy". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 17, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
- ^ Clayton, John (March 26, 2009). "Draft order to change for playoff teams". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 18, 2010.
- ^ "Time Changes for 2008 NFL Draft". NFL. April 22, 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2009.