Article Highlights
- Tom Herman says Texas has to do more to produce NFL draft picks.
- Texas has 29 NFL draft picks in the last decade.
- Complete list of Longhorns NFL draft picks from 2000-2019.
Tom Herman thinks the Texas Longhorns need “to do more” when it comes to producing NFL draft picks.
With the 2020 NFL Draft less than two months away, the topic is top of mind again. Seniors Collin Johnson, Devin Duvernay, Brandon Jones and Malcolm Roach aim to be picked up by an NFL team in the draft. However, all were already in the program when Herman arrived in 2017.
I asked Coach Herman at Big 12 Media Days before the season begin how important it is to recruits to go to a program that develops NFL draft picks, and how often the topic comes up during the recruiting process. (WATCH the video below for the clip.)
“It comes up a lot,” Herman said. “You know, we’re very proud of, of our guys that got drafted this year and those that that the sign is as priority free agents. But there’s no debate that Texas, we’ve got to do more.”
He went on to say the main factors are recruiting the right talent, developing that talent, and the drive and desire from the players. He also thinks its unfair to blame the current staff for any lack of success developing NFL draft picks.
“We take a lot of pride in what we’ve done in a very short period of time when it comes to development,” he says, pointing to impact of Charles Omenihu as the 2018 Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year.
“Charles Omenihu worked his tail off in our program, and went from a role player to a starter as a junior to the defensive lineman of the year in our conference. So, the development’s there.”
“We take a lot of pride in what we've done in a very short period of time when it comes to development."
For so many recruits, their ultimate goal is to is to make it to the NFL. I’m in the camp that a player’s college status or the impact that they made in college isn’t affected by the success or lack of success they have in the NFL.
The NFL draft picks Texas has produced over the past five to 10 years is definitely not on par with a lot of other major programs in the country. Texas has produced 29 NFL draft picks in the past decade (2010-2019). That’s just under three per year on average.
Most big-time college programs are producing an average of five to eight NFL draft picks per year. From 2000 to 2009, Texas had 39 NFL picks.
If you look at the last four seasons (2016-2019), there have been eight total NFL draft picks from Texas, dropping to just two per year. Here Longhorns drafted into the NFL from 2000-2019:
| Year | Round | Pick | Overall | Team | Name | Position |
| 2000 | 6 | 25 | 191 | Ravens | Cedric Woodard | DT |
| 2001 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Cardinals | Leonard Davis | OT |
| 2001 | 1 | 19 | 19 | Steelers | Casey Hampton | DT |
| 2001 | 2 | 30 | 61 | Lions | Shaun Rogers | DT |
| 2002 | 1 | 4 | 4 | Bills | Mike Williams | OT |
| 2002 | 1 | 5 | 5 | Chargers | Quentin Jammer | CB |
| 2003 | 3 | 2 | 66 | Lions | Cory Redding | DE |
| 2003 | 3 | 17 | 81 | Redskins | Derrick Dockery | G |
| 2003 | 3 | 33 | 97 | Buccaneers | Chris Simms | QB |
| 2003 | 4 | 26 | 123 | Giants | Rod Babers | CB |
| 2004 | 1 | 7 | 7 | Lions | Roy Williams | WR |
| 2004 | 1 | 23 | 23 | Seahawks | Marcus Tubbs | DT |
| 2004 | 4 | 14 | 110 | Bears | Nathan Vasher | CB |
| 2004 | 7 | 10 | 211 | Texans | Sloan Thomas | WR |
| 2005 | 1 | 4 | 4 | Bears | Cedric Benson | RB |
| 2005 | 1 | 15 | 15 | Chiefs | Derrick Johnson | LB |
| 2005 | 6 | 5 | 179 | Texans | Bo Scaife | TE |
| 2006 | 1 | 3 | 3 | Titans | Vince Young | QB |
| 2006 | 1 | 7 | 7 | Raiders | Michael Huff | S |
| 2006 | 2 | 16 | 48 | Vikings | Cedric Griffin | CB |
| 2006 | 3 | 22 | 86 | Patriots | David Thomas | TE |
| 2006 | 5 | 8 | 141 | Lions | Jonathan Scott | OT |
| 2006 | 7 | 18 | 226 | Dolphins | Rodrique Wright | DE |
| 2007 | 1 | 19 | 19 | Titans | Michael Griffin | S |
| 2007 | 1 | 20 | 20 | Giants | Aaron Ross | CB |
| 2007 | 2 | 7 | 39 | Falcons | Justin Blalock | OT |
| 2007 | 2 | 24 | 56 | Broncos | Tim Crowder | DE |
| 2007 | 4 | 3 | 102 | Vikings | Brian Robison | DE |
| 2007 | 5 | 10 | 147 | 49ers | Tarell Brown | CB |
| 2007 | 6 | 9 | 183 | Texans | Kasey Studdard | G |
| 2008 | 2 | 22 | 53 | Steelers | Limas Sweed | WR |
| 2008 | 3 | 10 | 73 | Chiefs | Jamaal Charles | RB |
| 2008 | 3 | 28 | 91 | Packers | Jermichael Finley | TE |
| 2008 | 4 | 31 | 130 | Steelers | Tony Hills | OT |
| 2008 | 5 | 16 | 151 | Texans | Frank Okam | DT |
| 2009 | 1 | 13 | 13 | Redskins | Brian Orakpo | LB |
| 2009 | 3 | 17 | 81 | Buccaneers | Roy Miller | DT |
| 2009 | 4 | 5 | 105 | Bears | Henry Melton | DT |
| 2009 | 7 | 2 | 211 | Rams | Chris Ogbonnaya | RB |
| 2010 | 1 | 14 | 14 | Seahawks | Earl Thomas | S |
| 2010 | 2 | 11 | 43 | Ravens | Sergio Kindle | LB |
| 2010 | 2 | 12 | 44 | Raiders | Lamarr Houston | LB |
| 2010 | 3 | 20 | 84 | Bengals | Jordan Shipley | WR |
| 2010 | 3 | 21 | 85 | Browns | Colt McCoy | QB |
| 2010 | 4 | 33 | 131 | Bengals | Roddrick Muckelroy | LB |
| 2011 | 2 | 2 | 34 | Bills | Aaron Williams | S |
| 2011 | 3 | 31 | 95 | Steelers | Curtis Brown | CB |
| 2011 | 4 | 6 | 103 | Cardinals | Sam Acho | LB |
| 2011 | 5 | 33 | 164 | Ravens | Chykie Brown | CB |
| 2012 | 4 | 24 | 119 | Redskins | Keenan Robinson | LB |
| 2012 | 6 | 34 | 204 | Browns | Emmanuel Acho | LB |
| 2012 | 7 | 8 | 215 | Dolphins | Kheeston Randall | DT |
| 2013 | 1 | 15 | 15 | Saints | Kenny Vaccaro | S |
| 2013 | 3 | 16 | 78 | Bills | Marquise Goodwin | WR |
| 2013 | 4 | 6 | 103 | Cardinals | Alex Okafor | LB |
| 2015 | 1 | 32 | 32 | Patriots | Malcom Brown | DT |
| 2015 | 3 | 20 | 84 | Eagles | Jordan Hicks | LB |
| 2015 | 5 | 8 | 144 | Giants | Mykkele Thompson | S |
| 2015 | 6 | 24 | 200 | Lions | Quandre Diggs | CB |
| 2015 | 7 | 29 | 246 | Cowboys | Geoff Swaim | TE |
| 2016 | 4 | 18 | 116 | Colts | Hassan Ridgeway | DT |
| 2017 | 3 | 25 | 88 | Texans | D’Onta Foreman | RB |
| 2018 | 2 | 18 | 50 | Cowboys | Connor Williams | OT |
| 2018 | 3 | 13 | 78 | Bengals | Malik Jefferson | LB |
| 2018 | 5 | 12 | 149 | Seahawks | Michael Dickson | P |
| 2018 | 6 | 16 | 190 | Ravens | DeShon Elliott | S |
| 2019 | 5 | 23 | 161 | Texans | Charles Omenihu | DE |
| 2019 | 7 | 3 | 217 | Vikings | Kris Boyd | DB |
