With corner William Jackson III possibly going in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday (my guess is to Pittsburgh in Round 1 or Dallas in Round 2) and three other players projected as potential draft picks in later rounds, I thought it inspiring for their future NFL careers to take a look at the five most successful players from Houston to ever be drafted.
There have been 166 players drafted from Houston since the first draft in 1936, and while none have ever made it to the Hall of Fame, several have had long and distinguished careers. The first player to be drafted from Houston was running back Max Clark (who does not make the list), drafted by the Browns in 1951. He never played and has vanished into history.
To compile this list, I went through each player selected, looking at stats, championship or Super Bowl wins, length of time in the league, and draft number.
Here are the top five all-time Cougar draftees:
Just missed the Cut:
LB Glenn Cadriz, DT Sebastian Vollmer, RB Lamar Smith, G Rex Hadnot, QB Kevin Kolb
5. Robert Newhouse
Position: RB
Years in NFL: 12
Super Bowls: 1
1972 Draft: Round 2, Pick 19 (No. 35 overall), Dallas Cowboys
The case: Robert Newhouse played for a Dallas Cowboys team that was a three-time NFC champion and won Super Bowl XII. He carried the ball 1,160 times for 4,784 yards (average 4.1) and 31 touchdowns. He also caught the ball 120 times for 956 yards and five touchdowns. He even passed for a touchdown in Super Bowl XII (passer rating 135.4).
4. Antowain Smith
Position: RB
Years in NFL: 9
Super Bowls: 2
1997 Draft: Round 1, Pick 23 (No. 23 overall), Buffalo Bills
The case: Although it ultimately did not pan out with the Bills, Smith did give them a 1,000-yard rusher in 1998. Ultimately, Smith lands on this list for his time with the New England Patriots, as two Super Bowl victories (XXXVI and XXXVIII) will not hurt your case for inclusion. Smith also has better career stats than other running backs in contention for this list (6,881 yards rushing and 54 touchdowns).
3. Simon Fletcher
Position: LB
Years in NFL: 10
Super Bowls: 0
1985 Draft: Round 2, Pick 26 (No. 54 overall), Denver Broncos
The case: Of all the players on this list, Fletcher is the only player with an NFL record; he recorded 10 straight games with a sack. He is also Denver’s all-time sack leader with 97.5 sacks.
2. Riley Odoms
Position: TE
Years in NFL: 12
Super Bowls: 0
1972 Draft: Round 1, Pick 5 (No. 5 overall), Denver Broncos
The case: Odoms is the second-highest tight end ever drafted. Playing his entire career for Denver, he caught 396 passes for 5,755 yards and 41 touchdowns. He was drafted high and he produced. Odoms did not win a Super Bowl, but was selected to four Pro Bowls and was a two-time first-team All-Pro.
1. Eugene Lockhart Jr.
Position: LB
Years in NFL: 9
Super Bowls: 0
1984 Draft: Round 6, Pick 12 (No. 152 overall), Dallas Cowboys
The case: Although he never won a Super Bowl and played on some of the worst Cowboys teams, “Mean Gene, The Hitting Machine” is by far the most valuable draft pick on this list. As a sixth-round pick, Lockhart put up over 1,000 tackles (unofficially)*, 16.0 sacks and six interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) in nine seasons for Dallas and the New England Patriots. Lockhart has the distinction of making All-Pro while playing for a 1-15 Cowboys team. He is the very definition of a diamond in the rough.
*The NFL does not keep tackling stats prior to 2001. This number is drawn from Wikipedia, and is cited from an article in the Eugene Register Guard.
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