List of Every Baylor First-Round Pick in NFL Draft History
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With the 2026 NFL Draft on the horizon, Baylor will have a handful of draft picks on the second and third days. Baylor has lacked first-round talent over the past decade, but the Bears have 16 in NFL draft history.
1950-2000 (11 picks)
1950: QB Adrian Burk, 4th pick by the Baltimore Colts
1952: QB Larry Isbell, 11th pick by the Washington Redskins
1957: WR Del Shofner, 4th pick by the Los Angeles Rams
1957: DE Bill Glass, 7th pick by the Detroit Lions.
1972: DB Clarence Ellis, 15th pick by the Atlanta Falcons
1975: QB Neal Jeffrey, 12th pick by the San Diego Chargers
1977: DB Gary Green, 12th pick by the Kansas City Chiefs
1980: DE Jacob Green, 10th pick by the Seattle Seahawks
1982: RB Walter Abercrombie, 23rd pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers
1983: RB Gary Anderson, 20th pick by the San Diego Chargers
1996: DT Daryl Gardener, 28th pick by the Miami Dolphins
"Golden Era" (2009-2012) (4 picks)
2009: OT Jason Smith, 2nd pick by the St. Louis Rams. Smith won 1st team All-Big 12 honors in 2008 and went on to sign a 6-year, $61 million contract with the Rams.
2011: OT Danny Watkins, 21st pick by the Philadelphia Eagles. Watkins was Smith's replacement at the tackle position under Art Briles. He became the oldest first-round selection since 1971 at the age of 26 and had an underwhelming NFL Career, getting released from the Eagles in 2013
2012: QB Robert Griffin III, 2nd pick by the Washington Redskins. Baylor's pride and joy, RGIII, was a Heisman Award winner, leading a mediocre Bears team to a 10-3 season; his best win was likely defeating rival TCU 50-48 in the first game of the season, throwing five touchdowns and 359 yards.
RGIII had a stellar start to his NFL career, with a decorated and record-setting rookie season with the Redskins before injuries cut his promising career short.
2012: WR Kendall Wright, 20th pick by the Tennessee Titans. Wright played both football and basketball for the Bears, being named 1st-team All Big 12 and 1st-team All American in his senior season.
Wright had a great NFL career, logging almost 4,000 yards in six seasons, five of which were with the Titans, before playing his last snaps in Chicago.
2013-Present (1 pick)
2016: WR Corey Coleman, 15th pick by the Cleveland Browns. Coleman was the primary weapon in Bryce Petty's offense at Baylor, racking up 33 touchdowns and 3000 yards in his three seasons.
Unfortunately, early injuries and a pitiful Browns team led to Coleman becoming a journeyman in his six-year NFL career.
Honorable Mention 2022: WR Tyquan Thornton, 50th pick by the New England Patriots. A rock in the Baylor offense from 2018 to 2021, winning 2nd team All Big 12 honors.
Thornton is now currently playing for the Kansas City Chiefs and recently inked an $11 million dollar contract.
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Bennett is an undergrad student at Baylor University, studying journalism on the sports track. He is from the DFW area and grew up playing and watching sports, which inspired him to pursue sports writing.
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