NFL Draft: Grading the Pro Careers of 27 Former Cal Players Taken in the First Round

The Golden Bears won't have a first round pick tonight when the NFL draft gets under way.

Cal won’t have a player chosen in the NFL Draft tonight, but 27 Golden Bears have been taken in the first round, starting with Les Richter in 1952 and most recently with No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff in 2016.

While college football’s top pro prospects are drafted tonight, we grade the career NFL performances of Cal players who were selected in the first round.

The grading is done within the context of how much value teams got from players for which they spent a valuable first-round pick.

The first round begins tonight at 5 p.m. PDT and will be broadcast on ESPN, ABC and the NFL Network. Rounds two and three will get under way Friday at 4 p.m. and coverage of Saturday’s fourth through seventh rounds gets started at 9 a.m.  

Here are our grades: 

* 1952: LB LES RICHTER - No. 2 by the Dallas Texans

A legend before he ever played a down in the NFL after being traded to the Los Angeles Rams for 11 players, Richter was a versatile eight-time Pro Bowl selection and Hall of Famer. Grade: A

* 1953: FB JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI - No. 4 by the Chicago Cardinals

Olszewski played 10 NFL seasons and twice was a Pro Bowl pick but averaged 29 rushing yards per game over his career. Grade: B-

* 1965: QB CRAIG MORTON - No. 5 by Dallas Cowboys

Morton played 18 NFL seasons, passed for nearly 28,000 yards and guided both the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl. Grade: B+

* 1972: DE SHERMAN WHITE - No. 2 by the Cincinnati Bengals

White finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in ’72 and totaled 63 sacks in a 12-year career. Grade: B-

* 1975: QB STEVE BARTKOWSKI - No. 1 by the Atlanta Falcons

Bartkowski was runner-up as Rookie of the Year in ’75 and twice made it to the Pro Bowl, including in 1980 when he threw 31 touchdown passes, but won just one postseason game in his 11 seasons with the Falcons. Grade: B

* 1976: RB CHUCK MUNCIE - No. 3 by the New Orleans Saints

Muncie twice rushed for more than 1,000 yards, had three other seasons of 800-plus, was an adept pass catcher and earned three Pro Bowl berths, including in 1981, when he led the NFL with 19 TDs. Grade: A-

* 1977: OT TED ALBRECHT - No. 15 to the Chicago Bears

Albrecht started 77 games while blocking for Walter Payton but his career spanned just five seasons before he retired due to a back injury. Grade: C

* 1981: QB RICH CAMPBELL - No. 6 to the Green Bay Packers

Campbell attempted just 68 passes in seven games over four seasons in the NFL, all of them off the bench, and wound up throwing nine interceptions and just three touchdown passes. Grade: D

* 1984: TE DAVID LEWIS - No. 20 to the Detroit Lions

Lewis averaged 15 receptions over four seasons before being waived by Detroit. Grade: D

* 1988: LB KEN HARVEY - No. 12 to the Phoenix Cardinals

Harvey forced 15 fumbles, recovered 11 and collected career 89 sacks, including 39.5 over a four-season stretch in which he earned Pro Bowl honors. Grade: B+

* 1993: WR SEAN DAWKINS - No. 16 to the Indianapolis Colts

Dawkins caught at least 50 passes for seven consecutive seasons but never landed a Pro Bowl invite. Grade: B-

1994: TODD STEUSSIE, OT - No. 19 to the Minnesota Vikings

A durable player who started 185 games over 14 seasons, Steussie twice was a Pro Bowl selection. Grade: B

* 1996: DE REGAN UPSHAW - No. 12 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Upshaw played nine seasons for five teams, making it to a Super Bowl with the Raiders, but he never was named to the Pro Bowl. Grade: C+  

* 1996: DE DUANE CLEMONS - No. 16 to the Minnesota Vikings

Clemons forced 13 fumbles, recovered 11 and racked up 49.5 career sacks in a 10-year career. but managed just one sack in eight postseason games. Grade: C+

* 1997: TE TONY GONZALEZ - No. 13 to the Kansas City Chiefs

A two-sport Cal athlete and the most prolific tight end in NFL history, Gonzalez was a 14-time Pro Bowl pick, a six-time All-Pro and a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Grade: A+

* 1997: OT TARIK GLENN - No. 19 to the Indianapolis Colts

Glenn started every game for 10 years, blocking for Marshall Faulk and Peyton Manning, made the Pro Bowl three times and retired after winning Super Bowl XLI. Grade: A-

* 2000: CB/RS DELTHA O’NEAL - No. 15 to the Denver Broncos

O’Neal scored six touchdowns as a corner or kick/punt return specialist and made the Pro Bowl in 2001 and ’05, when he totaled 19 interceptions. Grade: B

* 2001: DE ANDRE CARTER - No. 7 to the San Francisco 49ers

Carter somehow made just one Pro Bowl despite collecting 80.5 sacks, including 10 or more four times during his 13-year career. Grade: B+

* 2003: QB KYLE BOLLER - No. 19 to the Baltimore Ravens

A full-time starter just one season during his eight-year career, Boller had a rifle arm but threw more interceptions (54) than touchdowns (48) and never made it to the postseason. Grade: D

* 2003: CB NNAMDI ASOMUGHA - No. 31 to the Oakland Raiders

After snaring eight interceptions in 2006 to earn second-team All-Pro, he was so respected by opposing quarterbacks that twice was named first team despite totaling just one more pick in those two seasons. Grade: A

* 2005: QB AARON RODGERS - No. 24 to the Green Bay Packers 

Bypassed by 23 teams on draft night, Rodgers has won four MVP awards and one Super Bowl while throwing 475 touchdown passes against just 105 picks. Grade A+

* 2007: RB MARSHAWN LYNCH - No. 12 to the Buffalo Bills

“Beast Mode” assembled six 1,000-yard rushing seasons, scored 94 career touchdowns, was a five-time Pro Bowl pick, won one Super Bowl and should have won a second. Grade: A 

* 2009: ALEX MACK, C - No. 21 to the Cleveland Browns

One of the game’s elite centers, Mack started all 196 games he played — including 90 in a row — during a 14-year career and was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection. Grade: A

* 2010: DT TYSON ALUALU - No. 10 to the Jacksonville Jaguars

Alualu totaled 420 tackles in 14 seasons, including a two-game stint last season with the Detroit Lions. Grade: B

* 2010: RB JAHVID BEST - No. 30 to the Detroit Lions

Fast enough that he ran the 100-meter dash for Saint Lucia at the 2016 Olympics, Best had a 163-yard rushing performance against the Chicago Bears but played just two NFL seasons before being forced to retire due to a series of concussions. Grade: D

* 2011: CAMERON JORDAN, DE - No. 24 to the New Orleans Saints

Jordan — who has played all 13 seasons with the Saints and is signed through 2025 — has started 208 of the 209 games he’s played and collected 117.5 sacks (second among active players) to earn eight Pro Bowl nods. Grade: A

* 2016: JARED GOFF QB - No. 1 to the Los Angeles Rams

Goff has passed for more than 30,000 yards with 185 touchdowns, landed three Pro Bowl invites, helped the Los Angeles Rams into the Super Bowl in his third season and lost 34-31 to the 49ers in a bid to get there with the Lions last season. Grade B+