Top 20 NFL Sooners, No. 15: Phil Loadholt
In the past 20 years, the Oklahoma Sooners have experienced arguably their most productive era ever in the NFL Draft.
From the 2000 to 2019 drafts — the entirety of the Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley years — OU has had 95 players drafted.
Using today’s 7-round comparison, that’s more than any other two-decade era in school history. In the 1970s and ‘80s, OU had 131 players drafted, but only 88 were selected in the first seven rounds.
In the last 20 years, the Sooners have produced some historically good players. Every day leading up to this year’s NFL Draft (April 23-25), SI Sooners presents the Top 20 NFL Sooners of the last 20 years.
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No. 15: Phil Loadholt
After blocking for Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray and one of the most prolific offenses in college football history, Phil Loadholt became an anchor on the offensive line for one of the best running backs in NFL history.
Loadholt, grew up in Colorado, went to junior college in Kansas (he was a two-time juco All-American at Garden City), committed to Colorado and LSU before becoming a two-time All-Big 12 performer at Oklahoma, where he helped form one of the most talented offensive lines in OU history.
Phil Loadholt blocking for Brett Favre
Playing next to Brandon Walker and alongside Trent Williams, Duke Robinson and Jon Cooper, the Sooners set all-time NCAA records in Loadholt’s senior year as Bradford won the Heisman Trophy and the Sooners won their third straight Big 12 title and returned to the national championship game.
A second-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, the 6-foot-8, 343-pound Loadholt became a fixture at right tackle, starting all 89 games he played in from 2009-2014.
Those years represented the best stretch of Adrian Peterson’s career, including four 1,000-yard campaigns, one that ended at 970 due to injury, and Peterson’s magnificent 2,097-yard MVP performance in 2012 following knee surgery.
Phil Loadholt
In 2009, Loadholt made the NFL All-Rookie team, and in 2013, Pro Football Focus named Loadholt All-Pro.
A torn pectoral muscle shortened Loadholt’s 2014 season. He returned in 2015 but suffered a torn Achilles and was placed on injured reserve. The following summer, Loadholt abruptly retired from football.
In all, Loadholt earned more than $24 million in his pro football career. In 2019, he rejoined the Vikings as an intern in the scouting department.
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Our Top 20 list was chosen by five voters: SI Sooners publisher John Hoover, deputy editor Parker Thune, long-time OU fan and amateur Sooner historian Anthony Jumper, OU school of journalism student Caroline Grace, and OU history and stats expert Steven Smith (aka Blinkin Riley).
The criteria was simple: former Sooners who played at OU during the last 20 years and went on to an NFL career. The rest, i.e, their NFL career, was purely subjective. Players received 20 points for a first-place vote, 19 for second, etc., down to 1 point for 20th. A total of 28 players received votes.
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