All Sooners

Trio Hopes to Keep Oklahoma's NFL Draft Streak Alive

Billy Bowman, Danny Stutsman and Ethan Downs, as well as a handful of other Sooners, are expected to be targeted by NFL teams at this week's draft.
John Hoover|
American team defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. of Oklahoma
American team defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. of Oklahoma | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

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Oklahoma Sooners

The 2025 NFL Draft unfolds this week in Green Bay, and Oklahoma has another streak on the line.

Last year’s draft saw only three Sooners selected, breaking a streak of 16 years with at least four OU players being taken by NFL teams.

That was the longest such streak of any college football team.

At stake this year, OU’s 22-year streak of having at least three players drafted.

And it sounds like three might be OU’s ceiling in 2025.

Safety Billy Bowman, defensive end Ethan Downs and linebacker are the three Sooners who show up on this year’s draft boards. 

Punter Luke Elzinga actually rates higher than Downs as an overall prospect according to some pre-draft analysts — NFLDraftBuzz.com has Elzinga rated No. 221 overall, while Downs is at No. 290 among all draft prospects — but teams rarely use a draft pick on punters.

Last year’s three OU picks — offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and Walter Rouse and defensive lineman Jonah Laulu — were all transfers. OU’s three picks this year are all Sooner lifers. All three got significant playing time as true freshmen four years ago, and all became productive and reliable three-year starters.

Bowman and Stutsman are sure things to be taken as the draft takes place on Thursday (first round), Friday (second and third round) and Saturday (rounds four through seven). 

Bowman, a 5-foot-10, 200-pound safety from Denton, TX, had a strong Senior Bowl, where he worked out for and played a game coached by NFL scouts, and then performed well at the NFL Combine. In four seasons, Bowman played 2,565 snaps (41 starts) at OU, according to Pro Football Focus, and finished with 199 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 11 interceptions, two fumble recoveries and three fumbles returned — and scored four defensive touchdowns.

Bowman has been projected by some mock drafts as high as the late first round but most likely will be picked in the second round.

Stutsman, a 6-3, 241-pound inside linebacker, surprised some teams with his athleticism in Indianapolis, where he stood out in the sprints, the jumps, the agility drills and the position drills. His productivity at OU jumps off the page: he played 2,564 snaps (37 starts) and collected 376 tackles (ninth in school history) with eight quarterback sacks and 36 tackles for loss. He also has three interceptions, four fumbles forced and one fumble recovered, and scored one touchdown.

Stutsman’s draft projections have varied from late first round early in the process to third or fourth round more recently, but seem to have settled in the range of late second round to third round.

Downs’ NFL opening seems less certain. In three years as a starting edge rusher in Norman, the 6-4, 265-pound Downs had 12 1/2 quarterback sacks and 32 tackles for loss, which would be considered low for someone who played 1,833 snaps (37 starts) in his college career. He finished his college career with 110 tackles with two fumbles forced, two fumbles recovered and one interception. But Downs ran fast at the combine (4.69 in the 40) and put up some impressive explosives, including a 34-inch vertical and 32 reps on the bench press — the most among his defensive line peers at the combine.

Downs has been experienced enough and productive enough on the Big 12 and SEC levels, but some teams might doubt he can have an every-day impact in the NFL. His draft projections have run from fourth round to seventh, so he’s likely a day three pick, although he could slip out of the draft and be picked up quickly as an undrafted free agent.

A trio of other OU prospects could find themselves drawing interest from teams on Saturday.

Defensive tackle Da’Jon Terry measured a shade over 6-foot and 317 pounds at OU Pro Day but ran a slow 40 (5.56). His jumps weren’t great (8-1 broad, 28.5 vertical) and he only hit 17 reps on the bench press. But Terry has big-time experience in the trenches, with 294 snaps at Kansas, 506 snaps at Tennessee, and 623 snaps at Oklahoma — and that piques the NFL’s interest.

Defensive end Trace Ford had a spectacular pro day after measuring just over 6-foot and 249 pounds. Finally healthy after two major injuries, Ford posted strong jumps (10-2 broad and 36-inch vertical) and ran fast (4.55 in the 40) with 21 reps on the bench press. But teams will be inherently cautious of his two knee surgeries while at Oklahoma State. 

Cornerback Woodi Washington started games at OU over six seasons and played 2,943 collegiate snaps, but a lot of teams will be turned off by average explosiveness and athleticism both on the field and at his pro day (at 5-11 and 191 pounds, Washington jumped 10-1 in the broad and 33.5 in the vertical but ran just 4.57 in the 40 with just 11 reps on the bench), and could be concerned about the eventual decline in his performance that forced a couple of position changes and an eventual lack of playing time in 2024. 

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John E. Hoover
JOHN HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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