What to Watch for as Oklahoma's Rookies Take the Field in NFL Preseason

Football — of the preseason variety — will be played this week.

The Carolina Panthers will take on the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL’s annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH, on Thursday. The other 30 NFL teams will follow suit with their first preseason contests the following week.

Several former OU stars, like Baker Mayfield, Jalen Hurts and CeeDee Lamb, are well established on their respective teams and won’t have to battle for roster spots.

Nearly a dozen players from OU’s 2025 squad, however, are just now getting their feet wet at the professional level.

Seven Sooners heard their names called in the 2026 NFL Draft: edge rusher R Mason Thomas, offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu, defensive lineman Gracen Halton, linebacker Kendal Daniels, safety Robert Spears-Jennings, tight end Jaren Kanak and wide receiver Deion Burks.

Thomas, who the Kansas City Chiefs took with the No. 40 overall pick (second round), was Oklahoma’s highest selection. The Chiefs’ defensive end room consists of two veterans — Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Khyiris Tong — who have taken first-team reps throughout training camp. But the Chiefs wouldn’t have taken Thomas that high if they didn’t see him playing an important role immediately.

Nwaiwu seems like a safe bet to make the Houston Texans’ roster. The Texans had one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines a year ago, and the two-year Sooner standout gives them more experience on the interior. Nwaiwu is currently listed as the second-string right guard on ESPN’s depth chart for the Texans.

Halton is another player who, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will make his roster. The San Francisco 49ers selected Halton in the fourth round after the defensive lineman played his best collegiate season in 2025. Halton, however, has missed a handful of practices lately because of a knee injury.

Absences at 49ers practice:

OT Vederian Lowe (high ankle sprain)
WR Christian Kirk (calf strain)
DT Gracen Halton (knee bone bruise)
DL Andrew Farmer II (back)

Lowe was signed to be the swing tackle. High ankle will sideline him for a bit.
— Noah Furtado (@_noahfurtado) July 27, 2026

Daniels spent one year at OU before the Atlanta Falcons selected him in the fourth round. He’s already dealing with adversity at the professional level, as he revealed that he has calf tendonitis earlier this week.

Falcons rookie LB Kendal Daniels said he's battled a calf injury since college, referred it to tendonitis, and said his body will likely never be what it was in high school.

So, all told? He's the same health-wise as he was when the Falcons drafted him.
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) July 30, 2026

It will be tougher for Spears-Jennings, Kanak and Burks to make their 53-man rosters, as each of them were selected in the seventh and final round of the NFL Draft.

Spears-Jennings, though, appears to have already made a strong impression during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp. According to Steelers reporter Alex Kozora, Spears-Jennings took first-team reps during the team’s 11-on-11 portion of Thursday’s practice.

Kanak is fighting for a spot in the Tennessee Titans’ deep tight end room. Gunnar Helm and Daniel Bellinger are expected to be the first and second-string tight ends, respectively, while veteran Kylen Granson is also on the roster.

Burks is vying for a spot on the Indianapolis Colts’ roster, and thankfully for him, the team’s wide receiver corps isn’t particularly deep. Alec Pierce and Josh Downs are both established players, but aside from those two, there is plenty of youth — and that gives Burks an opportunity to likely earn a roster spot and, maybe, even see early playing time.

In addition to the seven Sooners selected in the NFL Draft, four players — defensive end Marvin Jones Jr., defensive tackle Damonic Williams, wide receiver Keontez Lewis and running back Jaydn Ott — signed deals as undrafted free agents and are currently competing at training camp.

Williams is the only OU rookie who will play in the Hall of Fame Game, as the Cardinals signed him after he went undrafted. That preseason contest usually allows both teams to empty their benches, meaning Williams will get the first opportunity of Oklahoma’s first-year players to prove that he belongs.

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