A Look Back: The 10 Best NFL Drafts in Ole Miss History
Since the inception of the NFL Draft in 1936, Ole Miss has had a whopping 192 players drafted in to the league.
From Parker Hall drafted No. 3 overall in the fourth ever draft in 1939 to Archie Manning at No. 2 overall in 1971 to Eli Manning No. 1 overall in 2004, Ole Miss has had quite the history in the NFL Draft.
2020 was a rough draft for the Rebels, however 2019 was incredibly productive. But where does that 2019 class rank? Which Rebel draft class would top all others? Here's a ranking of the top ten. But a top-10 list isn't complete without a formula, so here's how we decided:
- Each 1st round pick: 10 points
- Each 2nd round pick: 8 points
- Each 3rd round pick: 6 points
- Each 4th round pick: 4 points
- Each 5th round pick: 3 points
- Each 6th round pick: 2 points
- Each 7th (or later) round pick: 1 point
- Each College Football Hall of Famer in class: 5 points
As a reminder, this ranking is based on the strength of the class in the moment, with a little extra bonus if someone became a Hall of Famer.
The Top 10 Draft Classes in Ole Miss History
10. The 1962 Draft Class - 20 points
20 points: One 3rd round pick (6), One fourth round pick (4), two 5th round picks (6), one 6th round pick (2), two 7th or later picks (2)
The picks: Billy Adams, Glynn Griffing, Bookie Bolin, Chuck Morris, Jerry Brown, Ralph Smith, Jim Roberts
The early picks in this draft didn't produce much at all. But Bookie Bolin and Ralph Smith made a name for themselves. Bolin played eight NFL seasons, making 47 starts along the offensive line. Smith, playing for three teams in eight seasons, started in 41 games as a tight end. Also, his nickname was catfish, which is pretty cool.
T-8. The 1963 and 1966 Draft Classes - 21 points
21 points from '63: One 1st round pick (10), one 3rd round pick (6), one 4th round pick (4), one 7th or later pick
The picks in '63: Jim Dunaway, Louis Guy, Whaley Hall, Ken Dill
Jim Dunaway turned out to be a great first round pick, it just took him some time to develop. In his first five seasons with the Bills, he started 10 games. Over his last five seasons in the league, he started 58. No one else in this draft class made an NFL start.
21 points from '66: One 1st round pick (10), one 3rd round pick (6), one 4th round pick (4), one 7th or later pick
The picks in '66: Stan Hindman, Mike Dennis, Billy Clay, Lee Garner
Hindman started 45 career games along the 49ers defensive line. The rest of this class combined for one career NFL start.
7. The 1961 Draft Class - 23 points
23 points: One 1st round pick (10), one 5th round pick (3), five 7th or later picks (5), one CFB Hall of Famer, Jake Gibbs (5)
The picks: Bobby Crespino, Jerry Daniels, Allen Green, Jake Gibbs, Bob Benton, Doug Elmore, Charley Taylor
This class is really fun, almost entirely because of Jake Gibbs. A 1995 inductee to the College Football Hall of Game, Gibbs finished third in Heisman voting in 1960 yet would not be drafted in the 9th round. Why did he get drafted so late? He never played pro football. Instead, Gibbs played 10 seasons with the New York Yankees from 1962-71, hitting .233 for his career. Maybe he should've gone the quarterback route?
6. The 2001 Draft Class - 24 points
24 points: One 1st round pick (10), one 2nd round pick (8), one 3rd round pick (6)
The picks: Deuce McAllister, Ken Lucas, Derrick Burgess
If your entire brain evaluates talent entirely based on Pro Bowl selections (it shouldn't), McAllister and Burgess are the best individual players on the list to this point. If you don't evaluate entirely on Pro Bowls (good for you), they may still be the best.
Making 76 NFL starts over eight seasons, McAllister was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002 and 2003. He finished his career with 6,096 rushing yards and 49 rushing touchdowns. Burgess spent ten years in the league, making Pro Bowls in 2005 and 2006. In his 2005 campaign, Burgess recorded 16.0 sacks for the Raiders while making just 16 starts.
Lucas also had a nine-year career, making 25 starts.
5. The 2009 Draft Class - 27 points
27 points: Two 1st round picks (20), one 3rd round pick (6), one 7th round pick (1)
The picks: Michael Oher, Peria Jerry, Mike Wallace, Jamarca Sanford
In his first seven seasons in the league, Michael Oher missed only five games along the offensive line. In his career, he never appeared in a game he didn't start.
Peria turned out to be a first-round bust, where Mike Wallace was remarkably productive for a third rounder. Finishing his career in 2018, Wallace recorded 8,027 career receiving yards and 57 touchdowns.
4. The 2019 Draft Class - 32 points
Three 2nd round picks (24), one third round pick (6), two seventh round picks (2)
The picks: Greg Little, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf, Dawson Knox, Javon Patterson, Ken Webster
It's far too early to judge the NFL careers of the 2019 class, but so far it seems like the Titans and Seahawks got two massive steals with Brown and Metcalf, respectively.
Going into draft night one year ago, most evaluators pegged both as top-20 picks. Some saw Metcalf going as high as 1.07. Yet, both slipped into the late second. Every team in the league except Tennessee and Seattle regret that now.
Little and Patterson both missed considerable time as rookies with injury, whereas Ken Webster, despite the seventh round selection, actually made a spot for himself in Miami. He started five games and appeared in three more.
3. The 1971 Draft Class - 33 points
31 points: One 1st round pick (10), two 4th round picks (8), one 5th round picks (3), two 6th round picks (4), three 7th or later picks (3) One CFB Hall of Famer, Archie Manning (5)
The picks: Archie Manning, Wimpy Winther, Adam Mitchell, Fred Brister, Dennis Coleman, Wyck Neely, Worthy McClure, Vernon Studdard, Floyd Franks
We all know what Archie did for his career. From 1971-81, he was one of the league's top quarterbacks stuck in a dumpster-fire of a Saints organization. Manning's best years came in 1978 and 1979, when he made back-to-back Pro Bowls while carrying the horrible Saints team to 7-9 and 8-8 records.
For his career, Manning threw for 23,911 yards and 125 touchdowns, adding 2,197 rushing yard and 18 touchdowns. His biggest flaw as a pro – one that certainly held the Saints back during his run – was turnovers. Manning threw 173 interceptions and fumbled 73 times.
2. The 2016 Draft Class - 35 points
35 points: Three 1st round picks (30), one 5th round pick (3), one sixth round pick (2)
The picks: Laremy Tunsil, Laquon Treadwell, Robert Nkemdiche, Fahn Cooper, Cody Core
Just as a "we're evaluating entirely on where these guys were drafted" position, this is nearly the best draft in Ole Miss history. Unfortunately, it hasn't turned out all that well.
Tunsil was the hit. The surefire top tackle in the draft slipped due to a little draft day faux pas that we don't need to re-hash. After three years in Miami, he was traded to Houston in a blockbuster deal that sent two 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick to Miami. He's not the top-paid offensive lineman in football.
The rest of those three first rounders didn't turn out so great. Nkemdiche flamed out the league after being waived by the Cardinals following the 2018 season. The Dolphins gave him a quick shot, but he was cut by them after only two weeks.
Treadwell hasn't had Nkemdiche's off-field issues, but his on-field production has just never been there in Minnesota. In four seasons, the former first-rounder caught only 65 balls for 701 yards and 2 scores.
1. The 1968 Draft Class - 39 points
39 points: Two 2nd round picks (16), two 3rd round picks (12), two 4th round picks (8), three 7th or later picks (3)
The picks: Jimmy Keyes, Mac Haik, Jim Urbanek, Bob Vaughn, Dan Sartin, Alan Bush, Jerry Richardson, Wayne McClure, Bobby Hendrix
This class is just so stinking deep. No first round picks, but two in each of the second, third and fourth rounds shows just how consistently good those Ole Miss teams were under Johnny Vaught.
Six members of this class (all but Bush, Richardson and Hendrix) appeared in at least one NFL game. But here's the thing, the deepest class in Ole Miss history was far from productive or long lived at the NFL level. Mac Haik had the longest career of anyone in the class, and that lasted just four years.
Draft depth may make them the best DRAFT CLASS in Ole Miss history, but they're far from the best pros in Rebel history.
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