A Closer Look at OU and the 2005 NFL Draft

NORMAN, Okla. -- With 10 Sooners drafted, Oklahoma supplied the most selections of any school in the 2005 NFL Draft. Florida State followed OU with nine while Georgia and Wisconsin each had seven.

A total of 33 players from the Big 12 Conference were drafted -- with nearly a third being Sooners. OU was trailed by Nebraska with four and Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech with three each. Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State had one player drafted.

OU & NFL Draft Notes
OU had 10 players drafted in the seven rounds of the 2005 NFL Draft. In 1988, the NFL Draft went a dozen rounds but a whopping 12 Sooners were selected in the first seven rounds. 13 Sooners were eventually drafted in 1988 included first-rounders Rickey Dixon (No. 5) and Keith Jackson (13).

Dante Jones, drafted in the second round, was followed by Mark Hutson (3rd round), Greg Johnson (4th), Lydell Carr (4th), Darrell Reed (5th), Troy Johnson (5th), Jon Phillips (6th), Derrick White (6th), Derrick Crudup (7th), Ceaser Rentie (7th) and Patrick Collins (8th).

2005 Draft Central | All-Time OU Draft Picks | OU Draft Superlatives

OU had two first-round selections in 2005: offensive tackle Jammal Brown, the 13th overall pick to the New Orleans Saints, and wide received Mark Clayton, the 22nd overall pick to the Baltimore Ravens. The most first-rounds picks from Oklahoma has been three -- and it happened twice. In 1970, Steve Zabel, Jim Files and Heisman-winner Steve Owens were drafted in the first round. In 1976, Lee Roy Selmon was the No. 1 pick in the draft with Joe Washington and Billy Brooks taken later in the first round.

2005 set a record as the fourth consecutive year OU has supplied at least one first-round pick to the NFL Draft. Oklahoma previously had a stretch of three consectuive drafts with a first-rounder from 1984-86. Jammal Brown and Mark Clayton joined Tommie Harris (2004), Andre Woolfolk (2003) and Roy Williams (2002) as first-round Sooners. The other three-year span with consecutive OU first-rounders was Rick Bryan and Jackie Shipp (1984), Steve Sewell (1985) and Tony Casillas (1986).

OU tied the record for the most Sooners taken in the first two rounds of any draft in 2005. Oklahoma had five players taken (first-rounders Jammal Brown and Mark Clayton; second-rounders Brodney Pool, Mark Bradley and Dan Cody). OU also had five take in the first two rounds in the 1984 Draft (first-rounders Rick Bryan and current defensive ends coach Jackie Shipp; second-rounders Bob Slater, Scott Case and Thomas Benson).

OU also tied the record for most consecutive years (eight) with a pick in the first three rounds (1998-2005). The other eight-year span was 1975-82.

OU broke its record for most players drafted in the first three rounds with six in 2005. In addition to the first five listed above, wide receiver Brandon Jones was drafted in the third round by the Tennessee Titans. The previous record for the first three rounds was five in 1984.

With 10 players chosen, the 2005 Draft ranked as one of the top five in terms of total number of selections for the Sooners. As previously noted, 12 Sooners went in 1988. 11 were chosen in the 1973 Draft. 10 OU players were selected in both 1975 and 1979. However, both the 1973 and 1975 Drafts went a full 17 rounds. The NFL reduced the rounds to 12 in 1977 and cut the Draft to eight in 1993. The current seven-round Draft began in 1994.

The University of Oklahoma has now had a player selected in the last 43 consecutive NFL Drafts. The last time a Sooner wasn't drafted in any round was in 1962.

OU has had a player selected in the first seven rounds of the past 37 drafts dating back to 1969.

A total of 316 OU players have now been drafted by the NFL. The first Sooner ever drafted was All-American J.W. "Dub" Wheeler by the Packers. Wheeler was the 16th overall pick in the very first draft in 1936.

23 Sooners have been drafted during head coach Bob Stoops' tenure at Oklahoma (1999-current) including six first-rounders (Stockar McDougle, Roy Williams, Andre Woolfolk, Tommie Harris, Jammal Brown and Mark Clayton).

34 Sooners have now been drafted in the first round since 1936 including two No. 1 picks: Billy Sims in 1980 and Lee Roy Selmon in 1976.

Which team has selected more Sooners than any other? The Arizona/St. Louis Cardinals organization has drafted 37 total players from OU including 2005 pick Lance Mitchell. Interestingly, the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams organization is second with 24. The Chicago Bears have drafted 23 Sooners including 2005 second-round pick Mark Bradley and 2004 first-round pick Tommie Harris. The Green Bay Packers come in fourth with 21 OU players selected. The Detroit Lions are fifth with 17.

Which team has never drafted a Sooner? NFL newcomers Carolina (first draft was 1995), Jacksonville (1995) and the Houston Texans (2002) have not drafted any Sooners. But the most amazing team is the Seattle Seahawks. In 29 years -- since its first draft in 1976 -- Seattle has never drafted a player from OU.

What about Brian Bosworth? Seattle selected the Boz No. 1 in the 1987 supplemental draft -- not the regular draft. Bosworth signed the richest contract in Seahawk history (at the time) of 10 years for $11 million. He was moved to the weak side, even though Bosworth had spent his entire career on the strong side to make all the defensive calls. A shoulder injury forced him to retire after three years.

OU Player Notes
Jammal Brown was the first Sooner offensive lineman taken in the draft since Stockar McDougle went to the Detroit Lions as the 20th overall pick in the 2000 draft. Remarkably, Brown is the highest selection among OU offensive lineman since Stan West was the No. 8 pick by Los Angeles in 1950. Brown is the highest pick of any Sooner since safety Roy Williams was the No. 8 selection for Dallas in 2001.

Mark Clayton is just the fourth Oklahoma player drafted by Baltimore, the second during the Stoops era. TE Trent Smith went to the Ravens as a seventh-round pick in 2003. The Sooners have been draft-active in recent years, but Clayton proves to be at least somewhat a novelty. He is the first OU receiver drated since Anthony Stafford was a sixth-round pick for Denver in 1989. Clayton is the first OU pass-catcher taken in the first round since Billy Brooks went to Cincinnati in 1976. Brooks was the No. 11 pick overall.

Brodney Pool became the first Oklahoma player drafted by the Browns since 1979 when tackle S.J. Clpahan was taken in the second round. The other Oklahoma players to leave a Stoops team early for the NFL are both with their original teams -- S Roy Williams of Dallas and DE Jimmy Wilkerson of Kansas City.

Mark Bradley, Chicago's second-round selection, is the son of former Sooner wishbone quarterback Danny Bradley. Danny Bradley was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 1985. During his four-year NFL career, he played with the LA Rams and the Detroit Lions. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, 134 documented sets of fathers and sons have played professional football. | Pro Football Hall of Fame

Dan Cody was the second defensive end drafted from Oklahoma since Bob Stoops became the head coach. The other was Jimmy Wilkerson, a sixth-round selection by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2003.

Brandon Jones was the third OU receiver selected in 2005. Due mostly to the run-dominated style of play used by Sooner coaching legends Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer, Oklahoma receivers have been a bit sparse in the NFL draft. Never before had two gone in the same year. In 2005, three went in the first three rounds.

Following are the 2005 OU draft selections and some prominent Sooners who were drafted by (but not necessarily played for) the same organization:

New Orleans Saints - Jammal Brown
Lydell Carr (1988), Tinker Owens (1976), Derland Moore (1973)

Baltimore Ravens - Mark Clayton
Trent Smith (2003), Martin Chase (1998)

Cleveland Browns - Brodney Pool & Antonio Perkins
Greg Pruitt (1973), Prentice Gautt (1960), Kurt Burris (1955), Ed Rowlands (1952)

Chicago Bears - Mark Bradley
Tommie Harris (2004), Anthony Phillips (1989), Dante Jones (1988), Bill "Red" Conkright (1937)

Tennessee Titans - Brandon Jones
Andre Woolfolk (2003), Rocky Calmus (2002)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Donte Nicholson
Kevin Murphy (1986), Greg Roberts (1979), Lee Roy Selmon (1976), Dewey Selmon (1976)

Arizona Cardinals - Lance Mitchell
Jon Phillips (1988), Thomas Lott (1979), Tom Braheny (1973), Carl McAdams (1966), Jerry Tubbs (1957), Bo Bolinger (1956), Max Boydston (1955), Bob Herndon (1955), Myrl Greathouse (1949), Earl Crowder (1939)

San Diego Chargers - Wes Sims
Jermaine Fazande (1999), Joe Washington (1976), Tony DiRienzo (1976), John Carroll (1975)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

A Closer Look at OU and the 2005 NFL Draft

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