Tennessee Football NFL Draft History – First Rounders, All-Time Standings

Ever since the first Volunteer was drafted in 1936, the University of Tennessee’s football program has had a whopping 355 players drafted into professional football.

Tennessee’s 355 NFL Draft players rank tied for the 12th-most all-time according to Sports Illustrated.

• No. 1 – Notre Dame – 522
• No. 2 – Southern California – 519
• No. 3 – Ohio State – 479
• No. 4 – Oklahoma – 409 (including Josh Heupel)
• No. 5 – Michigan – 392
• No. 6 – Alabama – 391
• No. 7 – Penn State – 375
• No. 8 – LSU – 369
• No. 9 – Florida – 367
• No. 10 – Nebraska – 366
• No. 11 – Georgia – 361
• No. 12 – Tennessee/Miami – 355

The number of draft picks is slightly disputed, though, depending on the source. On Monday evening, Tennessee claimed 379 all-time picks, which would move the Vols up to No. 7 in the rankings.

Big orange on the big stage

3️⃣7️⃣9️⃣ All-Time @NFL draft picks#NFLVols | #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/63wV7pGitW

— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) April 24, 2023

The first NFL Draft was held in 1936 when Philadelphia Eagles co-owner Bert Bell proposed the idea of holding an annual draft in order to maintain financial stability across the teams in the league. Out of the 90 players that could be selected for the very first NFL Draft in history, a fourth-rounder was a Tennessee Volunteer.

Gene Rose, an end, was the first Tennessee football player to be drafted in 1936 by the Giants with the 36th overall pick in the draft. Rose was taken with the ninth pick in the fourth round.

Since Rose was taken in 1936, Tennessee has had a player drafted in every single year except for six: 1938, 1960, 1963, 2015, 2016, and 2019.

Out of the remaining seasons between 1936 and 2022, Tennessee has had multiple draft picks in 73 of their 80 drafts.

Tennessee has produced 45 first-round NFL Draft picks since QB George Cafego was drafted first overall in the 1940 draft by the Giants.

The Vols will very likely be adding at least one more first-rounder for the 2023 NFL Draft coming up this Thursday. Offensive tackle Darnell Wright looks to be a lock for the first 20 picks of the draft while wide receiver Jalin Hyatt and quarterback Hendon Hooker have been flirting with the first round in mock drafts for months now.

NFL Draft Projections: Hendon Hooker Projected to the Tennessee Titans in New NFL Mock Draft

All of Tennessee’s first-rounders are as follows:

• 1940: QB George Cafego – Cardinals (1/1)
• 1952: DB Bert Rechichar – Browns (1/10)
• 1953: DE Doug Atkins – Browns (1/11)
• 1964: T Dick Evey – Bears (1/14)
• 1965: DL Steve DeLong – Bears (1/6)
• 1968: C Bob Johnson – Bengals (1/2)
• 1970: LB Jack Reynolds – Rams (1/22)
• 1977: WR Stanley Morgan – Patriots (1/25)
• 1979: C Robert Shaw – Cowboys (1/27)
• 1980: DB Ronald James – Patriots (1/14)
• 1982: WR Anthony Hancock – Chiefs (1/11)
• 1983: WR Willie Gault – Bears (1/18)
• 1984: WR Cylde Duncan – Cardinals (1/17)
• 1985: LB Alvin Toles – Saints (1/24)
• 1986: WR Tim McGee – Bengals (1/21)
• 1988: DB Terry McDaniel – Raiders (1/9)
• 1988: WR Anthony Miller – Chargers (1/15)
• 1989: LB Keith DeLong – 49ers (1/28)
• 1991: OT Charles McRae – Buccaneers (1/7)
• 1991: OT Atone Davis – Eagles (1/8)
• 1991: WR Alvin Harper – Cowboys (1/12)
• 1992: DB Dale Carter – Chiefs (1/20)
• 1992: DE Chris Mims – Chargers (1/23)
• 1993: DE Todd Kelly – 49ers (1/27)
• 1994: QB Heath Shuler – Redskins (1/3)
• 1995: RB James Stewart – Jaguars (1/19)
• 1998: QB Peyton Manning – Colts (1/1)
• 1998: DB Terry Fair – Lions (1/20)
• 1998: WR Marcus Nash – Broncos (1/30)
• 1999: LB Al Wilson – Broncos (1/31)
• 2000: RB Jamal Lewis – Ravens (1/5)
• 2000: DE Shaun Ellis – Jets (1/12)
• 2002: DT John Henderson – Jaguars (1/9)
• 2002: WR Donte Stallworth – Saints (1/13)
• 2002: DT Albert Haynesworth – Titans (1/15)
• 2006: FS Jason Allen – Dolphins (1/16)
• 2007: DT Justin Harrell – Packers (1/16)
• 2007: WR Robert Meachem – Saints (1/27)
• 2008: ILB Jerod Mayo – Patriots (1/10)
• 2009: LB Robert Ayers Jr. – Broncos (1/18)
• 2010: FS Eric Berry – Chiefs (1/5)
• 2010: DT Dan Williams – Cardinals (1/26)
• 2013: WR Cordarelle Patterson – Vikings (1/29)
• 2014: Ju’Waun James – Dolphins (1/19)
• 2017: Derek Barnett – Eagles (1/14)