The University of Kansas Jayhawks football team has had 177 players drafted into the National Football League (NFL). [1] [A 1] [A 2] KU has seen nine players taken in the first round, including six top-10 picks: Gale Sayers, John Riggins, Ray Evans, Mike Butler, John Hadl, and David Verser. Sayers, a College and Pro Football Hall of Famer, was the highest pick from KU as the fourth overall pick in the 1965 NFL draft. Nine different Jayhawks have been drafted in the first round, Aqib Talib, who was drafted with the 20th overall selection in the 2008 NFL draft is the most recent Jayhawk to be drafted in the first round.
Through the annual NFL draft each NFL franchise gets the chance to add new players to their teams. The current draft rules were established in 2009. The team with the worst record the previous year gets to pick first, then the next-worst team picks second, and so on. Teams that were not in the playoffs receive their draft order by their regular-season record. If 2 or more non-playoff teams have the same record the tie breaker used is their strength of schedule. Playoff teams receive their draft order after all the non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl). [3]
In 1944 the All-America Football Conference was established and it began play in 1946 in direct competition with the NFL. From 1946 to 1949 the two leagues fiercely competed for the top college football prospects with each league holding their own drafts, before the AAFC finally merged with the NFL at the end of the 1949 season.
Like the AAFC earlier, the American Football League (AFL) operated in direct competition with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a massive bidding war over top prospects between the two leagues. As part of the merger agreement on June 8, 1966, the two leagues would hold a multiple round "common draft". Once the AFL officially merged with the NFL in 1970, the common draft simply became the NFL draft. [2] [4]
Sixteen former Jayhawks who were drafted have been selected to a Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star Game. Twelve former Jayhawks who were drafted have won a championship with their respective teams, one was named MVP, John Riggins in Super Bowl XVII.
B | Back | K | Kicker | NT | Nose tackle |
C | Center | LB | Linebacker | DB | Defensive back |
P | Punter | HB | Halfback | DE | Defensive end |
QB | Quarterback | WR | Wide receiver | DT | Defensive tackle |
RB | Running back | G | Guard | E | End |
T | Offensive tackle | TE | Tight end | FB | Fullback |
* | Selected to a Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star Game | ||||
† | Won an NFL championship | ||||
‡ | Selected to a Pro Bowl or AFL All-Star Game and won an NFL championship | ||||
! | College Hall of Famer | ||||
± | NFL Hall of Famer | ||||
Below are players who played at least two seasons in the NFL.
Note: No drafts held before 1936
Year | Player | Position | Debut Team | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1981 | Frank Wattelet | DB | New Orleans Saints | — |
1984 | Bobby Johnson | WR | New York Giants | Super Bowl champion (XXI) |
1984 | Elvis Patterson † | DB | New York Giants | Super Bowl champion (XXI, XXVIII) |
1987 | Steve Nave | LB | Cleveland Browns | — |
1992 | Doug Terry | S | Kansas City Chiefs | — |
1995 | Kwamie Lassiter | DB | Arizona Cardinals | — |
1998 | Tony Blevins | DB | San Francisco 49ers | — |
1999 | Dan Dercher | T | San Francisco 49ers | — |
2006 | Charles Gordon | DB | Minnesota Vikings | — |
2010 | Chris Harris Jr. ‡ | S | Denver Broncos | Super Bowl Champion (50) Pro Bowl (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018) |
2013 | Bradley McDougald | S | Kansas City Chiefs | — |
2017 | Fish Smithson | S | Washington Redskins | — |
2019 | Steven Sims | WR | Washington Redskins | — |
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations to the game. However, the AAFC was ultimately unable to sustain itself in competition with the NFL. After it folded, three of its teams were admitted to the NFL: the San Francisco 49ers, the Cleveland Browns and the original Baltimore Colts.
John Willard Hadl(Pronounced: HAY-dull) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 16 years in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He won an AFL championship with the San Diego Chargers in 1963. Hadl was named an AFL All-Star four times and was selected to two Pro Bowls. He was inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame.
The AFL–NFL merger was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). It paved the way for the combined league, which retained the "National Football League" name and logo, to become the most popular sports league in the United States. The merger was announced on the evening of June 8, 1966. Under the merger agreement, the leagues maintained separate regular-season schedules for the next four seasons—from 1966 through 1969 with a final championship game which would become known as the Super Bowl—and then officially merged before the 1970 season to form one league with two conferences.
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national champion.
Robert John Riggins, nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks. Riggins was known for his "bell cow" running style and productivity well into the later years of his career. In the 1983 season, at age 34, he rushed for a then-NFL record of 24 touchdowns, a record which stood for almost 20 seasons. Riggins again led the league in rushing touchdowns during the 1984 season at age 35. Although he earned only one Pro Bowl appearance in his career, Riggins had his greatest success in the postseason and was named MVP of Super Bowl XVII where he scored one touchdown and rushed for 166 yards in a 27–17 win for the Redskins over the Miami Dolphins. Riggins was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Curtis Realious McClinton Jr. is an American former professional football player. His father, Curtis McClinton Sr., served in the Kansas Senate.
Joe Emerson Spencer was an American football tackle and coach who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL). He was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948 and the Cleveland Browns in 1949 before playing two seasons with the Green Bay Packers.