List of UMass Minutemen in the NFL draft

Last updated

This is a list of UMass Minutemen football players in the NFL draft.

Contents


The University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutemen football team has had 26 players selected in the National Football League (NFL) draft. Two of those selections were in the first round of the draft, 14th overall: tight end Milt Morin in 1966, and 11th overall: quarterback Greg Landry in 1968. A Massachusetts football alumnus had been selected in every NFL draft from 1970 to 1976.

Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual NFL draft. The draft rules were last updated in 2009. The team with the worst record the previous year picks first, the next-worst team second, and so on. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record with any remaining ties broken by strength of schedule. Playoff participants are sequenced after non-playoff teams, based on their round of elimination (wild card, division, conference, and Super Bowl).

Before the merger agreements in 1966, the American Football League (AFL) operated in direct competition with the NFL and held a separate draft. This led to a 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.

The first Massachusetts player to be taken in the NFL draft was Phil Vandersea in the sixteenth round of the 1965 NFL draft.

Tightend Rob Blanchflower was drafted in the 7th round in the 2014 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rob Blanchflower (799041).jpg
Tightend Rob Blanchflower was drafted in the 7th round in the 2014 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Key

BBackK Kicker NT Nose tackle
C Center LB Linebacker FB Fullback
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
= Pro Bowler
= Hall of Famer

Selections

YearRoundPickOverallPlayerTeamPosition
1965 1610220 Phil Vandersea Green Bay Packers RB
1966 11414 Milt Morin Cleveland Browns TE
711106 Bob Meers Minnesota Vikings E
1514229 Bob Ellis Cleveland Browns DE
1815275 Ed Toner Baltimore Colts T
1968 11111 Greg Landry Detroit Lions QB
1970 1613403 Steve Parnell Atlanta Falcons WR
1971 41492 Robert Pena Cleveland Browns G
151365 Nick McGarry New England Patriots TE
1972 154368 John Hulecki Pittsburgh Steelers G
156370 Harold Parmenter Denver Broncos DT
1973 1317329 Paul Metallo Kansas City Chiefs DB
1974 1515379 Peil Pennington Denver Broncos QB
175421 Tim Berra Baltimore Colts WR
1975 1010244 Bill Cooke Green Bay Packers DE
1976 828237 Ed McAleney Pittsburgh Steelers DT
1979 727192 Bruce Kimball Pittsburgh Steelers G
1980 103252 Sandro Vitiello Cincinnati Bengals K
1999 511144 Khari Samuel Chicago Bears LB
2010 22961 Vladimir Ducasse New York Jets T
2013 747253 Michael Cox New York Giants RB
2014 715230 Rob Blanchflower Pittsburgh Steelers TE
2016 51140 Tajae Sharpe Tennessee Titans WR
2019 23062 Andy Isabella Arizona Cardinals WR
2020 632211 Isaiah Rodgers Indianapolis Colts DB
2021 73231 Larnel Coleman Miami Dolphins OT

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References