They only had two NFL Draft picks, none of whom were first-rounders, and one of whom wasn’t taken until the sixth round. However, Tennessee football managed to improve its standing among other colleges in the draft with this light year.
The Vols shot up from No. 36 to No. 31 in College Football News’ five-year draft analysis rankings. They are up 13 spots from No. 44, where they were ranking back in 2019. This ranking is solely based on who had the most players drafted over the previous five years.
What was really killing Tennessee football in 2019 was having no draft picks in three of five classes during that time: 2015, 2016 and 2019. Two years later, the 2015 and 2016 classes have fallen off and been replaced by 2020 and 2021, both of which had players selected.
Over the past five years, UT has had 13 players selected. What’s really carrying them, though is the 2017 draft, when they had six players selected, all in the first three rounds. That draft comes off the board next year.
As a result, if the Vols don’t want to have a significant drop in these rankings, they need to somehow find a way to get lots of players drafted on the heels of Josh Heupel’s first year on Rocky Top. There are some players who could fit the mold, but Heupel has to have a splash season.
Eight SEC teams had more players selected over the past five years than the Vols, including the Ole Miss Rebels, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Texas A&M Aggies, Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Florida Gators, LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide. Georgia, Florida, LSU and Alabama were all in the top six alone, with Alabama at No. 1 overall.
Despite all the problems that have plagued Tennessee football the past decade, at least the Vols are back to expecting players to get drafted, even if only a few do get their names called. They haven’t had players taken in at least four of the last five drafts since that 2015 draft, which broke a run of 51 straight years with one former Vol taken in the draft.
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May 06, 2021 at 03:32AM
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Tennessee football rises up five-year NFL Draft rankings - All for Tennessee
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