List of Memphis Tigers in the NFL draft

This is a list of Memphis Tigers football players in the NFL Draft.

Key[edit]

B	Back	K	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

Selections[edit]

As of 2023, the Memphis football program has produced 138 NFL & AFL Draft picks. An additional 44 Memphis players have gone on to be signed by teams as undrafted free agents. In 2020, Isaac Bruce became the first Memphis player inducted in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Pro Football Hall of Fame currently ranks former Tiger Stephen Gostkowski as the sixth-best kicker in NFL history.^[1] Other notable former Memphis players include Andy Nelson, Dick Hudson, Harry Schuh, Tim Harris, DeAngelo Williams, and Dontari Poe.

Since 2019, the Memphis program has become known for producing a number of successful NFL running backs, including four drafted from 2019 to 2021 and a fifth signed as a free agent in 2020. In September 2021, sportscaster Dan Patrick dubbed Memphis the new "Running Back U".^[2] Of the five NFL running backs Memphis produced in this period, four played as starters: Darrell Henderson for Los Angeles, Antonio Gibson for Washington, Kenneth Gainwell for Philadelphia, and Tony Pollard for Dallas. Pollard was selected to the 2022 Pro Bowl in his fourth season.

currently active players are in bold

Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Player	Team	Position	Professional achievements
1951	16	10	193	Bill Robertson	Los Angeles Rams	E
1953	22	4	257	Wayne Wood	Chicago Bears	T
1954	24	7	284	Will Renfro	Washington Redskins	E
1956	22	10	263	Joe Billings	Chicago Bears	T
1957	11	5	126	Andy Nelson	Baltimore Colts	QB	Pro Bowl (1960), First Team All-Pro (1959), Second Team All-Pro (1958), 2× NFL Champion (1958, 1959)
1957	14	11	168	Bob Schmidt	Chicago Bears	B
1958	25	3	292	Hal Divine	Philadelphia Eagles	T
1958	26	4	305	Bob Lyles	Chicago Bears	B
1961	3	8	36	James Earl Wright	Philadelphia Eagles	QB
	14	2	106	James Earl Wright	Boston Patriots	QB
	12	10	164	Donald Coffey	San Francisco 49ers	E
	25	7	199	Donald Coffey	San Diego Chargers	E
1962	2	8	16	Dick Hudson	San Diego Chargers	T	AFL All-Star (1965), 2× AFL Champion (1964, 1964), Bills All-1960s Team
	15	8	120	Fred Moore	San Diego Chargers	DT
	10	13	135	Fred Moore	Baltimore Colts	T
	18	8	144	Dennis Biodrowski	San Diego Chargers	G	AFL Champion (1966)
	16	11	221	Dennis Biodrowski	Cleveland Browns	G
1963	4	1	43	John Griffin	Los Angeles Rams	B
	8	5	61	John Griffin	Denver Broncos	B
	27	4	212	Dick Quast	Buffalo Bills	G
	16	5	215	Dick Quast	Baltimore Colts	G
	16	12	222	Charlie Killett	New York Giants	B
	29	4	228	Charlie Killett	Buffalo Bills	B
1964	5	9	65	Charley Brooks	St. Louis Cardinals	E
	14	3	107	Charley Brooks	New York Jets	E
	18	3	139	Bill Scott	New York Jets	G
	13	6	174	Russ Vollmer	Minnesota Vikings	B
	23	5	181	John Evans	Buffalo Bills	T
	17	9	233	John Evans	St. Louis Cardinals	T
1965	1	3	3	Harry Schuh	Oakland Raiders	DT	Pro Bowl (1970), 2× AFL All-Star (1967, 1969), All-AFL (1969), AFL Champion (1967), Raiders All-Time Team
	5	13	65	Doug Woodlief	Los Angeles Rams	E
	11	13	153	Olie Cordill	Cleveland Browns	B
1966	5	8	41	Bob Sherlag	Buffalo Bills	WR
	6	4	84	Bob Sherlag	Philadelphia Eagles	WR
	12	4	104	Harry Day	Houston Oilers	DE
	15	4	219	Harry Day	Philadelphia Eagles	T
	17	13	258	Dave Hathcock	Green Bay Packers	DB	Super Bowl champion (I), NFL champion (1966)
1968	5	26	137	Francis Winkler	Green Bay Packers	DE
	7	21	168	Dale Brady	Cleveland Browns	RB
	11	16	289	Rich Coady	Chicago Bears	TE
	14	5	359	Herb Covington	New Orleans Saints	RB
	14	7	361	Chuck DeVeliegher	Buffalo Bills	DT
	15	19	400	Bob Baxter	Cleveland Browns	WR
1969	17	16	432	Joe Rushing	San Francisco 49ers	LB
1970	5	17	121	Danny Pierce	Washington Redskins	RB
	5	19	123	Bob Parker	Detroit Lions	G
	9	9	217	Preston Riley	San Francisco 49ers	WR
	10	6	240	Steve Jaggard	Philadelphia Eagles	DB
	16	19	409	Jerry Todd	Detroit Lions	DB
1971	12	15	301	James Hayden	Cincinnati Bengals	DE
	14	21	359	David Vaughn	Miami Dolphins	TE
	17	24	440	John Bomer	Dallas Cowboys	C
1972	5	25	129	Charlie Babb	Miami Dolphins	DB
	7	17	173	Ray Jamieson	Oakland Raiders	RB
	13	16	328	John Kirschner	Detroit Lions	TE
1973	11	8	268	Jay Douglas	San Diego Chargers	C
1973	13	3	315	Stan Davis	Philadelphia Eagles	WR
1974	3	10	62	Cliff Taylor	Chicago Bears	RB
1975	9	16	224	Everett Taylor	New York Jets	DB
1975	17	21	437	Carl Taylor	Washington Redskins	DE
1976	15	10	413	Jerry Dandridge	Green Bay Packers	LB
1976	16	18	449	Mike Fuhrman	Baltimore Colts	TE
1977	1	24	24	Bob Rush	San Diego Chargers	C
	3	24	80	Terdell Middleton	St. Louis Cardinals	RB	Pro Bowl (1978)
	4	20	104	Eric Harris	Kansas City Chiefs	DB
	4	23	107	Earl Jones	Los Angeles Rams	DE
	6	4	143	Bob Jordan	New York Giants	T
1978	1	9	9	Keith Simpson	Seattle Seahawks	DB
	2	8	36	Keith Butler	Seattle Seahawks	LB	2× Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII)
	5	12	122	Keith Wright	Cleveland Browns	WR
1979	2	8	36	Earnest Gray	New York Giants	WR
	2	26	54	Eddie Hill	Los Angeles Rams	RB
	7	12	177	Judson Flint	New England Patriots	DB
1980	12	5	310	James Stewart	Green Bay Packers	DB
1981	12	22	326	Keith Clark	Buffalo Bills	LB
1983	2	28	56	Richard Williams	Washington Redskins	RB
1984	1	24	24	Derrick Crawford	San Francisco 49ers	WR
1985	1	14	14	Derrick Burroughs	Buffalo Bills	DB
	3	10	66	Tim Long	Minnesota Vikings	T
	3	11	67	Donnie Elder	New York Jets	DB
	6	19	159	Jack Oliver	New York Giants	G
	10	28	280	James Bowers	Seattle Seahawks	DB
	11	8	288	Punkin Williams	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	RB
1986	3	15	70	Jeff Walker	San Diego Chargers	T
	4	2	84	Tim Harris	Green Bay Packers	LB	Pro Bowl (1989), 2× First-Team All-Pro (1988, 1989), Super Bowl champion (XXIX)
	6	14	152	Gary Hunt	Cincinnati Bengals	DB
	8	4	198	Trell Hooper	Indianapolis Colts	DB
1987	3	4	60	David Brandon	Buffalo Bills	LB
1988	7	12	177	Tim Borcky	Buffalo Bills	T
1988	9	12	233	Scott Dill	Phoenix Cardinals	T
1989	7	17	184	Mike Nettles	Seattle Seahawks	DB
	10	24	275	Greg Ross	Miami Dolphins	DT
	12	2	309	James Cribbs	Detroit Lions	DE
	12	21	328	Marlon Brown	Cleveland Browns	LB
1990	5	23	132	Charles Wilson	Green Bay Packers	WR
1990	8	2	195	Tory Epps	Atlanta Falcons	DT
1991	5	15	126	Reggie Jones	New Orleans Saints	DB
	5	24	135	Jeff Fite	Green Bay Packers	P
	6	5	144	Eduardo Vega	Phoenix Cardinals	T
1993	4	27	111	Russell Copeland	Buffalo Bills	WR
1993	8	10	206	Jeff Buffaloe	Los Angeles Rams	P
1994	2	4	33	Isaac Bruce	Los Angeles Rams	WR	4× Pro Bowl (1996, 1999—2001), Second-Team All-Pro (1999), Super Bowl champion (XXXIV), NFL Receiving Yards Leader (1996), Pro Football Hall of Fame
	5	23	154	Tony Semple	Detroit Lions	G
	7	5	199	Steve Matthews	Kansas City Chiefs	QB
1995	4	11	109	Ken Irvin	Buffalo Bills	DB
1996	1	28	28	Jerome Woods	Kansas City Chiefs	DB	Pro Bowl (2003)
1997	5	21	151	Tony Williams	Minnesota Vikings	DT
	6	37	200	Richard Hogans	Chicago Bears	LB
	7	32	233	Marvin Thomas	Chicago Bears	DE
1999	3	26	87	Mike McKenzie	Green Bay Packers	DB	Super Bowl champion (XLIV)
2001	2	6	37	Idrees Bashir	Indianapolis Colts	DB
	2	23	54	Michael Stone	Arizona Cardinals	DB
	4	28	123	Marcus Bell	Arizona Cardinals	DT
2003	3	14	78	Wade Smith	Miami Dolphins	T	Pro Bowl (2012)
2003	7	46	260	Travis Anglin	Detroit Lions	WR
2004	7	11	212	Eric Taylor	Pittsburgh Steelers	DT
2006	1	27	27	DeAngelo Williams	Carolina Panthers	RB	Pro Bowl (2009), Second-Team All-Pro (2008), 2× NFL Rushing Touchdowns leader (2008, 2015)
2006	4	21	118	Stephen Gostkowski	New England Patriots	K	4× Pro Bowl (2008, 2013—2015), 2× First-Team All-Pro (2008, 2015), NFL Record 479 Consecutive Extra Points made, 3× Super Bowl shampion (XLIX, LI, LIII)
2007	5	3	140	Brandon McDonald	Cleveland Browns	CB
2009	7	40	249	Clinton McDonald	Cincinnati Bengals	DE	Super Bowl champion (XLVIII)
2012	1	11	11	Dontari Poe	Kansas City Chiefs	DT	2× Pro Bowl (2013, 2014), Second-Team All-Pro (2013)
2014	7	41	256	Lonnie Ballentine	Houston Texans	DB
2015	5	9	145	Bobby McCain	Miami Dolphins	CB
2015	7	10	227	Martin Ifedi	St. Louis Rams	DE
2016	1	26	26	Paxton Lynch	Denver Broncos	QB
2017	5	9	153	Jake Elliott	Cincinnati Bengals	K	Super Bowl champion (LII)
2018	2	19	51	Anthony Miller	Chicago Bears	WR
2018	5	13	150	Genard Avery	Cleveland Browns	LB
2019	3	6	70	Darrell Henderson	Los Angeles Rams	RB	Super Bowl champion (LVI)
2019	4	26	128	Tony Pollard	Dallas Cowboys	RB	Pro Bowl (2022)
2020	3	2	66	Antonio Gibson	Washington Redskins	RB
	7	9	223	Chris Claybrooks	Jacksonville Jaguars	DB
	7	16	230	Dustin Woodard	New England Patriots	C
2021	5	6	150	Kenneth Gainwell	Philadelphia Eagles	RB
2022	3	26	90	Dylan Parham	Las Vegas Raiders	OG
2022	4	33	138	Calvin Austin	Pittsburgh Steelers	WR

^[3]

Undrafted Free Agents[edit]

Draft Year	Player	First Team	Position	Professional achievements
1960	Dave Strickland	Denver Broncos	G
1965	John Bramlett	Denver Broncos	LB	2× AFL All-Star
1966	Billy Fletcher	Denver Broncos	DB
1978	James Thompson	New York Giants	WR
1978	William Cesare	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	DB
1980	Ken Dunek	Philadelphia Eagles	TE
1982	Rick Ackerman	San Diego Chargers	DT
1984	Darrell Nelson	Pittsburgh Steelers	TE
1984	Stan Adams	Los Angeles Raiders	LB
1985	Derrick Burroughs	Buffalo Bills	DB
1986	Eric Fairs	Houston Oilers	LB
1987	Jeff Womack	Minnesota Vikings	RB
	Edwin Lovelady	New York Giants	WR
	Enis Jackson	Cleveland Browns	DB
	David Brandon	San Diego Chargers	LB
	Don Bramlett	Minnesota Vikings	DT
	Dennis Borcky	New York Giants	NT
1991	Glenn Rogers	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	DB
1995	James Logan	Cincinnati Benglas	LB
1996	Marcus Holliday	St. Louis Rams	RB
1999	Mac Cody	Indianapolis Colts	WR
2000	Darrius Blevins	St. Louis Rams	WR	Super Bowl champion (XXXIV)
2000	Reggie Howard	Oakland Raiders	DB
2003	Artis Hicks	Philadelphia Eagles	G/T
2003	Dante Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers	RB
2004	Tony Brown	Carolina Panthers	DE
2007	Robert Douglas	Tennessee Titans	RB
2010	Duke Calhoun	New York Giants	WR
2011	Kellen Heard	Oakland Raiders	DT
2012	Ronald Leary	Dallas Cowboys	G
2013	Robert Steeples	St. Louis Rams	CB
2014	Akeem Davis	Washington Redskins	S
	Marcus Ball	New Orleans Saints	S
	Jordan Devey	Baltimore Ravens	T	Super Bowl champion (XLIX)
2016	Alan Cross	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TE
2016	Wynton McManis	San Francisco 49ers	LB
2017	Mose Frazier	Denver Broncos	WR
2017	Arthur Maulet	New Orleans Saints	CB
2019	Tevin Jones	Houston Texans	WR
2020	Bryce Huff	New York Jets	LB
2020	Patrick Taylor	Green Bay Packers	RB
2021	Riley Patterson	Detroit Lions	K
2022	J.J. Russell	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	LB
2022	Cobi Francis	Houston Texans	CB
2023	Quindell Johnson	Los Angeles Rams	S

References[edit]

^ "Top 10 Kickers | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site". www.profootballhof.com. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
^ "Dan Patrick named Memphis football the new "Running Back U"". Saturday Blitz. 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
^ DraftHistory.com

[1] "Top 10 Kickers | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site". www.profootballhof.com. Retrieved 2021-09-09.

[2] "Dan Patrick named Memphis football the new "Running Back U"". Saturday Blitz. 2021-09-25. Retrieved 2021-10-05.

[3] DraftHistory.com

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Memphis Tigers football
Venues	Normal Field (1912–1916) Russwood Park (1912–1915, 1918–1920, 1922–1924) Hodges Field (1917, 1919, 1921–1923, 1926–1929) Memorial Field (1924–1936) Fairgrounds Stadium (1937) Crump Stadium (1937–1964) Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium (1965–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas State: Paint Bucket Bowl Cincinnati Louisville Ole Miss Southern Miss: Black and Blue Bowl UAB: Battle for the Bones
Culture & lore	Pouncer TOM (mascot) "Go Tigers Go" Mighty Sound of the South Miami Beach Brawl
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024