NFL Draft: The SEC’s No. 1 No. 24
The 2023 NFL Draft starts on April 27 with the first-round picks at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The SEC has produced 395 first-round selections and another 108 choices among the top 32 picks who were not first-rounders. AL.com is counting down to the draft by highlighting the SEC players chosen in the first 32 picks.
Nine of the 17 SEC players selected with the 24th choice in an NFL Draft have been picked for 17 Pro Bowls, and four of them have combined for 13 1,000-yard rushing seasons.
Four of those Pro Bowl selections and three of the 1,000-yard seasons belong to running back James Brooks.
In his first two seasons, Brooks led the NFL in all-purpose yards, and he also topped the league in kickoff-return yards in his second season.
After three seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Brooks was traded out of Chuck Muncie’s shadow and into the role of a No. 1 running back with the Cincinnati Bengals. Brooks was a Pro Bowler for the Bengals in 1986, 1988, 1989 and 1990.
In the best of his 12 NFL seasons, Brooks ran for 1,239 yards and seven touchdowns on 221 carries and caught 37 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns in 1989 as he helped Cincinnati win the AFC championship and reach Super Bowl XXIII.
The 10 SEC players drafted in the first round with the No. 24 pick include:
· Auburn running back James Brooks, San Diego Chargers, 1981
· Tennessee linebacker Alvin Toles, New Orleans Saints, 1985
· Georgia running back Rodney Hampton, New York Giants, 1990
· Mississippi State wide receiver Eric Moulds, Buffalo Bills, 1996
· Florida defensive tackle Reggie McGrew, San Francisco 49ers, 1999
· South Carolina defensive end Johnathan Joseph, Cincinnati Bengals, 2006
· Ole Miss defensive tackle Peria Jerry, Atlanta Falcons, 2009
· Florida tackle D.J. Humphries, Arizona Cardinals, 2015
· Alabama running back Josh Jacobs, Oakland Raiders, 2019
· Alabama running back Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers, 2021
The seven SEC players drafted with the No. 24 pick who were not first-rounders include:
· Vanderbilt center Charley Hoover, Detroit Lions, 1947
· Ole Miss fullback John “Kayo” Dottley, Chicago Bears, 1950
· Vanderbilt back Herb Rich, Los Angeles Rams, 1951
· Tennessee guard John Gordy, guard, Detroit Lions, 1957
· Ole Miss guard Marvin Terrell, Baltimore Colts, 1960
· Alabama back Butch Wilson, Baltimore Colts, 1963
· Kentucky tackle Herschel Turner, St. Louis Cardinals, 1964
Dottley was a Pro Bowler in his first season. But he retired after his third season because of leg injuries sustained when a parking valet pinned him between two cars.
Rich had been drafted at No. 67 by the Colts a year before the Rams picked him at No. 24. The Baltimore franchise folded after Rich started every game at safety as a rookie, and rather than hold a dispersal draft, the NFL put the Colts players into the regular draft.
Gordy was a Pro Bowl right guard for the Lions in 1963, 1964 and 1965.
Terrell never played for Baltimore after being drafted by the Colts. He signed with the AFL’s Dallas Texans and was an all-star at left guard in 1962.
Hampton ran for 1,000 yards for five straight seasons for the Giants and was a Pro Bowler twice. He also was a Super Bowl champ in 1990, the first of his eight seasons with New York.
Moulds recorded four 1,000-yard receiving seasons with the Bills, including Pro Bowl campaigns in 1998, 2000 and 2002.
Joseph played in 211 regular-season games across 15 years and went to the Pro Bowl in 2011 and 2012.
Humphries made the Pro Bowl as the Cardinals’ left tackle in 2021.
In four seasons, Jacobs already has had three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, been chosen twice for the Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2022 as the NFL rushing leader.
A Pro Bowler as a rookie, Harris has topped 1,000 rushing yards in both of his NFL seasons.
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(The list includes only players selected in the regular NFL draft. The drafts from other leagues are not included nor are any supplemental drafts that have been held by the NFL.)
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.