NFL Draft: The SEC’s No. 1 No. 3
The 2023 NFL Draft starts Thursday night 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.
Johnny Robinson had a Hall of Fame career, but not with the Detroit Lions, who selected him with the third pick in the 1960 NFL Draft. Robinson turned down the Lions to sign with the Dallas Texans of the new AFL.
Robinson also wasn’t a safety for the first two years of his pro career. He played halfback and flanker, ran for 658 yards and six touchdowns on 150 carries and caught 76 passes for 1,212 yards and nine touchdowns. In 1962, Dallas put him on defense. In 1963, the Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs.
In 1965, Robinson made the first of five straight appearances on the All-AFL team. In 1970 — the season after the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV — the AFL-NFL merger was completed, and Robinson earned a spot on the All-Pro team for the NFL.
Robinson is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s AFL all-time team and joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019.
The 19 SEC players drafted with the No. 3 pick include:
· Ole Miss tailback Parker Hall, Cleveland Rams, 1939
· Tulane back Joe Renfroe, Boston Yanks, 1945
· Florida halfback Chuck Hunsinger, Chicago Bears, 1950
· LSU quarterback Y.A. Tittle, San Francisco 49ers, 1951
· Mississippi State defensive back Bill Stacy, Chicago Cardinals, 1959
· LSU defensive back Johnny Robinson, Detroit Lions, 1960
· Ole Miss defensive tackle Jim Dunaway, Minnesota Vikings, 1963
· Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier, San Francisco 49ers, 1967
· Florida wide receiver Wes Chandler, New Orleans Saints, 1978
· Georgia running back Garrison Hearst, Phoenix Cardinals, 1993
· Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler, Washington Redskins, 1994
· Alabama offensive tackle Chris Samuels, Washington Redskins, 2000
· Florida defensive tackle Gerard Warren, Cleveland Browns, 2001
· LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson, Kansas City Chiefs, 2009
· Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, Buffalo Bills, 2011
· Alabama running back Trent Richardson, Cleveland Browns, 2012
· Florida linebacker Dante Fowler, Jacksonville Jaguars, 2015
· Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, New York Jets, 2019
· LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., Houston Texans, 2022
Hall won the Joe F. Carr Trophy as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player as a rookie, when he was the All-Pro tailback and led the league in completions and punting yards.
Renfroe sustained a career-ending shoulder injury playing against the Green Bay Packers in the Chicago Charities College All-Star Game, which pitted a team of college players on their way to the NFL against the league’s defending champion annually from 1934 through 1976.
Tittle also was the No. 6 pick in the 1948 draft. The NFL put the players from the failed Baltimore Colts franchise back into the 1951 draft, and the quarterback joined the 49ers on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Stacy was a Pro Bowler once.
Dunaway went to the AFL All-Star Game four times and was an All-AFL selection once for the Buffalo Bills.
Chandler was a Pro Bowler four times, an All-Pro once and a 1,000-yard receiver four times.
Garrison was a Pro Bowler once and a 1,000-yard rusher four times – once after missing two seasons because of avascular necrosis.
Samuels was a Pro Bowler six times before a back ailment ended his career.
Dareus made the Pro Bowl twice and the All-Pro first team once.
Williams was a first-team All-Pro selection last season.
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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.