2016 NFL Draft: Texas Talent Runs Deep

by, Travis Atkinson

Football is a way of life for the majority of people in Texas. Children are introduced to it in their cribs and grow up playing it in the backyard. When the 2016 NFL Draft begins tonight it could be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for a few lucky Texans from schools around the state.

Texas universities have historically been among the top producers of NFL talent. Unquestionably the most successful of these has been The University of Texas.

UT ranks ninth among college programs nationwide  for  number of players selected in drafts with a total of 337 thus far, and 42 first-round selections ranking UT fifth overall, most by any school. Texas A&M ranks 20th in drafted players with 271 under their belt, and Baylor ranked 31st with 229.

The Lone Star State lives up to it’s billing for producing NFL players this year. Based on CBSSports.com top 350-draft prospects list, 24 prospects from 10 schools around the state are projected to be possible selections in this weekend’s draft.

Baylor led all Texas schools with six projected draft picks, including two possible first-round selections. The unquestioned star of this group is wide receiver Corey Coleman. A graduate of Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas, Coleman played three years with the Bears.

In 2015 Coleman won the Biletnikoff Award thus distinguishing him as the nation’s best receiver after catching 74 passes for 1363 yards and 20 touchdowns with the Bears.  The 5’11, 190 lb receiver is gifted, with tremendous speed and quickness, perfect for getting in and out of routes in a hurry.

In a league that is becoming ever more pass happy, small, quick receivers like Coleman are increasingly common. Coleman will most likely be one of the first three receivers to go in the draft, and could end up falling to the Houston Texans with the 22nd pick. If Coleman doesn’t fall, a likely landing spot could be the Oakland Raiders at 14 or Tennessee Titans at 15.

TCU followed Baylor with five projected draft selections. Wide-receiver Josh Doctson headlines this years Horned-Frog class. The 6’2, 202 lb senior out of Mansfield Legacy High School in Mansfield, Texas led the nation in receiving yards after averaging 132.7 a game, and is projected to be a mid to late first-round pick.

Doctson had 79 receptions, 1327 yards, and 14 touchdowns and was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award despite playing only 10 games for the Horned-Frogs in 2015. While Doctson may not possess the top-end speed or acceleration as his Big-12 counterpart Coleman, he makes up for it with a physicality not seen in most receivers. His 6’2, 202 lb frame allow him to make plays on the ball in the air, and against defensive backs after the catch. It’ll be a toss-up as to whether Doctson or Coleman will be the first receiver off the board. Look for the same teams that are interested in Coleman, Raiders, Titans, and Texans, to go with Doctson instead.

TCU is joined by a handful of other small Texas programs that have prospects in the draft. This includes seventh round prospects Myke Tavarres out of the Incarnate Word and David Morgan II out of UTSA.

The University of Houston also has a pair of choice selects, including a possible first round pick in corner back William Jackson III. The senior out of Wheatley High School in Houston, Texas led the nation in pass break ups in 2015 with 23 in all. At 6’ Jackson possesses the height NFL scouts covet in corner backs at the moment. Jackson also impressed scouts after running 4.37 in the 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine. Jackson could go to the Falcons at 17 or the Steelers at 25.

The success of programs like these represents a shift in the college football landscape of Texas that has occurred in recent seasons. The States longtime dominate powers – UT and Texas A&M- have fallen on hard times as of late.

Once a known talent factory, the Longhorns managed just a single third round prospect in Charlie Strong’s 2nd year as Head Coach. Strong is still working with former coach Mack Browns recruits, so this lack of talent coming out of Austin speaks volumes to the state Brown left the program in.

The Longhorns lone recruit, defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway, is a 6’3, 300 lb junior also out of Mansfield, Texas. Ridgeway is a force in the middle that provides instant relief in run support. However, some scouts have questioned Ridgeway’s conditioning and he was plagued by injuries for most of his college career.  This will probably cause him to slip a bit in the draft. Possible destinations include New England at 60 or 61 and Chicago at 72.

Clearly the lone star state produces a lot of NFL talent, but this list could be even more extensive if not for the depletion of Texas athletes to other states. Texas is loaded with high school football recruits, and many of them are funneled into schools like LSU, Oklahoma, and Alabama due to the mediocrity of the UT and A&M football teams in recent seasons. UT hasn’t won more than 9 games in a season in over 6 years, and after leaving the Big-12 in 2012 A&M has yet to finish in the top half of the SEC.

The 2016 NFL Draft begins with first round coverage tonight at 7 PM, followed by rounds two and three Friday at 6 PM. Quarterbacks Carson Wentz out of North Dakota State and Jared Golf out of Cal are expected to go first and second to the Rams and Eagles. Offensive Tackle Laremy Tunsil form Ole Miss will likely be picked third overall by the Chargers. The draft will conclude with rounds 4-7 Saturday at 11 AM.