First Round Oklahoma State Cowboys in NFL Draft
STILLWATER – The 2023 NFL Draft is finally upon us with the first round kicking off Thursday at 7 p.m. If you’re one of the lucky ones to have made the trip up to Kansas City to either watch in person, who take part in the festivities, we envy you as the rest of us watch on either ABC, ESPN or the NFL Network.
I was scrolling through Twitter this morning and saw a video sent out by defensive coordinator, Bryan Nardo, which inspired me to put this article together and got me excited for the draft.
Oklahoma State football has a long history of players being drafted into the elite ranks of the NFL, with 20 going in the first round, with nine going in the first 10 picks. According to OSU’s website, 175 players have been drafted throughout the years, with 31 having been since Mike Gundy took over in 2005. You can view the complete list of Cowboys drafted here.
With the first round taking place tonight, here’s the complete list of Cowboys drafted in the first round. (While he wasn’t a first round pick, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include Thurman Thomas, who’s in the NFL Hall of Fame.)
- 1947: Rd 1 pick 1 – Bob Fenimore – Chicago Bears
- 1947: Rd 1 pick 8 – Neill Armstrong – Philadelphia Eagles
- 1948: Rd 1 pick 11 – Jim Spavital – Chicago Cardinals
- 1970: Rd 1 pick 25 – John Ward – Minnesota Vikings
- 1974: Rd 1 pick 18 –Reuben Gant – Buffalo Bills
- 1976: Rd 1 pick 25 – James White – Minnesota Vikings
- 1977: Rd 1 pick 12 – Phil Dokes – Buffalo Bills
- 1978: Rd 1 pick 5 – Terry Miller – Buffalo Bills
- 1986: Rd 1 pick 8 – Leslie O’Neal – San Diego Chargers
- 1988: Rd 2 pick 40 – Thurman Thomas – Buffalo Bills (Class of 2007)
- 1989: Rd 1 pick 3 – Barry Sanders – Detroit Lions (Class of 2004)
- 1989: Rd 1 pick 16 – Hart Lee Dykes – New England Patriots
- 1998: Rd 1 pick 28 – R.W. McQuarters – San Francisco 49ers
- 2003: Rd 1 pick 9 – Kevin Williams – Minnesota Vikings
- 2004: Rd 1 pick 31 – Rashaun Woods – San Francisco 49ers
- 2009: Rd 1 pick 20 – Brandon Pettigrew – Detroit Lions
- 2010: Rd 1 pick 6 – Russell Okung – Seattle Seahawks
- 2010: Rd 1 pick 24 – Dez Bryant – Dallas Cowboys
- 2012: Rd 1 pick 5 – Justin Blackmon – Jacksonville Jaguars
- 2012: Rd 1 pick 22 – Brandon Weeden – Cleveland Browns
- 2014: Rd 1 pick 8 – Justin Gilbert – Cleveland Browns
*Bolded italics indicates NFL Hall of Famers