5 Thoughts on Oklahoma State's First Round Draft Picks

STILLWATER – We’re a little more than 10 days away from the start of the 2021 NFL Draft and there’s a number of Cowboys set to be drafted, including projected first rounder, Teven Jenkins. Several projections have him going mid to late first round, with quite of few draft experts having him land with the Chicago Bears at 20.

We’re going to be taking a look back throughout Oklahoma State/A&M football history and the all the first rounders along the way.

There’s been quite a few first round picks over the years

Dating all the way back to 1947, there have been quite a few first round picks out of Stillwater. We’ll kick things off with the first-ever first round and first overall pick, Bob Fenimore.

Only a few first rounders have achieved NFL greatness

There have been several great NFL careers by former Oklahoma State football players. Several have gone on to win Super Bowls, a few with multiple rings and Hall of Fame honors. At the collegiate level, the list of guys above has been some of the best to ever wear the orange and black, with guys like Bob Fenimore, Neill Armstrong and Terry Miller among the best college football players of all time.

But when it comes to the first-round picks, there’s only a handful that really stood out in the NFL. Leslie O’Neal was a three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl selection during his NFL career. He was named the NFL Rookie of the Year in 1986 after he recorded 12 ½ sacks. He’d lead the league in sacks in 1992 with 17 total and he’d finish his career with 105 ½ sacks and the all-time sack leader in Charger history.

The most-obvious successful Cowboy in the NFL is Heisman Trophy winner, Barry Sanders. Barry was the 1989 Offensive Rookie of the Year, a six-time First-Team All-Pro, a 10-time Pro Bowler, led the league in rushing four times, the 1997 NFL MVP, a two-time NFL Offensive Player of the Year, he finished his career with 15,269 yards and 99 touchdowns and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

There’s going to be another player added to this list this year

Offensive lineman Teven Jenkins is being projected as a first-round draft pick in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. Should that happen, he’ll be the first Cowboy to get drafted in the first round since Justin Gilbert in 2014, just the third offensive lineman drafted in the first round in program history (Russell Okung 2010 and John Ward 1970) and the 22^nd player in the program history taken in the first round.

Who should’ve been taken the first round?

As mentioned above, there have been several Cowboys drafted who have gone on to have long and successful NFL careers. The most obvious on this list would be running back Thurman Thomas, who rushed for over 12,000 yards and 65 touchdowns and hauled in 4,458 receiving yards and 23 receiving touchdowns. He was the NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 1991 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007. While a knee injury he suffered in college caused his draft stock to fall, he absolutely should’ve been a first rounder.

While he was drafted in the third round with the 56th overall pick, Jon Kolb had a great NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers winning four Super Bowls and was named to the Steelers’ All-Time Team.

OSU has had great success in the draft since Mike Gundy took over

There have been 27 Cowboys drafted since Mike Gundy took over the program in 2005, including six in the first round. If we take a look at this year’s draft eligible players, there will be at least four players added to the list of drafted Cowboys, Teven Jenkins, Tylan Wallace, Rodarius Williams and Chuba Hubbard, with a few more possible as well in Amen Ogbongbemiga and Cam Murray. With the current roster, and the direction the program continues to head, you’ll see several more draft picks under coach Gundy and hopefully a few to add to the list of first rounders.