Tennessee football: Ranking Vols 10 NFL Draft classes after unranked bowl seasons

2. 1985 – Johnny Majors

1984 record: 7-4-1 (3-3); Sun Bowl

Number of NFL Draft picks: 7

• Alvin Toles, LB (New Orleans Saints: Round 1; Pick 24)
• Carl Zander, LB (Cincinnati Bengals: Round 2; Pick 43)
• Johnnie Jones, RB (Seattle Seahawks: Round 5; Pick 137)
• Fuad Reveiz, K (Miami Dolphins: Round 7; Pick 195)
• Reggie McKenzie, LB (Los Angeles Raiders: Round 10; Pick 275)
• Raleigh McKenzie, OL (Washington Redskins: Round 11; Pick 290)
• Tony Simmons, DE (San Diego Chargers: Round 12; Pick 318)

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Just one year before Tennessee football was set to return to prominence, Johnny Majors filled the NFL with a loaded draft class that is high up here on depth alone. Here’s the crazy part, there was only one Pro Bowl season out of everybody on this list. But the number of players being drafted combined with almost all of them having productive seasons is why this worked.

Only Johnnie Jones, who went to Canada after a year, and Tony Simmons didn’t make it at this level. Linebackers Alvin Toles and Carl Zander each played four and seven years respectively, all with the teams that drafted them. Fuad Reveiz, meanwhile, was the one Pro Bowler, and he enjoyed 11 years in the pros as a kicker.

Then there are the McKenzie brothers. Reggie McKenzie played for eight years , four with the Los Angeles Raiders, two with the Phoenix Cardinals and one with the San Francisco 49ers. However, his brother, Raleigh McKenzie, was the star of the class, playing for 16 years, 10 of which were with the Washington Redskins, where he won two Super Bowls.