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Tennessee football: Vols five deepest NFL Draft classes with no first-round picks

By Caleb Calhoun

IRVING, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Tight end Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a touchdown pass reception against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter on November 15, 2004 at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
IRVING, TX - NOVEMBER 15: Tight end Jason Witten #82 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a touchdown pass reception against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter on November 15, 2004 at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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4. 1966

Doug Dickey

Number of NFL Draft picks: 6

  • Tom Fisher, LB (New York Giants: Round 3, Pick 40)
  • Frank Emanuel, LB (Philadelphia Eagles: Round 4, Pick 52)
  • Stan Mitchell, WR (Washington Redskins: Round 8, Pick 115)
  • Austin Denney, TE (Dallas Cowboys: Round 11, Pick 160)
  • Bob Petrella, DB (Minnesota Vikings: Round 12, Pick 181)
  • Hal Wantland, DB (Washington Redskins: Round 16, Pick 235)

This is the greatest NFL Draft class coming off any Tennessee football head coaches’ second season on the job. As a result, it would naturally be a deep draft class, and that was the case here. We were down to this class or the 1972 class, which actually had seven people taken.

However, the 1972 class had one person taken at pick 308 and another taken at pick 397, which is why it didn’t even make the fifth spot. There were only 305 picks available in this class, and all would have been taken if the draft had as many picks available as it does today.

Anyway Doug Dickey was coming off a season in which he went 8-1-2, won the Bluebonnet Bowl and finished in the top 10. It was UT’s first bowl appearance in eight years. However, there was not much success for this class in the three years prior. As a result, in an era where scouts valued the totality of college careers, there was tepid optimism behind lots of these guys.

Frank Emanuel and Bob Petrella were both AFL and NFL Draft picks, but since this was the first year of the Super Bowl, we consider it all NFL. Both had solid careers along with Austin Denney and Stan Mitchell, who all played at least five years in the pros. Mitchell, Petrella and Denney were all teammates for five years with the Miami Dolphins.

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