Tennessee football: Top five NFL careers of Vols drafted in final round

Before Jerod Mayo’s draft stock went through the roof because of his move to inside linebacker in 2007, Marvin Mitchell anchored that position. In 2006, Mitchell had to be the leader of a Tennessee football unit that replace all three starting linebackers from the year before, one that was part of an epic defense that was wasted in a 5-6 season because of a horrendous offense.

With David Cutcliffe restoring the offense, Mitchell held the unit together and led Mayo and Ryan Karl, as they had to make sure they carried their weight. He emerged as a reliable contributor with 104 tackles, nine and a half tackles for a los, three forced fumbles and a sack.

Such play, however, only resulted in the 6’3″ 249-pound linebacker being taken with the 220th pick in the seventh round by the New Orleans Saints. Although he never became a regular starter, Mitchell carved out a very solid career with his new role. He played for New Orleans for four years and was a pretty big part of helping them win the Super Bowl in 2009-10.

After the 2010 season, he joined the Miami Dolphins for a year, then he played for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012 and 2013, helping them to the playoffs in 2012. That final year, he actually became a regular starter. He finished his seven-year career appearing in 98 games with 13 starts, racking up 108 tackles, four forced fumbles and eight tackles for a loss.