Tennessee football: Top 10 NFL careers of Vols taken in second round

Yes, the top two players on this list were both in the 2000 draft class. However, that makes sense, as Tennessee football lost lots of talent to the pros that year, and many of them were first and second round picks.

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Chad Clifton was another second round pick. Clifton redshirted with the Vols in 1995 and then became a regular starter on the line, playing all four seasons at tackle and his final three at left tackle. He was a key part of their back to back SEC Championships and their national championship in 1998, and he earned All-SEC honors in 1998 and 1999.

As part of an elite offensive line led by him and Cosey Coleman, both entered the draft in 2000. Clifton was taken by the Green Bay Packers, and that’s where he would spend his whole career, blocking for two Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers and helping to oversee their transition in the process.

Outside of a season-ending injury due to a dirty hit from Warren Sapp in 2002, Clifton was extremely durable too. At 6’5″ 320 pounds, he spent his entire career at left tackle, being the most responsible guy for protecting those Hall-of-Famers. For his career, Clifton played 12 years and made two Pro Bowls, once blocking for Favre in 2007 and then blocking for Rodgers in 2010.

In the end, Clifton’s work paid off. He played 12 full seasons and won a Super Bowl championship in 2010. Overall, he appeared in 165 games and had 160 starts. With that much playing time, numerous Pro Bowls and a title, he’s the most productive second-round draft pick in Tennessee football history.