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Tennessee football’s five longest NFL Draft first-round droughts

By Caleb Calhoun

Apr 25, 2019; Nashville, TN, USA; Detailed view of neon NFL shield logo during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft in downtown Nashville. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2019; Nashville, TN, USA; Detailed view of neon NFL shield logo during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft in downtown Nashville. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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KNOXVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 18: Detail view of footballs lined up on the field before the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 18, 2010 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won 31-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 18: Detail view of footballs lined up on the field before the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 18, 2010 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won 31-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. 1954-1963

If you combine the length of the first-round drought with the level of ineptitude shown on the field, this one might make the list. Tennessee football had one legendary season during this run, when the Vols went 10-1 in 1956, won the SEC Championship, had a Heisman Trophy runner-up in Johnny Majors and also had a case for the national championship.

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That was Bowden Wyatt’s second season, although he did finish in the top 20 the next year, in 1957, and had another top 20 finish in 1960. Overall, though, this marked a slide for the program, and it’s not a coincidence that it started in 1954. That NFL Draft was on the heels of the 1953 season, the Vols’ first in the permanent post-Robert Neyland area.

Harvey Robinson led that team for two years. Wyatt then came in and led it for eight. UT’s commitment to the outdated single wing is what slid it into irrelevancy. Wyatt’s final year was 1962, and that slide was clear with no players drafted in 1963. Jim McDonald’s first and only team, the 5-5 1963 team, broke the streak, as Dick Evey went in the first round in 1964.

Related Story. NFL Draft grades for every Vol selected since 2017. light

Overall, the Vols went 59-39-5 during the years leading up to each draft on here with three top 20 finishes, an SEC Championship, two bowl appearances and three losing seasons. They did have some real talent taken during this time, though, such as Tom Tracy, John Gordy, Darris McCord, Bill Anderson, Mike Lucci and Mike Stratton. None were first-rounders, though.

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