Tennessee football: Ranking. previous eight WRs picked first in Vols draft classes
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. St. Louis Cardinals. player. 32. 1984. Clyde Duncan. 7
Round 1; Pick 17
Okay, this one is a bit tricky. Clyde Duncan was the highest Tennessee football player taken in the NFL Draft, but Reggie White was the fourth pick in the NFL Supplemental Draft. Had White not gone to the USFL first, he easily would have been taken ahead of everybody else. Nevertheless, Duncan was the first receiver taken, so he gets onto this list.
By this point, the Vols were on a roll with receivers being taken, as a receiver was their highest pick in the 1982 and 1983 drafts, which we’ll get to later. Johnny Majors had established a vertical offense in the 1980s to create Wide Receiver U. Duncan waited his turn in that system behind other elite receivers, catching just six passes for 70 yards and no touchdowns his first three years.
As a senior, though, he thrived, catching 33 passes for 640 yards and three touchdowns. That success allowed UT to go 9-3, its best year to that point under Majors, and Duncan was taken in the first round of the draft. However, Duncan signed late with the Cardinals due to a contract dispute and then had an injury that kept him from logging any stats in 1984.
In 1985, he had just four catches for 39 yards and a touchdown along with 28 kickoff returns for an average of 19.4 yards a return. After that, he was released and had stints with the Cleveland Browns in 1986 and Indianapolis Colts in 1987 but never played for either team. His only year playing would be 1985.