Round 1; Pick 11
Starting the trend of Tennessee football receivers being the first pick in Vol draft classes back in the 1980s, Anthony Hancock played for a variety of different quarterbacks over his four years on Rocky Top to build his profile. In his sophomore year, he caught 34 passes for 687 yards and four touchdowns with Jimmy Streater as the quarterback. That was his best year in the passing game.
Over the next two years, catching passes from Steve Alatorre, Jeff Olszewski and Alana Cockrell, he caught 65 passes for 1,017 yards and seven touchdowns while carrying the ball 33 times for 241 yards and two touchdowns. He finished his career with 106 catches for 1,826 yards and 12 touchdowns along with 38 carries for 262 yards and two touchdowns.
On the heels of an 8-4 season, which was Johnny Majors’ best season to date at that time, this was enough for Hancock to be UT’s top pick in the 1982 NFL Draft. This was also an average raft with four players taken, but Hancock was a first-rounder.
The guy somewhat lived up to his promise, enjoying a five-year career with the Chiefs, catching 73 passes for 1,266 yards and five touchdowns. He also returned 64 kickoffs and averaged 20 yards a return. However, he only played four games in 1986 and was released after that season.