All for Tennessee
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10 best NFL Draft picks in Tennessee football history

By Andrew Hughes

All For Tennessee takes a look at the 10 best Volunteers-turned-NFL draft picks in the history of the Tennessee football program Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
All For Tennessee takes a look at the 10 best Volunteers-turned-NFL draft picks in the history of the Tennessee football program Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football DE Doug Atkins
Tennessee football DE Doug Atkins (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Getty Images) /

53. . DE. Cleveland Browns. Doug Atkins. 3. player

No. 3 best NFL Draft pick in Tennessee football history: Doug Atkins

1953 NFL Draft: Round 1, Pick 11

Cleveland Browns, 1953–1954
Chicago Bears, 1955–1966
New Orleans Saints, 1967–1969

Going way back in time for the No. 3 best NFL draft pick in Volunteers history is the 7x All-Pro and 1960s All-Decade Team defensive end Doug Atkins, whose No. 91 was retired by Tennessee after the program’s 1951 National Championship run.

Atkins would go on to win two NFL Championships during his professional career: the first in his second season with the Cleveland Browns in 1954 and the second in the middle of his tenure with the Chicago Bears in 1963.

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