University of Tennessee Athletics
Berry, Williams Make It Seven First-Round Picks Since '06
April 22, 2010 | Football
April 22, 2010
Vols in the 2010 Draft | Vols in the NFL Draft All-Time
BY DREW EDWARDS
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE -- Shortly after Eric Berry became the fifth overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night, he stood on the stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and told the NFL Network what Kansas City fans could expect from their new safety.
"They should expect everything," Berry said. "Expect a hard worker, a leader, somebody who's going to represent, on and off the field. Somebody that wants to win championships. Let's go to work, baby. I'm ready."
It was a typical Berry answer. And something of a typical April occurrence for the Vols, too.
With Berry off the board at No. 5 and defensive tackle Dan Williams going to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 26, at least one Tennessee player has been selected in the first round in each of the last five years.
And Tennessee is the only team in the SEC that can say as much.
LSU had a player selected in the first round each of the last four years, but the Tigers didn't have a player selected Thursday.
But it's not just quality picks. The Vols lead the SEC in the quantity of first-round picks, too.
Over the last five years, the Vols' seven first-round picks ties LSU and Florida -- which had three players selected on Thursday -- for the most during that span. Those seven picks are more than double any other SEC team over that same span as well.
The NFL Draft continues Friday with the second and third rounds beginning at 6 p.m. (TV: ESPN) before concluding Saturday.
Early Leaders
With Eric Berry and Dan Williams going in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night, Tennessee now has seven first-round picks since 2006. Here's a look at SEC players in the first round over the last five years:
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| TENNESSEE (7) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2010 | Eric Berry | S | 5 | Kansas City |
| Dan Williams | DT | 26 | Arizona | |
| 2009 | Robert Ayers | DE | 18 | Denver |
| 2008 | Jerod Mayo | LB | 10 | New England |
| 2007 | Justin Harrell | DT | 16 | Green Bay |
| Robert Meachem | WR | 27 | New Orleans | |
| 2006 | Jason Allen | CB | 16 | Miami |
| | ||||
| LSU (7) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2009 | Tyson Jackson | DE | 3 | Kansas City |
| 2008 | Glenn Dorsey | DT | 5 | Kansas City |
| 2007 | JaMarcus Russell | QB | 1 | Oakland |
| LaRon Landry | S | 6 | Washington | |
| Dwayne Bowe | WR | 23 | Kansas City | |
| Craig Davis | WR | 30 | San Diego | |
| 2006 | Joseph Addai | RB | 30 | Indianapolis |
| | ||||
| Florida (7) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2010 | Joe Haden | CB | 7 | Cleveland |
| Maurkice Pouncey | C | 18 | Pittsburgh | |
| Tim Tebow | QB | 25 | Denver | |
| 2009 | Percy Harvin | WR | 22 | Minnesota |
| 2008 | Derrick Harvey | DE | 8 | Jacksonville |
| 2007 | Jarvis Moss | DE | 17 | Denver |
| Reggie Nelson | S | 21 | Jacksonville | |
| | ||||
| Mississippi (3) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2009 | Michael Oher | OT | 23 | Baltimore |
| Peria Jerry | DT | 24 | Atlanta | |
| 2007 | Patrick Willis | LB | 11 | San Francisco |
| | ||||
| Alabama (3) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2010 | Rolando McClain | LB | 8 | Oakland |
| Kareem Jackson | CB | 20 | Houston | |
| 2009 | Andre Smith | OT | 6 | Cincinnati |
| | ||||
| Arkansas (3) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2008 | Darren McFadden | RB | 4 | Oakland |
| Felix Jones | RB | 22 | Dallas | |
| 2007 | Jamaal Anderson | DE | 8 | Atlanta |
| | ||||
| Vanderbilt (2) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2008 | Chris Williams | OT | 14 | Chicago |
| 2006 | Jay Cutler | QB | 11 | Denver |
| | ||||
| Georgia (2) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2009 | Matthew Stafford | QB | 1 | Detroit |
| Knowshon Moreno | RB | 12 | Denver | |
| | ||||
| Auburn (1) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2007 | Ben Grubbs | OG | 29 | Baltimore |
| | ||||
| South Carolina (1) | ||||
| | ||||
| Year | Player | Pos | Overall Pick | Team |
| 2006 | Jonathan Joseph | CB | 24 | Cincinnati |
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| Kentucky (0) | ||||
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| Mississippi State (0) | ||||
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| Source: NFL.com | ||||
