Josh Allen was all smiles during the 2018 NFL Draft.
The 2020 NFL Draft will take place this week in a purely virtual format due to this darn coronavirus. There are a handful of former Pokes who will hope to get drafted into the professional ranks. Linebacker Logan Wilson, defensive back Tyler Hall and linebacker Caash Maluia are the three Wyoming football players most likely to hear their names called. Logan Wilson is the only certainty though and should have his name called anywhere from the second to the fifth round. Below are some Wyoming NFL Draft facts you need to know as we wait and see which Pokes will be playing on Sundays this fall (if there is a football season that is).
- The Wyoming football program has seen 87 players drafted into the NFL since 1947. The first Cowboy to be draft was T Jim Clayton by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 21st round of the 1947 draft and the last draftee was S Marcus Epps in the 6th round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2019.
- Wyoming is looking for their first multiple NFL draft pick class since 2017 when RB Brian Hill was drafted by Atlanta in the 5th round and OL Chase Roullier was drafted in the 6th round by Washington.
- The highest ever drafted Cowboy is now QB Josh Allen of course, who was taken 7th overall by the Buffalo Bills in 2018. Before Allen, the honor was held by DT Ronald Billingsley in 1967 who was drafted in the 1st round with the 14th overall pick by the San Diego Chargers. Billingsley would go on to have a six-season NFL career with the Chargers and OIlers.
- The Pokes have three AFL draft picks in their history with the most famous being RB Jerry Hill. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 2nd round of the 1961 AFL Draft but never played for the Broncos. He opted to sign with the NFL’s Baltimore Colts after being drafted in the 3rd round of the 1961 NFL Draft.
- TE Jay Novacek is famous for being a Cowboy both in college and as a pro. Yet, he actually got his start with the Saint Louis Cardinals where he was drafted in the 6th round of the 1985 draft. He would spend five seasons with the franchise before signing with the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent where he became a three-time Super Bowl champion.
- Since Head Coach Craig Bohl has taken over the Cowboy football program in 2014, seven Wyoming players have been drafted by NFL teams. Before that, it took seventeen years for Wyoming to have 7 drafted players ranging from 1997 to 2011.