NFL Calls on Vols

By Mark Nagi

The NFL Draft isn’t a perfect representation of how a college football program is faring… but typically, the number of players selected goes hand in hand with a winning culture at the FBS level.

Back in Tennessee’s glory days of the 1990s and most of the 2000s, former Vols were repeatedly selected by the pros.

In 1991, nine Vols were picked in the NFL Draft, including three among the first 12 selections (OTs Charles McRae and Antone Davis, WR Alvin Harper). Nine Vols were taken the following year as well.

Peyton Manning going #1 overall highlights the 1998 Draft, but two other Vols were taken in the first round (DB Terry Fair, WR Marcus Nash), with eight Vols hearing their names called overall.

Nine Vols were picked in 2000, 10 Vols were taken in 2002, and eight Vols in 2003. You see where I’m going with this line of thinking.

With team success comes individual success.

Last season, the Vols won 10 games and advanced to the College Football Playoff.  That’s a pretty good year. In turn, the NFL found four Vols worthy of selection, each of them coming in the first four rounds.

In round 1, the Atlanta Falcons took edge rusher James Pearce, Jr., with the 26th pick. At one point, Pearce was predicted to go much higher, and the Falcons had him 15th on their draft board. They traded back into that round to grab him when he was still available late in the first round. Pearce runs a sub 4.5 40 and collected 17.5 sacks during his last two seasons at Tennessee.

“You could have made a case that he was the best one from a pure edge element,” said Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

Pearce’s stock dropped when rumors about his dedication to the sport surfaced, but he will have a great chance to prove his doubters wrong with a Falcons team desperate for pass rushers.

Late in the second round, the Vols saw another defensive lineman picked when the Kansas City Chiefs took defensive lineman Omarr Norman-Lott.

ESPN’s Louis Reddick said this of Norman-Lott. “I remember going down to see Tennessee play this year against Florida, and I was sitting there watching him in practice. This guy was just beating everybody, and on the tape, it showed up.  Just excellent get-off, very quick hands, great competitive temperament… This is a guy if you pair him with Chris Jones on the inside, offensive guards are going to have some problems on third down.”

In the fourth round, the final two Vols taken in this draft were selected, with wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. going to the Las Vegas Raiders and running back Dylan Sampson heading to Cleveland.

Thornton’s ability to stretch the field was key for Raiders head coach Pete Carroll. He ran a 4.3 40 at the NFL Combine. In his last year with the Vols, Thornton caught 26 passes for 661 yards, with 6 receptions over 50 yards.

Sampson was the SEC’s offensive player of the year in 2024, after setting a new Tennessee single-season rushing record with 1491 yards on the ground. He also scored 22 touchdowns, breaking a single-season record that had stood since 1929.  He runs a 4.42 40 and doesn’t avoid contact, but is undersized at 5 feet 8 inches tall.

Among Tennessee’s free agents were DL Elijah Simmons to Arizona, DL Omari Thomas to New Orleans, and DB Will Brooks to Kansas City.