You already knew Texas reigned supreme when it came to high school football and now it’s being proven in the NFL Draft. The Houston area, in particular, has over nine players who were selected in the first three rounds of the draft, including two from Missouri City (Kenneth Murray, Ross Blacklock), the east side in terms of North Shore (K’Lavon Chaisson) and Channelview (Jalen Hurts) and more.
The 17rh pick by the Cowboys, Lamb was an explosive WR during his three years at Oklahoma, catching passes from former No. 1 overall picks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray as well as Jalen Hurts (who went 53 overall to the Philadelphia Eagles).
2. K'Lavon Chaisson (North Shore)
The 20th pick of the draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chaisson knows nothing but winning. He won a UIL 6A State Championship while at North Shore and in January, won a CFP National Championship at LSU, part of what some consider the most dominant football team in college football history.
3. Kenneth Murray (Elkins)
The 23rd pick in the draft, Murray made big plays from the linebacker spot at Oklahoma. With him and Ross Blacklock (No. 40 overall) entering the league from Elkins, it makes the Mo. City high school home to more current NFL talent in the state of Texas than any other.
4. Jordyn Brooks (Stratford)
The No. 27th overall pick, Brooks helped shore up a Texas Tech defense as a hard hitter and made his presence felt. The Stratford product became the fourth Houston based product selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday night.
5. Ross Blacklock (Elkins)
The No. 40 pick in the draft is staying in Houston. Blacklock, whose father is the current head coach of the Harlem Globetrotters is a defensive tackle who will fit in nicely alongside J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus.
6. Grant Delpit (St. Thomas / Lamar)
The No. 44 pick in the draft, Delpit won the Thorpe Award last season as the best defensive back in college football while at LSU and was a key part of the Tigers’ run to a national championship.
7. Antoine Winfield Jr. (Woodlands)
The No. 45 pick, Winfield is the son of NFL royalty in former cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr.
8. Jalen Hurts (Channelview)
The No. 53 overall pick in the draft arguably has one of the more fascinating stories in all of college football: a national champion at Alabama, Heisman trophy runner up, played in more college football playoff games than anyone, only lost four games as a starter while putting up over 12,000 plus yards of offense. East Side legend.
The No. 72 pick, the now former Houston Cougar offensive tackle was viewed by many as a day two pick and the Cardinals delivered on that. Now he gets to join ex-Texan DeAndre Hopkins in the desert.
10. Jordan Elliott (Westside)
The 88th pick of the draft, Jordan Elliott was a 2nd Team All-American at Mizzou, landing 1st-Team All SEC honors after transferring from Texas his freshman year.
11. Bravvion Roy (Spring)
The 184th pick of the draft, Roy is reunited with his college head coach Matt Rhule in Carolina. He was First Team All-Big 12 last season, registering 5.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss.
12. Braden Mann (Cy-Fair)
Pick No. 191, Braden Mann starred at A&M and was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, given o the nation’s best punter in 2019, one year after winning the award and being selected a 1st Team All-American.
No. 252 in the draft, Cleveland starred at Florida after initially flipping his commitment to the University of Houston. He joins a loaded new receivers room in Denver including the team’s first-round pick Jerry Jeudy and second-rounder K.J. Hamlin.
