There have been 17 Group of Five players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2013.
My initial thought of that number was I thought there would have been more.
This includes the 2015 and the 2023 drafts, where there were zero G5 players selected in the first round. The most came in 2018 when Josh Allen, Leighton Vander Esch, Rashaad Penny, and Mike Hughes were drafted on Day 1.
Some selections didn’t pan out like Paxton Lynch landing to the Broncos as the 26th overall pick in 2016. Some selections, though, have been great — including a pair of picks from Tulsa.
Here, we rank the Top 5 of those 17 selections.
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5. Tyler Smith, Tulsa
Smith transitioned to playing left guard from left tackle when he was selected by Dallas 24th overall in 2022. He quickly became one of the top interior offensive lineman in the league.
Graded as the ninth-best guard in the NFL among eligible players last year, according to Pro Football Focus, which led to his first Pro Bowl selection and being named Second Team All-Pro.
The 6-foot-6, 332-pound Smith may switch to left tackle this season after longtime Dallas LT, Tyrone Smith, inked with the Jets. He should again transition seamlessly.
4. Haason Reddick, Tulsa
Since being selected 13th overall by Arizona in 2017, Reddick has only gotten better. The edge rusher has four consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks and was a key part of Philadelphia’s run to Super Bowl LVII in 2022, where he finished with 16 sacks, four TFLs, and five forced fumbles.
In his career, Reddick has 410 tackles, 58 sacks, 42 TFLs, and 17 FF. He will now be part of a New York Jets defense that was one of the top in the NFL last season and will be on the field with the next guy on this list.
3. Sauce Gardner, Cincinnati
What a player like Reddick needs is a guy like Gardner to provide time to get to the QB.
Gardner should provide plenty of those opportunities like he was doing in the AAC.
In just two seasons, Gardner has become one of — if not the best — cornerback in the NFL. He was named the 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year and already has two First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. Gardner was the first rookie cornerback to be named All-Pro since Ronnie Lott in 1981. There’s a reason he was the fourth overall selection in 2022.
In two seasons, Gardner has 31 total pass breakups. This includes a league-high 20 in 2022. He should continue to thrive and will be among the top defensive backs in the NFL for years to come.
2. Khalil Mack, Buffalo
It didn’t take long for Mack to do in the NFL what he was doing in the MAC.
In 2013, he was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, and just three years later he was the NFL’s DPOY. After being selected fifth overall in 2014 by Oakland, the edge rusher had a solid rookie campaign before breaking out in his second season with 77 total tackles, 15 sacks, and 23 TFLs.
Since then, Mack has consistently been living in opposing backfields and looked very much like his 2015 self last year, securing a career-high 17 sacks for the LA Chargers. The four-time All-Pro selection looks like he still has some quality football left to play.
1. Josh Allen, Wyoming
Am I biased here as a Wyoming fan?
Maybe a little bit.
But I don’t think there can be a huge argument that Allen shouldn’t be ranked No. 1 on this list.
Buffalo traded up five spots to select Allen seventh overall in 2018, and he has since become one of the premier QBs in the NFL. If it wasn’t for Patrick Mahomes, Allen may have a couple of trips to the Super Bowl.
He has finished top five in the MVP voting three times, including finishing second to Aaron Rodgers in 2020. He has led the Bills to the playoffs the past five seasons. If Allen ever gets Buffalo over the hump is one thing, but there’s no doubt he’s one of the top draft selections of the last decade.
