The Texas Longhorns are setting a new program standard.
The Texas Longhorns are officially a new standard across college football.
The 2024 NFL Draft was expected to be a good one for the Longhorns, with 13 draft eligible players entering the event. However, almost no one could have expected the success that the Horns would show once things actually kicked off.
Except for maybe the Longhorns themselves.
By the time the final gun sounded and Mr. Irrelevant was off of the board, Texas had 11 players drafted across seven rounds, setting a school record for the modern draft era for players selected in the process.
The also finished just second to the national champion Michigan Wolverines for the most players selected overall (13) – four of which came in after the Longhorns’ final pick went off of the board in Round 6.
Things kicked off in a big way for Texas, with Byron Murphy going in Round 1 at No. 16 to the Seattle Seahawks, followed quickly by Xavier Worthy to the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 28.
In Round 2, T’Vondre Sweat kicked things off for Texas, going No. 38 to the Titans, followed by running back Jonathon Brooks at No. 46 to the Panthers, and Adonai Mitchell at No. 57.
After a quiet third round, the Longhorns were once again on the board with the first pick of the fourth round, with the Panthers selecting tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Then in Round 5, three Longhorns found their new homes, with Christian Jones going No. 162 to the Cardinals, Keilan Robinson being selected No. 167 to the Jaguars, and linebacker Jaylan Ford being picked by the New Orleans Saints at No. 175.
In Round 6, the Horns wrapped things up with corner Ryan Watts going at No. 195 to the Steelers, and wideout Jordan Whittington finishing as the final Longhorn selected at No. 213 by the L.A. Rams.
What is even more impressive? Per the SP+ Rankings, despite losing so much talent in the NFL, the Longhorns still possess the second-most returning production for the 2024 season in the SEC (70 percent) behind only Texas A&M (72 percent), and ahead of other contenders such as Georgia, Ole Miss, Missouri and Alabama.
In other words, its a good time to be a Texas football fan.
