Wake Forest NFL Draft Facts and Figures
4/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 26, 2012
Who was the highest drafted Wake Forest football player?
Three Wake Forest players have been drafted in the first round. The highest was quarterback Norm Snead, the second player taken overall in the 1961 Draft. Snead was selected by the Washington Redskins. Linebacker Aaron Curry was the fourth player overall taken in the 2009 Draft when he was selected by Seattle. The Arizona Cardinals made defensive end Calvin Pace the 18th player overall selected in the 2003 Draft.
The most Wake Forest players ever taken in a single Draft was seven in 1953. The Chicago Bears selected three Deacons that year.
The NFL team that has drafted the most Deacons is the Chicago Bears with 18. The first Wake Forest player selected by the Bears was Pat Preston in 1943. The most recent were Dustin Lyman and Reggie Austin in 2000. The New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for second with 10 picks.
Four current NFL teams have never drafted a Wake Forest player: Houston Texans, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Bucs, and the Oakland Raiders. The New York Titans, the forerunner to the Jets, did draft one Wake Forest player while the Titans were in the AFL. The Houston Oilers, who became the Tennessee Titans, also selected one WFU player while in Houston.
The position selected the most times by NFL teams is a tie between "backs" and tackles with 20 selections. A total of 18 guards have been selected and 12 "ends." Only four Wake Forest wide receivers have been drafted by NFL teams.
A total of 126 Wake Forest football players have been selected in the NFL Draft since Lou Trunzo (Brooklyn) was a 15th round pick in 1939. The most recently drafted players were Brandon Ghee and Chris DeGeare who were drafted in 2010.
