Texas fans weigh in on where they believe current Longhorns will be drafted in the NFL Draft

The Texas Longhorns are coming off of a modern draft era school record 11 total NFL draft picks, and right now things are looking really good for this draft class to beat that record. The mock drafts are starting to spin up and we are starting to get an idea of where and who will be drafted.

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Let’s start with the mock drafts. It needs to be said that this early on they are very unreliable to give a specific number, they should really be used to determine the range a player may go. It also needs to be said that this mainly applies for the first round as there are very few mock drafts that go beyond round 1 at this stage.

What do the mock drafts say about the upcoming NFL draft class? Well it’s pretty bad and it’s possible quite a few of the UDFA rated guys would opt out of the NFL draft to return for one more year of college and accompanying NIL.

One early takeaway is Isaiah Bond is expected to join Cameron Williams and Kelvin Banks in the first round.

With the understanding the public may not be completely informed yet, what are the Longhorn fans saying? Before we answer that let’s acknowledge our expectations may be on the rosier side, but let’s go ahead and see who is going where.

This looks to be the more agreeable list, and with 115 voters casting 1,217 individual votes, it has a solid amount of volume which will always make data better and more reliable.

Speaking of volume, these votes have 14 Longhorns flying off the board to the NFL. A far cry from the years of hoping more than a single name would be called through all seven rounds, with one of those years, 2014, totaling zero draft picks.

Ironically our fans have flipped Isaiah Bond and Jahdae Barron instead of looking at both as a first round selection. For the most part it also feels like the fans are being honest with themselves.

Really you can break the players up into tiers. Here are the Longhorns that the fans view are likely to hear their names called in round 1 (all double digit first round votes). Kelvin Banks is as sure as anyone to hear their name called in the first round of the NFL draft. Jahdae Barron comes in second when it comes to confidence of being selected in round 1. Cam Williams comes in third but it is probably the other way around. Williams is young and MASSIVE, he also moves incredibly well. Some team will fall in love with him and believe they can fix the false starts to get a difference-maker on the roster for years to come. Bond has lost some fan confidence and this is where the honesty is showing but maybe we are being too hard on him. The reality is the NFL will take speed the first chance they get, and Bond doesn’t need to run a 40 yard dash for anyone to figure out he has blazing speed. The thing he did need to do he has, which was become a more consistent receiver of the ball.

While Texas fans view the below players as second round picks, and that is the right call until further notice…both of these players can certainly test their way into the first during the underwear Olympics (NFL Combine). When it comes to Quinn Ewers, all he has to do is show off the arm and that could easily boost his stock. With the other, Alfred Collins, with his massive size he can test well at the combine and people will start doing the math. Guy that flashed early + one of the best DL in 24 + great measurements = good player

Here are the guys that you could consider middle round candidates. Andrew Mukuba Sr., Gunnar Helm, and Vernon Broughton are the likely 3rd rounders. A reminder before anyone starts to think they are being shorted, that is a projected range of $5.9m-$6.4m. Life changing money. Round 4 isn’t any different either with a projected pay range of $4.6m-$5.0m. Jake Majors, Hayden Conner, and Michael Taaffe fall into the likely round 4 selections.

Something to think about with Taaffe is it will be HARD to get him to turn down an instant signing bonus of a million dollars, and another 3-4 million on top of that the next 4-5 years. If we want Taaffe back we will have to pay him like a top end college safety, because the NFL will be ready to open the checkbook.

Below are the players that are potential 6th and 7th round picks, though the majority of fans view Silas Bolden, David Gbenda, and Gavin Holmes as likely UDFA’s. Do not sleep on the importance of a returner in Bolden’s case, also we saw a similar gadget guy for Sark in Keilan Robinson get selected in the 7th round in 2024. Gbenda put some really solid film out there the last two years and testing and expected special teams value could get him a 6th/7th round flyer. Holmes can point to potentially two first round corners blocking his path to starting. When he did play he has performed well.

Last for the projected departures is the UDFA class. Being a UDFA is far from the end of the world, all you need sometimes is a foot in the door. These guys will look to land on a practice squad somewhere and build up buzz around their name to ultimately either make the 53 man roster or get poached from another team and wind up on that team’s 53 man roster. One of the most notable UDFA’s in recent years has been Lil’Jordan Humphrey, he’s made $3m over 6 years so making life changing money is far from impossible as a UDFA. It’s all about how they work and approach the NFL.

Now for the final grouping of potential draft picks, returning to school…probably needs to be broken up into two. Likely returning and likely returning but potentially drafted.

Most would be surprised to see any of these guys leave for the NFL, and outside of perhaps Jaylon Guilbeau it is hard to see an argument for a draft selection.

These are the wildcards for 2025. Players that could be gone in the draft, but would benefit from another year of college football. Trey Moore is respected in NFL circles and would certainly be selected if he declares. Matthew Golden had a career year and showed off his ability to take over as a lead receiver. DJ Campbell hasn’t hit his potential yet, but he has certainly flashed it often. Lastly, Jaydon Blue has ELITE game-breaking speed that cannot be taught, a flyer for him is easily in the cards if he declares.

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Texas is looking to stamp a special season with a special draft class. This figures to be the first draft since 1980 with three Longhorns selected in the first round, and potentially being the first in history with four. Texas experienced some great years under Mack Brown with 55 players selected across 14 drafts…we may be headed to greener pastures with potentially 30 players selected through just 4 years of Steve Sarkisian as a head coach.