The Oklahoma Sooners have a rich history in the game of college football. For decades, they’ve been one of the sport’s best programs. They’ve had a number of talented players find their way to the NFL over the years.
The 2023 NFL draft is a week away, and players like [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag] and [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag] are expected to go in the first two rounds of the draft. Teams are expected to hit on their picks in the first three rounds. There’s a premium placed on the top 100 picks. What has separated the best drafting teams from the rest isn’t their ability to hit on the premium picks, but finding the gems on day three.
Rounds four through seven is where scout and general manager evaluations can really set teams apart as an organization. Like when the New England Patriots take Tom Brady in the sixth or when San Francisco selected Iowa tight end George Kittle in the fifth.
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For the Oklahoma Sooners, they haven’t had many late-round draft gems. Several selected in recent seasons have a chance to be draft steals, like [autotag]Rhamondre Stevenson[/autotag] to the Patriots, but his career is still getting going.
ESPN went through each of the Power Five schools and selected their best “late round find” since 1994. For Oklahoma, Dave Wilson selected former nose tackle Kelly Gregg.
At 6-foot, 320-pounds, Gregg was a force at Oklahoma in his senior year with 117 tackles and 23 tackles for loss, still an OU record. But the NFL wasn’t impressed with his measurables. He was drafted by Cincinnati but waived, then spent time on the Bengals’ practice squad, signed with Philly and was waived, signed to Baltimore’s practice squad and played in NFL Europe. He became the Ravens’ starting nose tackle after Tony Siragusa left and ended up starting for eight years for Baltimore and one with Kansas City, retiring in 2011. Pro Football Focus named him to its All-Pro second team in 2009. — Dave Wilson, ESPN
Gregg was a part of some of the best defenses in the NFL during his time with the Baltimore Ravens. As the anchor to the Ravens’ defensive front, Gregg started 124 games, recording 19.5 sacks for Baltimore and 533 total tackles.
With Gregg at nose tackle, the Ravens finished top 10 in defense eight times and top three in scoring defense three times. They had the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL in 2006, allowing just 12.6 points per game.
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