Random Musings - Top-20 All-Time Former Hoo NFL Draft Picks, Pt. 2

Historical Stats & Info

"It is the most important victory of my career." -- Head Coach Dick Voris, after the
Hoos’ 15-12 victory over Duke on September 27, 1958. Voris finished his UVA career
with a record of 1-29.

"We've stopped recruiting young men who want to come here to be students first and
athletes second." -- Former Virginia head coach Sonny Randle, describing his strategy
for turning around UVA's football program

"As the score mounted, to 20-0 and finally 26-0, his movements slowed. With two
minutes to go and South Carolina threatening once more, Voris stood behind several
rows of substitutes, staring at his shoes." -- Sports Illustrated, describing Coach Voris’
stellar coaching performance during the Hoos’ 26-0 loss to South Carolina in 1960

"Really, Texas wasn't as good as I thought they'd be." -- Ted Manly, Virginia's
freshman quarterback, after Texas had spanked the Hoos 68-0

Top-20 All-Time Former Hoo NFL Draft Picks

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Here is Part Deux of our countdown of the Top-20 All-Time Former Hoo NFL Draft
Picks (picks 1-10):

10. Jamie Sharper, LB, Baltimore Ravens (2nd round, 34th overall in 1997)

A key member of perhaps the greatest defense in UVA history, Sharper became a
very solid pro during his nine year career in the NFL. He finished with 135 starts at
LB for the Ravens, Texans and Seahawks and totaled 25.5 sacks. Jamie was also an
important member of the Baltimore's Super Bowl winning defense in 2000, considered
one of the greatest NFL defenses of all time. Last year, Jamie’s brother Darren also
won a Super Bowl, as his Saints beat the Colts. That’s kinda cool. Also last year,
Darren’s alma mater (William and Mary) beat UVA in the 2009 opener. That's really
not cool at all.

9. Jim Dombrowski, OT, New Orleans Saints (1st round, 6th overall in 1986)

After a decorated career as an offensive lineman for the Hoos in the mid-1980s,
Dombrowski became the first top 10 pick from UVA since 1942. He was also the first
of eight first round picks under the George Welsh regime.   He went on to a very solid
11 year career in New Orleans, totaling 137 starts between 1986 and 1996. Many of
those years were spent protecting the blindside of Saints QB and national treasure
Bobby Hebert.

8. Tom Scott, DE, Los Angeles Rams (5th round, 60th overall in 1953)

Going back several decades, Scott was drafted by the Rams, but played his entire
career for the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He played on some awful
Eagle team in the 1950s, but still made two Pro Bowls in 1957 and 1958. A year after
the Giants lost in the Greatest Game Ever Played, New York acquired Scott and he
played six more years at defensive end and linebacker. In those six years, he played
in four NFL Championships games (1959, 1961-1963), but lost all four to teams led by
the likes of Unitas and Lombardi.

7. Patrick Kerney, DE, Atlanta Falcons (1st round, 30th overall in 1999)

During his time at UVA, Kerney transformed himself from an unknown lacrosse player
into a first round NFL draft pick. And he did not disappoint during his 11 year career.
He finished with 143 starts and 82.5 sacks (45th all time) for the Falcons and Seattle
Seahawks before retiring after the 2009 season. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and
was also voted first-team All Pro in 2007, after a season when he finished with a
career best 14.5 sacks for Seattle. Interestingly, the player selected before Kerney in
the 1999 draft was DT Dimitrius Underwood by the Vikings (later traded to Dallas). It
was considered a reach at the time and Underwood finished his career with 15
tackles. I wonder if the good NFL general managers laugh about stuff like that.

6. James Farrior, LB, New York Jets (1st round, 8th overall in 1997)

Farrior is one of the elder statesmen of UVA players currently in the NFL, getting
ready to enter his 14th season in 2010. He has started in 167 games during his
career, totaling 858 tackles and 27.5 sacks from the linebacker position. While he
was solid for the Jets, his career really took off when he signed with the Steelers. He
was voted to the Pro Bowl twice and named All-Pro once (in 2004) when Pittsburgh
went 15-1. He also won two Super Bowls. Not bad for a guy selected right after wide
receiver Ike Hilliard, who the Giants took with the seventh pick.

5. Herman Moore, WR, Detroit Lions (1st round, 10th overall in 1991)

Drafting a wide receiver in the top ten must take a lot of balls. For every Megatron
and Torry Holt who pan out great, it seems there are three times as many Charles
Rogers and Koren Robinsons who cost a team millions. But few had any doubt that
Herman Moore would tear it up in the NFL. After leading UVA to unprecedented
heights, he went on to an 11-year career with the Lions and amassed 670 receptions
(36th all time), over 9,000 receiving yards and 62 TDs. In 1995, he set the NFL single
season reception record with 123, to go along with an insane 1,686 yards and 14
TDs. He was named All-Pro three times. And, honestly, I feel bad for younger Hoos
that never got to see him play in Scott Stadium – there’s been no one quite like him
since.

4. Tiki Barber, RB, New York Giants (2nd round, 36th overall in 1997)

With apologies to Ralph Sampson, Tiki Barber is probably the most famous UVA
athlete of all time. Most Hoos would probably prefer he not show up in the tabloids
quite so much, but there’s no denying his outstanding accomplishments for the
Giants. He retired with a lot still left in the tank, yet he was 10th on the all-time NFL
list for yards from scrimmage. Pretty impressive, especially given the fact that he had
only 935 yards rushing in his first three years in the league. His 2005 season was
one of the most impressive performances by a running back in NFL history – 1,860
yards rushing, 2,390 yards from scrimmage (3rd best ever), and 11TDs. Regarding
the 1997 draft, the running back taken just before Tiki Barber? Antowain Smith by
Buffalo… another fine decision by the Bills.

3. Bill Dudley, HB, Pittsburgh Steelers (1st round, 1st overall in 1942)

For anyone not intimately familiar with the history of UVA football, Bill Dudley is the
closest thing we have to a college football legend. He’s our Red Grange, our Bronko
Nagurski, our Jim Thorpe. After an unparalleled career at UVA, he became the first
and only Cavalier ever to be the top overall pick in the NFL draft. His career statistics
may not be eye-popping by today’s standards (his 696 yards rushing as a rookie led
the entire NFL), but the fact that his stats included rushing, passing, receiving,
kicking, punting, kick returning, punt returning, and intercepting is just amazing. He
also missed most of three full seasons early in his career while serving in the Army
Air Corps during World War II. When he returned, he won the league MVP in 1946.
He’s in the College and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In short, he’s not just one of
the greatest Virginia Cavaliers of all time, he’s also one of the greatest Virginians of
all time.

2. Henry Jordan, DT, Cleveland Browns (5th round, 52nd overall in 1957)

Watching highlights of the Lombardi Packers on NFL Films, it seems almost funny
that one of the most important stalwarts of that Packer defense came from the
Virginia Cavaliers of the 1950’s, one of the most pathetic periods of any team in the
history of college football. Regardless, there is no denying that Henry Jordan had one
of the most impressive NFL careers of any Wahoo alumnus in history. He won five
NFL championships (including the first two Super Bowls) as a star defensive tackle
under Vince Lombardi. During his career, he was named first team All Pro five times.
He was ultimately inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1995.    Also of note,
the 1957 draft was pretty incredible – there were four future Hall of Famers in the first
eight picks and nine HOFers overall, including Paul Hornung, Jim Brown, Len Dawson
and Sonny Jurgensen.

1. Ronde Barber, CB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3rd round, 66th overall in 1997)

Back to modern times for the top spot on the list. After a stellar career at UVA in the
mid 1990s, Ronde was not only a third round pick in the 1997 draft -- he was the fifth
player drafted from UVA, and the fourth from just the UVA defense. Now entering his
14th year for the Buccaneers, he has gone somewhat underappreciated by the media
and fans over the years -- this despite his being a five-time Pro Bowler and three-time
All Pro. And a closer look at his stats reveals a pretty stellar resume. He has 37
interceptions and 25 sacks for his career, the only defensive back in history with more
than 25 in both categories. He also has 13 non-offensive TDs (good for fifth all time).
The Super Bowl win in 2002 was pretty nice for him as well. In short, in modern day
football, there are not many more valuable draft picks than the third rounder the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers used to select Ronde Barber, who could surpass 200 career
starts with a healthy 2010 season. More than any other modern day Hoo, he
deserves induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, and is certainly
deserving of being the Greatest NFL Draft Pick in UVA History.

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