Texas Football: Where former Longhorns fit in after the NFL Draft

This 2021 NFL Draft class among former players from the Texas football program was one of the more prominent groups in recent memory. Texas Exes didn’t find all that much success in the draft in the last few years. Former head coaches Tom Herman and Charlie Strong didn’t do many favors for the player development in recent years.

Nonetheless, this draft class coming off of the Forty Acres was certainly a better one. Herman did have more talent to push through the pipeline to the next level this year compared to the past four or five. Although Texas didn’t end the drought of first-round draft picks this year, they did come close.

Rewinding for Texas football in the NFL Draft

Texas had their first second-round draft pick since 2018 when the Dallas Cowboys picked former All-American offensive tackle Connor Williams 50th overall. The drought of first-round picks for the Longhorns in the draft now extends back to 2015, when the New England Patriots snagged defensive tackle Malcom Brown 32nd overall.

You have to go all the way back to the 2013 draft to find a former Longhorn that was picked in the top 20 when the New Orleans Saints snagged standout safety Kenny Vaccaro 15th overall.

However, this was still a solid draft class all things considered for the Longhorns. They had five players picked in the actual seven rounds of the draft, and undrafted free agent signings are starting to come in.

There could still be two more undrafted free agent signings for the Longhorns before it’s all said and done for this draft class. Here’s a look at how the six Longhorns that are already drafted and/or signed in the 2021 class fit in at the NFL level.