Impact in NFL
Over 10 years ago, Mississippi State didn’t have a player drafted in the National Football League Draft two years in a row in 2008 and 2009, but things have changed in the draft and in the NFL as far as the Bulldogs are concerned.
MSU is in the middle of an NFL renaissance with 11-straight seasons of a player drafted and many of them are making a name for themselves in the league, some who weren’t even drafted. NFL analysts are taking notice of these former MSU stars with CBS Sports, including five players in the top 100 currently.
Senior writer Pete Prisco put out his top 100 NFL players last Wednesday with MSU having the second most players on the list of any college. The Bulldogs’ five former players tied Ohio State for second and were three behind the leader LSU who had eight.
The list also included defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in the “Just Missed” category as the second-year defensive lineman is on his way into the conversation with some of the best in the league already. Starting out the list of former MSU players was Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay at No. 96. Slay was traded from the Detroit Lions to the Eagles in the offseason and has become one of the top corners in the league.
“He wasn’t as good as his reputation for the Lions last season, but he still has a talent to be a top-tier corner,” Prisco stated. “That’s why the Eagles made the move to get him.”
At No. 89 is outside linebacker Preston Smith, who started as a defensive end with the Bulldogs as an All-southeastern Conference pass rusher. He’s become a standout as an outside defender in the 3-4 system as he started his career with the Washington Redskins and then produced the best season of his young career with the Green Bay Packers last year with a career-high 12 sacks.
Smith came in to Green Bay with fellow former SEC players and linebacker Za’darius Smith, who starred at East Mississippi Community College and Kentucky. Together, they had one of the league’s top pass rushing defenses.
An argument can be made that defensive tackle Fletcher Cox deserves to be higher on this list with the dominant seasons he’s piling on over the years. Cox comes through at No. 54 despite just being selected to the Pro Football Writers of America All-decade team in the league earlier this year.
Cox is a four-time All-pro, a five-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion and still has more room on the mantle with the Eagles. Prisco mentioned the statistical drop off last season from the year before that was the reason for his ranking.
“His sack numbers fell from 10.5 in 2019 to 3.5 last season as his play fell off from his dominant 2018 season,” Prisco said. “Even so, he remains one of the best interior pass rushers.”
Prisco was high on former MSU great Dak Prescott who has gone from a fourth round pick and improbable NFL quarterback to starting every game of his first four seasons. He’s got multiple Pro Bowls under his belt and was the Rookie of the Year in the league with two trips to the playoffs and two division championships already.
While he’s in the middle of heated contract negotiations, Prescott is trying to lock in a full career with the Cowboys as their franchise quarterback.
“He threw for nearly 5,000 yards with an average per attempt of 8.2, with 30 touchdowns passes,” Prisco said. “He was outstanding in 2019, but now the pressure is on to do it again – especially if he’s playing under the franchise tag.”
The highest rated Bulldog on the list was defensive end Chris Jones at Kansas City. Jones is blossoming into a star in the league for his colorful personality and exuberance on the field, but he’s also wrecking things defensively for opposing offenses.
This past season, he helped the Chiefs to a Super Bowl win and was a dominant force in the Super Bowl with several deflected passes. He’s racked up 33 sacks and 20 pass deflections in his first four seasons with two interceptions. The Chiefs put the franchise tag on Jones in the offseason.
“The postseason, even battling through injuries, showed what a force he could be,” Prisco said.