* In 2017, (a younger) Cory broke down some of Noah Igbinoghene's success in the triple jump
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The first round of the NFL Draft is complete, and much to our delight, many of this year's crop of newly-minted professionals are former high school track and field athletes.
Some are more accomplished than others. And a select few were absolutely legendary.
MileSplit decided to track the track and field history of each NFL draftee tonight. If we missed out on any intel, please feel free to give us a holler at cory.mull@flosports.tv
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2020 NFL Draftees
| pick | name | drafted | college-High school | track notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cincinnati Bengals | LSU (College) - Athens HS (OH) | The No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft used to go by the name "Joey" and as a sophomore he ran 13.32 seconds in the 100m and 25.94 in the 200m. | |
| 2 | Washington Redskins | Ohio State (College) - DeMatha Catholic (MD) | Young would eventually transfer to a powerhouse program in Maryland to finish out his high school career, but he began at St. Vincent Pallotti and as a freshmen threw the discus (88-11) and shot put (30-11). | |
| 3 | Detroit Lions | Ohio State (College) - South Grand Prairie HS (TX) | As a freshman at South Grand Prairie, Okudah ran 11.35 seconds in the 100m and 23.57 in the 200m. | |
| 4 | Andrew Thomas | New York Giants | Georgia (College) - Pace Academy HS (GA) | |
| 5 | Tua Tagovailoa | Miami Dolphins- | Alabama (College) St. Louis School (HI)- | - |
| 6 | Justin Herbert | Los Angeles Chargers- | Oregon (College) Sheldon HS (OR)- | - |
| 7 | Carolina Panthers | Auburn (College) - Lanier HS (GA) | As a junior in Georgia Brown threw a career best of 115-10 in the discus and 39-6 in the shot put. | |
| 8 | Isaiah Simmons | Arizona Cardinals | Clemson (College) - Olathe North HS (KS) | Simmons won two Kansas outdoor state championships across his high school career in the long jump, finishing with a PR of 24-5 -- though he was upset in his senior campaign, finished as the state's runner-up. He also secured a PR of 22.02 in the 200m. |
| 9 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Florida (College) - Miami Christopher Columbus HS | Henderson was a very good track and field athlete, netting PRs of 10.40w in the 100m and 20.92 at his regional championships in 2017. He even appeared at the Prefontaine Classic in the 200m that same year, finishing seventh in 21.41. As a senior he also ran 48.48 for 400m. | |
| 10 | Cleveland Browns | Alabama (AL) - Lexington Lafayette (KY) | MileSplit doesn't have any results for Wills beyond his eighth-grade year. | |
| 11 | Mekhi Bectonn | New York Jets- | Louisville (College) Highland Springs (VA) | - |
| 12 | Las Vegas Raiders | Alabama (College) - Robert E. Lee HS (AL) | Ruggs ran a 100m PR of 10.42, along with efforts of 10.53 and 10.58, the latter of which won him an AHSAA Class 7A State Track and Field title in 2017. | |
| 13 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Iowa (College) -Mount Vernon HS (IA) | Wirfs may be the best overall track and field athletes in this NFL Draft Class. In 2017, he became the first athelte in 25 years to sweep the throwing events at the Drake Relays. He won five state championships over his high school career and holds PRs of 190-10 in the discus and 66-35 in the shot put. | |
| 14 | Javon Kinlaw | San Francisco 49ers- | South Carolina (College) Goose Creek HS (SC) | - |
| 15 | Denver Broncos | Alabama (College) - Pompano Beach HS (FL) | Jeudy was at Coconut Creek Monarch (FL) in 2014, as a freshman, and ran 11.13 for 100m and 23.59 for 200m. He also high jumped 6-2. | |
| 16 | Atlanta Falcons | Clemson (College) - Atlanta Westlake HS (GA) | Terrell only broke 11 seconds once in high school at 100m, going 10.95 at his region championship as a senior. He ran a 200m PR of 22.32 and reached the state championships but didn't make the final. As a junior he ran a PR of 49.84 in the 400m. | |
| 17 | CeeDee Lamb | Dallas Cowboys- | Oklahoma (College) Foster HS (TX) | - |
| 18 | Miami Dolphins | USC (College) - North Canyon HS (AZ) | Jackson, a state-runner-up ni the discus in 2017, was proficient talent in the throws, securing a career best discus throw of 190-10 at Arcadia in his senior season. He also threw a best of 52-4.75 in the shot put as a junior. | |
| 19 | Las Vegas Raiders | Ohio State (College) - St. Thomas Aquinas HS (FL) | Arnette has one track and field result on his profile. His 10.53 meter triple jump netted a 34 foot, 6.75 inch mark in 2014 -- his junior season. | |
| 20 | K'Lavon Chaisson | Jacksonville Jaguars- | LSU (College) North Shore Senior HS (TX) | - |
| 21 | Philadelphia Eagles | TCU (College) - Waxahachie HS (TX) | Reagor was an exceptional jumper in high school, netting a Texas Class 5A state championship in the long jump in 2017, posting an all conditiosn mark of 24-5 -- he also scored career best mark of 26-0w mark at districts. In the 100m, he ran 10.92 as a juninor and went 22.00 in the 200m as a senior. He also high jumped 6-6. | |
| 22 | Minnesota Vikings | LSU (College) - Destrehan HS (LA) | Jefferson posted a career best long jump of 21-11 in 2017, netting him a fifth-place finish at the region championships. He also authored a top triple jump mark of 43-0.5. | |
| 23 | Kenneth Murray | Los Angeles Chargers- | Oklahoma (College) Elkins HS (TX) | - |
| 24 | New Orleans Saints | Michigan (College) - IMG Academy (FL) | Before he finished out his high school career at IMG Academy, Ruiz began his sports backcground in New Jersey. As a sophomore, he was fourth at his NJSIAA Sectional in the discus, posting a throw of 143-7. He also threw 44-4 in the shot put. | |
| 25 | Brandon Aiyuk | San Francisco 49ers | Arizona State (College) Robert McQueen HS (NV) | - |
| 26 | Jordan Love | Green Bay Packers | Utah State (College) Liberty HS (CA) | - |
| 27 | Jordyn Brooks | Seattle Seahawks | Texas Tech (College) Stratford HS (TX) | - |
| 28 | Patrick Queen | Baltimore Ravens | LSU (College) Livonia HS (LA) | - |
| 29 | Isaiah Wilson | Tennessee Titans | Georgia (College) Poly Prep (NY) | - |
| 30 | Miami Dolphins | Auburn (College) - Hewitt-Trussville HS (AL) | Igbinoghene was another acccomplished track and field athlete from the state of Alabama. He was an eight-time AHSAA Class 7A State Champion across the indoor and outdoor seasons, securing much of his success in the long jump and triple jump, earning career best marks of 24-8.5 and 50-4, respectively. He competed briefly for the men's team at Auburn during his tenure there. And oh yeah, he was a New Balance Nationals Indoor champ in the triple jump in 2016. | |
| 31 | Jeff Gladney | Minnesota Vikings | TCU (College) - New Boston HS (TX) | While we couldn't find a profile for Gladney, we did see he competed as a freshman in 2014, posting a 100m time of 10.88 and 200m effort of 22.44. |
| 32 | Clyde Edwards-Helaire | Kansas City Chiefs | LSU (College) - Baton Rouge Catholic (LA) | Like Edwards, we couldn't find a profile for Edwards-Helaire, but we did find a long jump performance of 20-2 from 2016. |