It isn’t a secret that LSU had an amazing football team two years ago, as it put up legendary numbers against a notoriously difficult list of teams that included Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Oklahoma and many other tough challengers. But there have still been debates as to whether this team is the best, with many arguing that teams such as 2001 Miami and 1995 Nebraska deserve that title over the Tigers.
But those arguments become more difficult to back up the more impactful players from that team are in the NFL.
In the 2020 NFL Draft, LSU tied the record for most players drafted at the time with fourteen players taken through seven rounds. Four out of the first five LSU players have been contributors for their respective teams, with a few even being considered rising stars.
Linebacker Patrick Queen and running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire showed a lot of potential as rookies, and while their sophomore years might have shown less improvement than fans were expecting (Clyde Edwards-Helaire has missed extended time with injuries this season), these players have still eclipsed their expectations early on in their careers.
The other two players have shattered expectations, which is crazy considering the expectations for one of these players were alarmingly high.
First-overall pick Joe Burrow has been one of the best quarterbacks in the country this season and could finish in the top-five for MVP voting. He leads the entire country in yards per attempt and completion percentage, is second in passer rating and is sixth in passing yards despite being fifteenth in attempts.
On top of that, he just led the Bengals to the Super Bowl in his first full season despite having an offensive line that has allowed the third most sacks in the NFL this season. One year removed from an awful ACL and MCL tear, and Burrow is now just one win away from becoming the fourth youngest player to win a Super Bowl behind Ben Roethlisberger, Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady.
While his team hasn’t had the same success as Burrow’s, Justin Jefferson has had similar individual dominance with the Vikings. He eclipsed 3000 career receiving yards in just two seasons, which is a record in that amount of time, and has almost led the country in yards in each season, placing fourth in 2020 and second in 2021.
Each of those players is expected to be top players in their respective positions for years to come, and the fact that they already have those expectations is scary. And that isn’t all that draft class produced by any means.
After suffering an Achilles injury before his NFL career even began, Second-round pick Grant Delpit had a great bounce back season with the Browns, finishing the season with the third most tackles on the team. He’s been described as one of the reasons their defense became one of the better ones in the latter half of the season.
Kristian Fulton has provided a similar boost to the Titans’ defense in his sophomore campaign, becoming one of the better cornerbacks in the country and turning a previously putrid passing defense into less of a liability.
The list goes on, with Burrow’s teammate Ja’Marr Chase on track to beating Jefferson’s two-year yardage record and a generational talent in cornerback Derek Stingley Jr not being in the league yet. While some players haven’t panned out as expected yet, you can’t deny that the 2019-20 LSU National Championship team isn’t going away anytime soon.
Miami’s 2001 team produced a total of 11 pro bowlers. So, the question is, will LSU’s 2019 team surpass that number?
It certainly looks promising.
