To see an interactive database of the players, click here.
Editor’s Note: This story is the third in a five-part series involving former LSU athletes competing in the professional ranks. With the 2010 NFL Draft one week away, the soon-to-be NFL rookie class is full of talented athletes aspiring to be drafted in the early rounds.The draft is important to the 18 former LSU Tigers who are entered in the draft because, as history shows, the higher an LSU player is drafted, the longer his NFL career is likely to be.LSU has sent 264 players to the NFL, and many former Tigers have appeared in the top part of the draft.Thirty-two former LSU football players were drafted in the first round in the draft’s history, 32 in the second round and 28 in the third round.Tigers drafted in the first round tend to have the longest NFL careers, averaging 7.28 years in the league.Former LSU quarterback Y.A. Tittle played 17 seasons in the NFL, more than any other Tiger.Tittle was drafted No. 6 overall in 1948 by the Detroit Lions but spent most of his career playing for the San Francisco 49ers.Second-round Tigers average 6.4 years in the league.Local NFL draft analyst Mike Detillier said the reason first- and second-round picks last in the NFL is because they get more time in the NFL to prove their worth.”You better make a pretty good impression when you’re a late-round pick or a free agent,” Detillier said. “Whereas with a first or second-round pick, they are willing to cut you a little slack.”Former LSU offensive lineman Kevin Mawae was drafted No. 36 overall in the 1994 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks and has played in the league for the past 16 seasons.LSU has had 33 former players play in the NFL for 10 or more seasons in all, and nine of those players were drafted in the first round.Mawae, offensive lineman Alan Faneca, running back Kevin Faulk, defensive back Mark Roman and center Todd McClure all played last season and have all played at least 10 seasons each. Mawae and Roman are free agents going into the 2010 season.Faneca is the only player of those five drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. Faneca was drafted No. 26 by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1998.Faulk and Roman, like Mawae, went in the second round of the NFL draft in their respective years, and McClure was drafted in the seventh round by the Atlanta Falcons in 1999.Like McClure, sometimes players can fall through the cracks in the NFL draft but still have a long career in the league.Former LSU tight end Brian Kinchen was drafted as the No. 320 pick in the 12th round in the 1988 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins but played in the NFL for 14 seasons.Former LSU kicker Tommy Davis had an 11-year career and was drafted in 1957 by San Francisco with the No. 128 pick in the 11th round.LSU’s biggest draft might have been in 2007 when four former Tigers were drafted in the first round — quarterback JaMarcus Russell at No. 1 to the Oakland Raiders, defensive back LaRon Landry at No. 6 to the Washington Redskins, wide receiver Dwayne Bowe at No. 23 to the Kansas City Chiefs and wide receiver Craig “Buster” Davis at No. 30 to the San Diego Chargers.Russell became the second LSU player to be drafted first in the NFL draft. Former LSU Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon was drafted No. 1 in the 1960 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.Cannon played 11 seasons in the NFL, mostly with the Oakland Raiders.Detillier said the 2007 NFL Draft meant a lot to LSU’s football program as far as recruiting goes because it showed recruits that LSU can produce a lot of NFL talent.”Every 16- and 17-year-old kid who watched the draft saw that,” Detillier said. “It was an immeasurable commercial for LSU.”Although many Tigers played in the NFL, not all were drafted.  Seventy-three Tigers entered the NFL as free agents after not being drafted, but no former Tiger that has gone undrafted has played 10 or more years in the league.But Detillier said three factors other than draft status determine how long a player will play in the NFL.”I think other than health and work ethic, I think instincts are the third biggest factor,” he said. “You’ve got to have some God-given ability to be able to play in this league.”The closest undrafted Tigers to ever reach the 10-year mark were former LSU wide receiver Karl Hankton and former LSU defensive back Ryan Clark, who each played for eight years in the league.Clark began his career in 2002 and is currently playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hankton played from 1998-2006, mostly with the Carolina Panthers.—-Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected].