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2024 NFL Draft: Texas sets program record with 11 players picked

The Longhorns had multiple first-round picks for the first time in 17 years

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer
·2-min read

The 2024 NFL Draft was a bountiful one for Texas.

Eleven Longhorns were taken over the last three days as the school set a modern era program record for most players selected in one draft. Defensive tackle Byron Murphy was the first Longhorn off the board at No. 16 to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night and wide receiver Jordan Whittington was the final Longhorn drafted on Saturday when he was chosen in the sixth round by the Los Angeles Rams.

Only Michigan had more players drafted than Texas did this year. The national champions had 13 draft picks as six Wolverines were picked on Friday during the second and third rounds of the draft.

Texas’ draft production this season is a sign of how far the program has rebounded under Steve Sarkisian. Texas made the College Football Playoff for the first time in 2023 before losing to Washington in the Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns won the Big 12 for the first time since 2009.

Murphy wasn’t the only Texas player picked in the first round, either. The Chiefs traded up from No. 32 to No. 28 to get wide receiver Xavier Worthy. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions’ pick of the speedy wideout gave Texas multiple first-round picks for the first time since 2007.

Yes, it’d been 17 years since Texas had more than one first-rounder. In 2007, defensive backs Michael Griffin and Aaron Ross were taken in the first round. Since then, just five Texas players had been picked in the first round of the draft as the program has experienced some lean times. No Texas players were drafted at all in 2014 and just 16 players were picked overall from 2013 to 2019.

With the Longhorns heading to the SEC in 2024, there’s legit reason for optimism in Austin. QB Quinn Ewers is back for another season and the Longhorns added the No. 3 recruiting class in the country along with a strong group of transfers. With Worthy and AD Mitchell off to the NFL, Texas replenished its wide receiver room with Alabama’s Isaiah Bond, Houston’s Matthew Golden and Oregon State’s Silas Bolden.