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The wait for the first Texas Longhorns player to hear their name called in the 2022 NFL Draft may be a long one. In fact, it may not happen at all — kicker Cameron Dicker likely has the best shot somewhere in the late rounds, but he may be the only player selected if cornerback Josh Thompson isn’t picked and has the potential to fall out of the draft since so few specialists are taken.
Since 1938, the only other time the Longhorns haven’t had an NFL draft pick was in 2014, the year after longtime head coach Mack Brown was fired when Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Hendricks Award winner Jackson Jeffcoat failed to hear his name called.
Suffice it to say that this is an historically bad draft class for Texas coming out of head coach Steve Sarkisian’s first season on the Forty Acres even though the 2018 and 2019 classes under former head coach Tom Herman were both ranked No. 3 nationally in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.
Safety Caden Sterns and edge Joseph Ossai both declared early and were selected in last year’s draft, but the lack of development and attrition in both of those classes are a primary reason why Herman was fired and Sarkisian struggled to a 5-7 season in 2021.
So another NFL Draft is set to serve as an indictment of the current state of the Texas football program.
How to watch
The first round begins on Thursday at 7 p.m. Central with rounds two and three on Friday at 6 p.m. Central and the final rounds starting at 11 a.m. Central with ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network all providing coverage.
Current NFL Draft betting lines, per DraftKings Sportsbook:
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