Bo Jackson was the 183rd selection in an NFL Draft. That’s right: Auburn’s 1985 Heisman Trophy winner was chosen in the seventh round of the 1987 NFL Draft.
If Jackson was picked in that spot in 2024, he would be a sixth-round selection. When the NFL holds this year’s draft, the sixth round on April 27 will feature the 177th through 220th selections.
If you thought Jackson was the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, that’s right, too.
More stories on the NFL Draft
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose Jackson at No. 1 in the 1986 NFL Draft. But Jackson stiff-armed the Bucs to sign a baseball contract with the Kansas City Royals.
Exactly one year after Tampa Bay had picked Jackson at No. 1, the Los Angeles Raiders chose him at No. 183.
Jackson signed with the Raiders, but only to play after the Royals’ season had ended because he already had reached the Major Leagues by that time.
Jackson played in 38 regular-season games for the Raiders over the next four seasons before an injury sustained in a playoff game ended his football career. In three of those seasons, Jackson registered the NFL’s longest run from scrimmage, and he earned a Pro Bowl invitation for his play in 10 games in 1990.
Jackson is among 45 players have been drafted from Auburn from 177th through 220th.
Twenty-three Auburn players have been sixth-round picks in an NFL Draft, but those selections ranged from No. 46 to No. 219. Over the decades, the picks comprising the sixth round have changed as the number of teams in the NFL has increased and the league has added compensatory choices as part of its free-agency plan.
The Auburn players who have been picked with the 177th through 220th selections of an NFL Draft include:
No. 177 pick: Craig Ogletree, linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals, 1990.
Ogletree’s NFL career was limited to 11 games in his rookie season. In 2020, Ogletree officiated at the funeral of former Auburn coach Pat Dye.
No. 180 picks: George Atkins, guard, Detroit Lions, 1955; Ted Foret, tackle, Baltimore Colts, 1959; Fred Beasley, fullback, San Francisco 49ers, 1998.
Atkins played in every game and started half of them for Detroit as a rookie. But that was his only NFL season. In 1956, he returned to Auburn to join the coaching staff of Ralph “Shug” Jordan.
Foret played for the Montreal Alouettes and the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in 1960.
From Lee-Montgomery, Beasley ran for 610 yards and eight touchdowns during his eight seasons with San Francisco. It was the running done by others that earned Beasley his status as one of the NFL’s best fullbacks. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2003, when Kevan Barlow and Garrison Hearst combined to rush for 1,792 yards for the 49ers. Beasley also had 133 receptions for 1,017 yards and five touchdowns.
No. 181 pick: Quinton Reese, defensive end, Detroit Lions, 2000.
Reese registered three sacks for the XFL’s Birmingham Thunderbolts in 2001, but he didn’t play in the NFL.
No. 182 picks: Ken Paduch, tackle, Philadelphia Eagles, 1959; Kevin McLeod, fullback, Jacksonville Jaguars, 1998; Jeno James, guard, Carolina Panthers, 2000.
McLeod played in seven games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1998 and one game for the Cleveland Browns in 2003. In between, he played for the Frankfurt Galaxy in NFL Europe. McLeod had two NFL receptions, and the first one was good for a touchdown – a 3-yard pass from Shaun King in the Bucs’ 23-16 victory over the Detroit Lions on Dec. 12, 1999.
In his fourth season, James became a full-time NFL starter as a left guard and stayed in that role until knee surgery caused him to miss the final seven games of the 2006 season. The Miami Dolphins released James after that campaign, and he never played again. James appeared in 94 NFL regular-season games, with 67 starts. In 2003, James started all four of Carolina’s postseason contests as the Panthers reached Super Bowl XXXVIII.
No. 183 pick: Bo Jackson, running back, Los Angeles Raiders, 1987.
The Los Angeles Raiders picked Jackson in 1987 after he was the No. 1 choice in the 1986 draft. Jackson had not signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, choosing to play baseball instead. Jackson did play four partial seasons with the Raiders while also playing in the Major Leagues before an injury ended his football career. Jackson ran for 2,782 yards and 16 touchdowns on 515 carries in 38 games for Los Angeles. He earned Pro Bowl recognition in 1990 and had the NFL’s longest run in three of his four seasons.
No. 184 pick: Milt Howell, guard, Brooklyn Dodgers, 1940.
No. 186 pick: Richard Cheek, guard, Buffalo Bills, 1970.
In his rookie season, Cheek started all but one game for Buffalo. But in each of the next two years, Cheek suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. In 1974, he was playing again in the World Football League. In the WFL’s two seasons, Cheek played for the Jacksonville Sharks, The Hawaiians and San Antonio Wings.
No. 187 pick: James Joseph, running back, Philadelphia Eagles, 1991.
In five NFL seasons – four with Philadelphia and one with the Cincinnati Bengals – Joseph ran for 823 yards and four touchdowns on 250 carries and caught 102 passes for 817 yards and three touchdowns. Joseph scored two of his four rushing touchdowns in the second half of the same game. In the Eagles’ 30-7 victory over the New York Giants on Nov. 4, 1991, Joseph had touchdown runs of 11 yards in the third quarter and 1 yard in the fourth quarter.
No. 189 picks: Jim Hall, end, San Francisco 49ers, 1955; Tom Banks, center, St. Louis Cardinals, 1970.
The St. Louis Cardinals drafted 11 players in 1970 before they picked Banks. But those 11 played in four fewer NFL games combined than Banks did for the Cardinals. From John Carroll Catholic in Birmingham, Banks earned Pro Bowl recognition annually from 1975 through 1978 and was the All-Pro center in 1976. After his NFL career, Banks returned to the field to play two seasons with the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions.
No. 191 pick: Malvern Morgan, center, Detroit Lions, 1940; Benji Roland, defensive end, Minnesota Vikings, 1989.
Morgan played basketball and baseball in addition to football at Auburn. After playing two seasons of minor-league baseball with the Tallassee Indians of the Class D Alabama State League, Morgan missed the next four seasons while serving during World War II. He played for the Valley Rebels in the Class D Georgia-Alabama League in 1946, 1947, 1949 and 1951. Across 644 minor-league games, Morgan compiled a .344 batting average. Morgan also coached at Lanett High School, compiling an 80-30-3 football record from 1947 through 1958. He is a member of the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Roland played in three games with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1990.
No. 193 pick: Jim Bradshaw, center, Washington Redskins, 1945.
Bradshaw is among the 14 Auburn players drafted from No. 178 through No. 217 who did not play in the NFL.
No. 194 picks: Mike Alford, center, St. Louis Cardinals, 1965; David Irons, defensive back, Atlanta Falcons, 2007.
Alford played in 13 games with St. Louis in 1965 and 12 with the Detroit Lions in 1966.
Irons played in 15 games for Atlanta in 2007. But his 2008 season was ended by a knee injury after five games, and he did not play in the NFL again. Irons did get back on the field, though, playing in the United Football League from 2010 through the league’s folding in 2012.
No. 195 pick: Jeris McIntyre, wide receiver, Kansas City Chiefs, 2004.
McIntyre did not play in an NFL regular-season game, but he did play in NFL Europe. He caught 21 passes for 355 yards and one touchdown for the Rhein Fire in 1995.
No. 196 picks: Lewis Colbert, punter, Kansas City Chiefs, 1986; Blake Countess, defensive back, Philadelphia Eagles, 2016.
Colbert punted 99 times for Kansas City in 1986, when he averaged 40.7 yards per punt. But he punted only 18 more times in four games in two seasons in his NFL career. The only other punter who has been drafted from Auburn is Brian Shulman in 1989.
Countess was one of the NFL’s busiest special-teams players for the Rams in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and he scored on a blocked punt in each campaign. Countess’ most recent action came in Los Angeles’ 20-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL Championship Game for the 2021 season after he didn’t play during the regular season.
No. 197 pick: Courtney Taylor, wide receiver, Seattle Seahawks, 2007.
Taylor caught 14 passes for 136 yards in 18 games over two seasons for Seattle. After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2009, Taylor returned to the field in 2012 with the CFL’s British Columbia Lions. In five seasons with the Lions, Taylor caught 145 passes for 1,789 yards and 10 touchdowns.
No. 206 picks: Chuck Hurston, defensive end, Green Bay Packers, 1965; Jeff Jackson, linebacker, Atlanta Falcons, 1984; Brian Shulman, punter, Green Bay Packers, 1989.
Instead of joining Green Bay, Hurston started his career with the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. That put him on the wrong side in the first Super Bowl on Jan. 15, 1967, when the Packers defeated the Chiefs 35-10. But Hurston got a title when Kansas City defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970. Hurtson played in 93 regular-season games, with all but nine coming for the Chiefs.
After playing two seasons apiece with Atlanta and the San Diego Chargers, Jackson played three more seasons in the CFL. On his only NFL interception, Jackson picked off Houston QB Warren Moon and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown in the Falcons’ 42-10 victory over the Oilers on Sept. 23, 1984.
No. 207 pick: Anders Carlson, kicker, Green Bay Packers, 2023.
As a rookie, Carlson made 27-of-33 field-goal attempts and 34-of-39 extra-point tries in 17 regular-season games.
No. 208 pick: Rudy Ford, defensive back, Arizona Cardinals, 2017.
Ford is the most recent of the 23 Auburn alumni drafted by the Cardinals. That’s the most for any NFL team. Arizona traded the former New Hope High School standout to the Philadelphia Eagles before the 2019 season. Ford moved again in 2021 by joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency, and he made his first NFL interception in a 9-6 upset of the Buffalo Bills on Nov. 7. After moving again in free agency, Ford intercepted three passes in 2022 and two in 2023 for the Green Bay Packers.
No. 209 pick: Alex Lincoln, linebacker, San Francisco 49ers, 2001.
Lincoln went from a walk-on from Mississippi College to a draft pick at Auburn. Then he became involved in preparing players for the NFL Draft.
No. 210 picks: Deshaun Davis, linebacker, Cincinnati Bengals, 2019; Prince Tega Wanogho, offensive tackle, Philadelphia Eagles, 2020.
Davis has been on the rosters of Cincinnati, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles without appearing in an NFL regular-season game.
Wanogho played in one game with Philadelphia as a rookie and two games with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021. In 2022, he played in every game as the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII. Kansas City won Super Bowl LVIII, too, but this time, Wanogho was on injured reserve after getting hurt in the third game of the 2023 season.
No. 211 picks: Bob Harris, linebacker, St. Louis Cardinals, 1983; Jay Prosch, fullback, Houston Texans, 2014.
Harris played in 37 games over four seasons – the first three with St. Louis and the last one with the Kansas City Chiefs. Harris intercepted three passes in his first season, including getting one in his first game. In the Cardinals’ 28-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 4, 1983, Harris intercepted a pass thrown by QB Dave Wilson.
In four seasons with Houston, Prosch helped clear the way for 1,000-yard rushing seasons by Arian Foster and Lamar Miller. Prosch played in 63 NFL regular-season games, ran for 42 yards on 10 carries and caught six passes for 61 yards.
No. 212 picks: Bill Austin, center, Detroit Lions, 1958; Mark Smith, defensive tackle, Arizona Cardinals, 1997; Zach Clayton, defensive tackle, Tennessee Titans, 2011.
Austin did not play in the NFL, but spent 30 years in the U.S. Army and Army Reserves.
Smith recorded six sacks as a rookie and nine in his second season for Arizona. But the next season, he suffered a knee injury in the second game and missed the rest of the campaign. Smith played three more seasons and recorded five more sacks. Smith played in 67 NFL regular-season games.
Clayton’s career consisted of three games for Tennessee in 2011.
No. 213 pick: Bobby Strickland, linebacker, Buffalo Bills, 1971.
A prep standout at Grand Bay, Strickland was a walk-on at Auburn.
No. 214 pick: Jim Pyburn, end, Washington Redskins, 1956.
By the time Washington drafted Pyburn, he’d already played 39 games for Baltimore in the Major Leagues after getting a reported $30,000 bonus to sign with the Orioles. Pyburn’s big-league career consisted of 158 games over three seasons. He hit .190 with three home runs and six stolen bases.
No. 215 pick: Mike Pucillo, guard, Buffalo Bills, 2002.
Pucillo didn’t reach the field until 2003, but he started 12 games for Buffalo that season. Limited to two games in 2004, Pucillo had seven starts in the remainder of his NFL career – in 2005 and 2006 with the Cleveland Browns and 2007 with the Washington Redskins.
No. 216 picks: Wayne Frazier, center, Chicago Bears, 1961; George Peoples, running back, Dallas Cowboys, 1982.
Drafted by Chicago when he still had a season left at Auburn, Frazier signed with the San Diego Chargers, who chose him with the 256th selection in the 1962 AFL Draft. He started seven games as a rookie, but injuries caused him to miss half the season, and a knee problem sidelined him for the 1963 season. After San Diego released Frazier in 1964, he returned in 1965 with the Houston Oilers. Traded to Kansas City in 1966, Frazier closed that season as the Chiefs’ starter at center in the first Super Bowl. He played one more season to finish with 48 regular-season games, with 42 starts.
Peoples played in 32 games over four seasons with three teams, mainly as a special-teamer. Peoples had eight carries for 24 yards during his career, with all but one of the rushing attempts coming in his rookie campaign with Dallas.
No. 219 pick: Clifford Toney, defensive back, Atlanta Falcons, 1981; Seth Williams, wide receiver, Denver Broncos, 2021.
Toney did not play in the NFL, but he did spend five seasons with the Edmonton Eskimos. From 1984 through 1988 in the CFL, Toney intercepted 12 passes and returned five of them for touchdowns.
Williams spent most of his rookie season on Denver’s practice squad. But he played in two games, and his only reception was good for a 34-yard gain. In 2022, he was on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ practice squad.
No. 220 picks: Ernie Danjean, linebacker, Green Bay Packers, 1957; Bobby Lauder, back, Washington Redskins, 1959.
As a rookie, Danjean played in every game, with four starts, for Green Bay. He never played in the NFL again, but he played from 1959 through 1963 in the CFL. In 1959, when he made three interceptions, Danjean earned recognition as an Eastern all-star with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
A Foley High School standout, Lauder didn’t play in the NFL. But in 1964, he played for the Mobile Buccaneers of the Southern Football League.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.