The 2010 NFL Draft: 10 Years Later, Sooners Still Have a Hold on History

Roger Goodell might as well have been auditioning for the latest Rodgers and Hammerstein performance.

Not since Curly and Laurey played Broadway had Oklahoma dominated New York City like it did in 2010.

Ten years ago this week – April 22, 2010 – the NFL commissioner called out the names of four Sooners in the first round of the 75th NFL Draft. Three of those went off the board in the first four picks.

Quarterback Sam Bradford went No. 1 overall to the St. Louis Rams. After Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh went second to Detroit, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went back to OU by taking defensive tackle Gerald McCoy with the third pick. Then came the Washington Redskins, who stayed with the Sooners in taking offensive tackle Trent Williams.

Such a run from one school had never happened before (Notre Dame had three of the first five picks in 1946) and it hasn’t happened in the 10 years since. And for Oklahoma? A Sooner run like this hadn’t happened since, oh, say 1889.

Later in that first round, with the 21st pick, the Cincinnati Bengals selected OU tight end Jermaine Gresham. As if for emphasis – a chorus refrain, perhaps – two Oklahoma State Cowboys were chosen in the first round as well: offensive tackle Russell Okung went No. 6 to Seattle, and wideout Dez Bryant went 24th to Dallas. That made six times in the first round Goodell said the word “Oklahoma” when announcing picks, the most ever for the Sooner State.

SI Sooners publisher John Hoover witnessed the draft festivities in New York City that week, including those crazy 40 minutes inside Radio City Music Hall when the Sooners made NFL Draft history.

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What better stage for another performance of “Oklahoma!” than Radio City and the 2010 NFL Draft – the first draft conducted in prime time.

Prospects began arriving in the Big Apple on Tuesday as the league had arranged a handful of promotional events throughout the city for Wednesday. Two charter buses toted them around town, with stops at the the CBS Early Show, a Play 60 youth clinic in Central Park, the Kravis Children's Hospital at Mount Sinai Medical Center, the New York Stock Exchange to ring the closing bell, and a once-in-a-lifetime photo op atop the marquee at Radio City Music Hall.

Manhattan is always squirming, but on the CBS Plaza, outside the historic General Electric building, a knowing crowd began to really hum when the buses pulled up a little after 7 a.m.

In all, 18 draft prospects, all dressed in new suits, shuffled out one by one and headed into the “Early Show” green room as the locals cheered. Before the draft segment started, hosts Dave Price, Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez came outside to work the crowd.

With all the meticulous planning of a live TV broadcast, the players emerged, the cameras rolled, and Smith introduced everyone. Bradford, widely projected as the No. 1 pick, was the only one to be interviewed. To his left was a bull’s-eye, at the center of which was a picture of Price, the weatherman. Out came a football. Everyone knew what was next.

Two years earlier, on the “Fox and Friends” morning show, Bradford was asked to throw a football at a target. But, wearing a crimson cast on his left wrist, he politely declined.

Smith, knowing Bradford’s right shoulder was still a sensitive topic, fooled everyone when he walked up to Bradford and said, “I know you don’t want to get hurt,” and asked for a volunteer to knock down the target.

Of course it was Arizona tight end Rob Gronkowski who stepped up. Alas, the future personality now known as “Gronk” misfired twice and the target stayed upright to both cheers and jeers.

After Smith pitched the segment back inside, players mingled with the crowd for a few minutes for autographs and selfies. At one point, Bradford, McCoy and Williams gathered for a "team" photo, but Texas defensive end Lamar Houston photobombed them from behind with a “Horns Up” sign.

Bradford did finally throw – a little. At the Play 60 youth clinic at Central Park, Bradford and other prospects, now dressed in short and t-shirts, interacted with Deion Sanders, Jillian Michaels and 600 NYC middle schoolers for almost 90 minutes. Bradford – with seemingly every camera in the world’s largest media market trained on him – soft-tossed a few dozen throws to the kids without incident. The Rams were relieved.

Players then had lunch with the commissioner at NFL HQ – 345 Park Avenue. The scene was a little awkward at first.

“Everyone was pretty nervous,” Bradford said. “But Gerald McCoy was in there with us, and he definitely livened the mood a little bit and got things going.”

After lunch, prospects visited pediatric patients in the Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai. They sat with kids in “The Zone,” a therapeutic play and educational environment funded by Troy Aikman, Garth Brooks and others. That included a stop in the KidsZone/TV studios, where patients interviewed the players.

Up next was the NYSE. No big deal for Bradford, the finance major who had opened trading the Monday morning after his 2008 Heisman win. But the other prospects seemed impressed by America’s financial nerve center.

After swinging by the NFL executive offices for a quick tour, the buses rolled four blocks up 51st Street to Radio City, where players ascended to the top of the world-famous marquee and posed for pictures.

– – –

Players were on their own Wednesday night and Thursday morning, and most of them spent quiet time with family reflecting on how their hard work and sacrifices had led them to this point.

Sam Bradford certainly did.

On his last trip to New York, he came with a cast on his left wrist and went home with the 74th Heisman Trophy under his right arm. This time, Bradford arrived with a surgically repaired right shoulder and left for St. Louis as the No. 1 pick in the 75th NFL Draft.

“We’ve had very nice trips to New York,” said former Sooner Kent Bradford. “Very nice.”

“It’s definitely been a good city to me,” said Sam.

With his mom and dad and grandmother by his side, Bradford joined Lee Roy Selmon (1976 to Tampa Bay) and Billy Sims (1980 to Detroit) as the third Sooner to go No. 1 overall.

One day, there would be more.

Bradford became the first Big 12 Conference alumnus to go into the NFL as the top pick, and he started a run of Big 12 talent – five of the first six picks and nine first-rounders overall – that the league hasn’t come close to repeating in the decade since.

“That’s insane, ain’t it?” McCoy said that night. “We can’t play football in the Big 12, huh? First four picks? Three from Oklahoma, by the way.”

At 7:33 p.m. local time, commissioner Roger Goodell strolled out and declared the 2010 NFL Draft open. At 7:38, the Rams’ pick was in. And at 7:40, Goodell started singing a showtune that would become all too familiar.

Oklahoma.

A few minutes later, Kent and Martha Bradford were recalling the details of a rain-delayed baseball tournament in Muskogee, Oklahoma, that kept young Sam and his teammates out past 2 a.m. despite school the following day. They thought about it all and just smiled and shook their heads.

“Just so proud,” Martha Bradford said.

“You know, it’s pretty cool,” Bradford said at the press conference during Suh’s pick. “But I know there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with that title, and I look forward to getting to work and playing football, which is what I love to do.

“Definitely a little bit gratifying to hear my name called tonight, because when I got hurt (in the 2009 season opener against BYU and later that year against Texas), I thought it was a longshot. But I worked hard to get my shoulder back where it is today, and it feels great.”

Bradford took questions about the 1-15 Rams and second-year coach Steve Spagnuolo and the final year of the uncapped rookie wage scale that would pay him a signing bonus in excess of $50 million. But the question he spent the most time answering was about his New York experiences.

“I think they’re both special, but I think they’re both different,” he said. “This one’s gonna stay with me for a long time knowing this is what started this chapter in my life. It’s kind of the ending of my college career and the beginning of my pro career. It’s just the way it happened tonight, being the first pick in the NFL Draft. It’s pretty special.”

He was asked if playing at OU and winning the Heisman and going No. 1 overall exceeded even his own expectations.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Growing up in Oklahoma City, I just always wanted to go to Oklahoma. And I got that. Of course, you dream of playing in the NFL. But to have it happen the way it happened tonight, it’s pretty cool. I truly think I don’t understand what just happened. I think it’s gonna take a couple days for it to sink in. It’s just surreal.”

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Well before Bradford’s press conference finished, one teammate had joined him in Radio City’s underhalls and another was on his way.

“That’s my man!” came a call from the back of the room as Bradford wrapped up. “Yes, Sam! Yes! Yes! Go get it! Go get it, all right?”

It was Gerald McCoy, another Oklahoma City kid who had heard his own name called only a few minutes before. Like Sooner legend Lee Roy Selmon before him, McCoy would be playing defensive line for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I had my dream, and now I’m living it,” McCoy said. “I just can’t wait to get going down in Tampa.

“Haha! I’m going to Florida!”

McCoy’s joy poured out of him because when he heard his name called, he broke down in tears and hugged and kissed his dad.

“I told myself, ‘Aw, I won't cry.’ Yeah, right,” he said. “I really tried to hold it in but there, but nope.”

Together, they thought about Gerald’s late mom Patricia, who died in 2007 when McCoy was a redshirt freshman at OU.

“We kind of were thinking the same thing,” McCoy said. “Both missing my mother, knowing there should have been extra chair there.”

Her initials and the initials of an uncle were stitched on the sleeve of McCoy’s new custom suit.

“I dedicated this day to her,” McCoy said. “This is for her. I made it, Mom. I made it.

“My mom was a people person. She loved people, and the fire and drive I have came from my mom. She’s the one that taught me never to quit.”

McCoy also thought of his 2-year-old daughter, Nevaeh, who’s now 12 years old and a promising basketball and softball player.

“I don't know, man, her life is set,” McCoy said, referring to the $57 million contract Kansas City gave No. 3 pick Tyson Jackson the year before. “That’s really one of the main reasons I did this, for my family. Because I want to be great at the next level, but I have a child to support.”

Of course it was the affable McCoy who kicked off the current trend of bear-hugging Goodell. Before McCoy reached the stage, embracing the commissioner had only been cursory around a handshake, and occasional. Once everyone saw McCoy and Goodell hugging it out behind genuine smiles, it became the thing to do.

“I just wanted to play at the next level,” McCoy said. “Going this high, though? No. I knew I’d be picked when they said if I’d come out last year, I’d have been a first-round pick. But No. 3? That’s insane. Crazy.”

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Right after McCoy started one draft night tradition with Goodell, Trent Williams started another.

When Williams met Goodell over lunch at the NFL offices on Wednesday, he jokingly requested that the commissioner introduce him as Trent “Silverback” Williams.

But Goodell didn’t take it as a joke. On Williams’ big night, Goodell announced Williams’ animalistic side to the world when he announced the fourth pick in the draft.

“I was just joking around with him because it was kind of quiet,” Williams said. “He said he’d do it, but I didn't think he’d do it. Yeah, I kind of chuckled to myself.”

Williams seemed relieved as he hugged family, including his mother, Veronica.

“Obviously, it’s a dream come true,” he said. “You dream of playing in the NFL, you dream of hearing your name called on draft day. But to have it actually happen, it’s a dream come true.”

Back in the media room, Bradford was nearly finished with his press conference when Williams walked across the stage and bear-hugged Goodell. Before he stepped away, Bradford was asked what kind of player the Redskins would be getting.

“They’re getting a great offensive tackle,” Bradford said. “I think he might be one of the most athletic linemen I’ve ever seen. It’s extremely impressive to watch him play.”

In Washington, Williams would be playing for Mike Shanahan and blocking for Donovan McNabb, who would be throwing passes to Malcolm Kelly, the former Sooner wideout who was high school teammates with Williams in Longview, Texas.

“Being with Malcolm again, it’s perfect,” Williams said. “It’s a perfect situation for me. I’m blessed that they picked me.”

Williams said when he got the call from Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, his hands were shaking so badly he almost dropped the phone. And when he thought about playing with McNabb, he started smiling.

“Too excited,” he said. “I haven’t stopped smiling yet. I think my face might be stuck like this.”

Williams said the moment with his family – after hearing “Silverback” but before hugging the commish – would stay with him forever.

“I’m pretty much a laid-back guy,” he said. “I don’t show a lot of emotion. But that’s pretty much the happiest I've ever been, next to the birth of my daughter.”

Like McCoy, Williams’ thoughts turned to his progeny, Micah Michelle, who turned six months old on draft day and is now almost 11.

“It’s obviously a great feeling,” Williams said. “Knowing as a parent, that’s all you want, to make sure your kid has everything they ever wanted and not have to worry about anything. My parents worked hard so I would have that type of stuff. I never had flashy stuff, but my mom and dad made sure we never went without. Having that type of financial security, it’s a blessing.”

– – –

When those 40 minutes had passed and NFL teams started exploring the possibility of taking someone outside of Norman, things inside Radio City Music Hall seemed to return to normal.

Okung didn’t have to wait long to go at No. 6, and Gresham at No. 21 and Bryant at No. 24 kept the Oklahoma vibe going for much of the night. But after Williams, the Oklahoma land run was pretty much over.

The Chiefs took Tennessee safety Eric Berry, the Browns got Florida corner Joe Haden, Oakland snagged Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain, Buffalo grabbed Clemson running back C.J. Spiller. The NFL was back to business as usual.

“I can’t say I saw it coming,” Williams said that night. “But I knew it was a possibility. I did. That just shows everybody the talent that we possess at Oklahoma.”

In retrospect, with 10 years of empirical evidence and irrefutable history, OU’s unprecedented run in the 2010 NFL Draft was indeed fruitful. Bradford, McCoy and Williams were all good players in their circumstances.

Bradford, of course, was all but guaranteed to come up short of expectations piled on a No. 1 pick. Bradford was named AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he had a couple of decent seasons in St. Louis – 3,512 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2010, 3,702 yards and 21 TDs in 2012 – but the team never successfully put pieces around him.

Running back Steven Jackson was at the end of a likely Hall of Fame career, the offensive line was a revolving door, and the receiver corps was a consistent diet of secondary targets and retreads. With that, Bradford suffered two ACL injuries that effectively ruined any chance he had of having a stable career, although he had two more decent seasons in Philadelphia and Minnesota before finishing his career – apparently – with Arizona.

Bradford’s last snaps came early in the 2018 season, and he’s not been on an NFL roster since. He hasn’t formally announced his retirement, and Forbes reported that his NFL income reached $129 million.

McCoy and Williams are still not only playing, but playing at a high level – and making headlines.

McCoy, 32, went to six Pro Bowls and was named to four first- and second-team All-Pro teams with the Bucs. He played last season with Carolina and, in his 10th pro season, collected five quarterback sacks. His career total of 59 ½ quarterback sacks ranks third among active NFL defensive tackles, and earlier this month he signed a three-year, $20.25 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys.

So far in his career, McCoy has earned almost $118 million.

Williams’ nine seasons with Washington has come to an ignominious end. He claimed the team mishandled an injury and didn’t like the way he was treated afterward, so he sat out all of last season. He has asked to be released but the club declined, and he is now seeking a trade that seems imminent.

Williams, 31, made seven consecutive Pro Bowls from 2012-18 as the Redskins’ left tackle. In 2016, the team made him the NFL’s highest-paid offensive tackle, and in his career, Williams has earned almost $96 million so far.

– – –

McCoy gave SI Sooners his recollection of that unforgettable night 10 years ago.

“Surreal,” he said. “But expected. Simply because we knew the work we put in. We knew how talented we were, and it’s not an arrogant statement (because) I’m around Trent Williams every day. I watched him practice. I watched him train. I see how athletic he is. I’ve watched him every game. I’ve seen Sam in practice. The stuff they don’t see in practice, that they only see in the game, the extra throws he makes in practice, the extra work he puts in, the things he’s done to get to this point.

“I know for certain, me, the work I put in. I mean, the day before scrimmages, I would go out back behind my apartment, or when I was living in a house, I would go out on this little patch of grass and work on my technique, on my steps. I’d practice my hands and getting my feet right. The day before scrimmages. I did that religiously. And my roommates can attest to that.

“And I grew up knowing Jermaine (Gresham), so I knew how talented he was and always has been, and then when he got to college, the work he put in just made him that much better.

“So when I say it was expected, you expect to succeed. Now, to be four first-round picks? You know, we all knew we had first-round talent. But that was very exceptional. And it was a blessing. And can’t nobody take that from us.”

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