South Carolina Football: NFL Draft Success at Wide Receiver since 2000
While players like Sterling Sharpe, Robert Brooks, Alex Hawkins, and Marcus Robinson were all drafted prior to the year 2000, the Gamecocks still have had plenty of NFL Draft selections at wide receiver in the last 25 drafts.
USC has put 12 receivers in the draft since 2000 (all since 2005 and five since 2019), a number that sits in the top half of the SEC. In the league, that trails only LSU (25), Florida (21), Oklahoma (17), Alabama (15), Georgia (15), and Tennessee (15). If that year was shifted to 2005 (when Troy Williamson was picked, breaking an eight-year drought), only LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, and Georgia would be ahead.
The full list of Gamecock receivers drafted since 2000 can be found below:
- Troy Williamson (2005, 1st round, Minnesota Vikings)
- Sidney Rice (2007, 2nd round, Minnesota Vikings)
- Kenny McKinley (2009, 5th round, Denver Broncos)
- Alshon Jeffery (2012, 2nd round, Chicago Bears)
- Ace Sanders (2013, 4th round, Jacksonville Jaguars)
- Bruce Ellington (2014, 4th round, San Francisco 49ers)
- Pharoh Cooper (2016, 4th round, Los Angeles Rams)
- Deebo Samuel (2019, 2nd round, San Francisco 49ers)
- Bryan Edwards (2020, 3rd round, Las Vegas Raiders)
- Shi Smith (2021, 6th round, Carolina Panthers)
- Jalen Brooks (2023, 7th round, Dallas Cowboys)
- Xavier Legette (2024, 1st round, Carolina Panthers)
The Gamecock receiver room produced four different Pro Bowlers (Sidney Rice, Alshon Jeffery, Pharoh Cooper, and Deebo Samuel) during that stretch, and 2024 1st round pick Xavier Legette will have plenty of opportunities to add his name to that list.