South Carolina Football: How the Gamecocks stack up in NFL Draft success at WR and DB

South Carolina Football: NFL Draft Success at Defensive Back since 2000

Defense back has been the strongest position for the Gamecocks in recent NFL Drafts. Though the team had a really nice run in the late '60s and early '70s, their most consistent stretch of seeing defensive backs drafted has come since the calendar flipped to the 2000s.

With 23 defensive backs taken in the last 25 NFL Drafts, including three in the last two drafts, South Carolina football has put some dudes in the league. Only Alabama (33), Georgia (31), LSU (30), and Florida (27) have had more secondary players drafted since 2000 than the Gamecocks. Those 23 picks are more than the Texas Longhorns, one of the programs that tries to claim the "DBU" moniker.

The entire list of USC defensive backs taken in the NFL Draft since 2000 can be seen below:

• Arturo Freeman (2000, 5th round, Miami Dolphins)
• Sheldon Brown (2002, 2nd round, Philadelphia Eagles)
• Andre Goodman (2002, 3rd round, Detroit Lions)
• Corey Jenkins (2003, 7th round, San Diego Chargers) *Began college career as quarterback*
• Dunta Robinson (2004, 1st round, Houston Texans)
• Deandre Eiland (2004, 6th round, Minnesota Vikings)
• Rod Wilson (2005, 7th round, Chicago Bears)
• Johnathan Joseph (2006, 1st round, Cincinnati Bengals)
• Ko Simpson (2006, 4th round, Buffalo Bills)
• Fred Bennett (2007, 4th round, Houston Texans)
• Captain Munnerlyn (2009, 7th round, Carolina Panthers)
• Stoney Woodson (2009, 7th round, New York Giants)
• Chris Culliver (2011, 3rd round, San Francisco 49ers)
• Stephon Gilmore (2012, 1st round, Buffalo Bills)
• Antonio Allen (2012, 7th round, New York Jets)
• DJ Swearinger (2013, 2nd round, Houston Texans)
• DeVonte Holloman (2013, 6th round, Dallas Cowboys)
• Rashad Fenton (2019, 6th round, Kansas City Chiefs)
• Jaycee Horn (2021, 1st round, Carolina Panthers)
• Israel Mukuamu (2021, 6th round, Dallas Cowboys)
• Cam Smith (2023, 2nd round, Miami Dolphins)
• Darius Rush (2023, 5th round, Indianapolis Colts)
• Marcellas Dial (2024, 6th round, New England Patriots)

Carolina DBs have made their mark on the NFL in the last 25 years. Sheldon Brown, Johnathan Joseph, Stephon Gilmore, and DJ Swearinger all made the Pro Bowl (Brown elected not to play), and Dunta Robinson left as the all-time leader in interceptions for the Houston Texans franchise before Johnathan Joseph overtook him on the leaderboard. Depending on which statistical outlet one checks, Joseph is also either the NFL's all-time leader or in 2nd place in league history (behind Champ Bailey) in passes defended.

Stephon Gilmore is a future Hall of Famer (potentially the program's first if Sterling Sharpe, John Abraham, Tom Addison, and Bobby Bryant continue to be snubbed), and he won the 2019 NFL Defensive MVP. Jaycee Horn is one of the most talented young corners in the game, and he is sure to join Gilmore and the others on the list of Pro Bowlers.