Elite Oklahoma Sooners leader projected to be first-round pick in latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft

-

The Oklahoma Sooners are an established NFL pipeline, with hundreds of drafted players over the program's history. In 2023 and 2024, the Sooners had back-to-back first-round offensive tackles in Anton Harrison and Tyler Guyton.

However, if there's one area the Sooners haven't quite delivered on, it's putting defenders in the first round of the draft. The last time the Sooners had a first-round selection on defense was linebacker Kenneth Murray in 2020, a pick many thought was a reach at the time. Before that? Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy went third overall in 2010.

Those are the only two first-round defenders from Oklahoma since 2010. You'll have to go back to the early 2000s (2004) to find their previous first-round defenders. Compared to their SEC contemporaries, Oklahoma is well behind here, something that Brent Venables and company are trying to catch up on.

They might have found their first breakthrough player here in defensive end R Mason Thomas. In CBS Sports' latest mock draft , Thomas was selected 23rd overall by the Los Angeles Chargers.

"[Thomas is] Unofficially listed at 240 pounds, so you'd like to see if he could add 10 pounds to his frame. That said,[he is] better vs. the run than Donovan Ezeiruaku and might be a better, more explosive pass rusher. He can win with speed (including an incredible first step) or power, and makes plays all over the field."

I spoke to Alex Katson of Chargers Wire about the fit of Thomas with the Chargers, and he liked it from a team need perspective.

"Khalil Mack is aging and is on just a one-year deal as their top edge rusher. On top of that, Tuli Tuipulotu will be entering a contract year in 2026. They just extended Bud Dupree for a year, who they like as a rotational player and just drafted Kyle Kennard, but they need that elite starter at the top."

R Mason Thomas is fresh off a breakout season for the Sooners, leading the team as their top pass rusher. Oklahoma fought hard to retain him for one final season instead of declaring for the 2025 NFL Draft, and he's poised to be a team captain for next season. If he takes another step in his game, the first round is entirely reasonable for him.

Related: Jim Nagy pulls from top Super Bowl contender to boost Oklahoma Sooners overhauled scouting department

Komentar

Posting Komentar

Postingan populer dari blog ini

Naomi Wins Women's WWE Money In The Bank 2025 Ladder Match

-
Gambar
Naomi is Ms. Money in the Bank in WWE. Naomi defeated Roxanne Perez, Guilia, Rhea Ripley, Alexa Bliss, and Stephanie Vaquer at the Money in the Bank PLE to secure the Money in the Bank briefcase and earn a shot at a world championship whenever she wants for the next 12 months. The match was action packed and full of big spots on the ladders including Vaquer giving Devil's Kiss to Ripley on top of an elevated ladder, duo Pop Rocks moves on top of ladders, and numerous bumps that involved the ladder itself. MORE: Naomi Says She Wants To Use A Dangerous Weapon In A Match With Jade Cargill At one point during the match it looked as if Vaquer was going to scale the ladder and win the match. Instead, Roxanne Perez interfered and stopped her, which left the door open for Naomi to eventually get the W. Naomi has been on a hot run since turning heel after Elimination Chamber. Naomi viciously attacked Jade Cargill and put her thr...
Baca selengkapnya

Michigan to Mexico City present tight NASCAR travel logistics

-
Gambar
The NASCAR Cup Series will race in Mexico City next weekend, the first points paying race on international soil, which requires an intense logistical process considering they're practically racing just south of Canada this weekend. Michigan International Speedway. That race should end somewhere around 5 p.m. but the Mexico race cars will already be en route to the southern border according to NASCAR's vice president of racing operations Tom Bryant, a former Army Ranger who specializes in logistics. "Sunday night in Michigan, the Cup Series teams will swap out their race cars that morning before the garage opens," said Bryant on NASCAR's Hauler Talk podcast this week. "They'll go ahead and get their Mexico cars in, take them off the secondary hauler and load them into the main hauler that is going to Mexico… But then, after the green flag, those drivers will immediately begin getting that hauler ready to pull out, as soon as the race is over ....
Baca selengkapnya

'Be very careful': Republican Senators get stern warning from one of their own

-
Gambar
A longtime Republican political strategist and publisher of The Bulwark is issuing a warning to the senators in her party that they need to be careful where they stand on their colleague, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), being manhandled and handcuffed at a news conference when he tried to ask a question. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem claimed in an official statement from the DHS X account that Padilla didn't identify himself as a Senator at the event. She repeated the comment when speaking to Fox News about it later. MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace said of Noem, "she rose, you know, like a like a firework, if you will, in veepstakes and then seemed to sabotage her own chances when she wrote in her own words, her own telling of her experience murdering her own dog by shooting her own description of frisky puppy in the face." Want more breaking political news? Click for the latest headlines at Raw Story. "This is someone fo...
Baca selengkapnya