Kentucky All-Time First-Round NFL Draft Picks

Kentucky Football has produced 218 NFL draftees over the years — not an overly impressive number for an SEC program but still a strong number when compared to the full catalog of Division I football programs.

The Wildcats football program is seeing legitimate progress for the first time in a long time, too. Will Levis looks like he could be the answer for the Tennessee Titans, defensive end Josh Allen was just named a top 40 player in the NFL and 23 players have been drafted since the end of the 2018-19 season.

Of the 218 players drafted out of Lexington, 16 are first-round selections. Interestingly, 10 of those 16 players were taken within the first 9 picks of their respective drafts.

Here’s a look at the full list of Kentucky first-rounders:

Kentucky Football No. 1 Overall Selections

Kentucky football has produced a single No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft, one who unfortunately never amounted to much in the NFL despite a stellar college career.

Let’s dive in:

Tim Couch, QB – No. 1 Overall, 1999 NFL Draft (Cleveland Browns)

Sep 26,1998; Gainesville, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Tim Couch (2) in action rushing the ball against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports

Tim Couch was a member of the electric 1998 Kentucky Wildcats offense run by Hal Mumme and the late, great Mike Leach, one that was a top 10 unit in college football that season.

Couch put up over 8,000 yards passing across 2 seasons as the starter, scoring 74 touchdowns with 35 interceptions. To the dismay of Wildcats fans, Kentucky’s defense was below average that season and the Wildcats finished with a 7-5 record. Moral victories, sure, but they fell to No. 22 Arkansas by 7 and No. 11 Georgia by 2.

The Cleveland Browns liked what they saw from Couch and took him No. 1 overall in 1999, their first pick after football’s return to Cleveland. Unfortunately, Couch kicked off what would become a long line of mediocre quarterback play for the Browns.

Couch did play well in 2002, though, leading the Browns to the postseason with a 9-7 record. Despite this, he did not play in the Browns’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round due to injury. He played just one more season following a QB controversy with Browns backup Kelly Holcomb.

Other Notable Kentucky Draft Picks

Randall Cobb, WR – No. 64 Overall, 2011 NFL Draft (Green Bay Packers)

Randall Cobb was a legend at Kentucky in 2010, putting up back-to-back seasons of 1,000+ scrimmage yards. He handled duties such as quarterback, running back and wide receiver in Kentucky — known across college football for his versatility.

And that versatility translated to the NFL. The Green Bay Packers selected Cobb with the No. 64 overall pick in 2011, and he became a favorite target of future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers.

Cobb suffered an injury in 2013 — his third season in the NFL — in the middle of what would have been a 1,000-yard campaign. He followed it up with the best season of his career in 2014, where he amassed 1,287 yards on 91 receptions for 12 touchdowns, as well as over 1,000 return yards and 1 punt return touchdown.

Cobb would make stops in Dallas, Houston and New York with the Jets after 8 seasons with the Packers. He returned to Green Bay in 2021 and 2022 specifically because Aaron Rodgers asked Packers GM Brian Gutekunst to bring him back.

George Blanda, QB/K – No. 119 Overall, 1949 NFL Draft (Chicago Bears)

Nov 26, 1970; Detroit, MI, USA; FILE PHOTO; Oakland Raiders quarterback George Blanda (16) sets to pass against the Detroit Lions at Tiger Stadium. Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Blanda is considered to be the best football player to ever come out of Kentucky, and he’s got the accolades to prove it. The Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback played an incredible 25 seasons until age 48, the oldest player to take a snap in an NFL game by a considerable margin.

Blanda played at Kentucky in the late 1940s and retired from the NFL in 1975. He was selected in the 12th round of the 1949 NFL Draft, No. 119 overall by the Chicago Bears. The Bears and Blanda were never able to get anything going. He had a decent season in 1953, but went on to “retire” in 1959 not having amounted to much in Chicago.

But Blanda wasn’t done yet. He transitioned to the AFL in 1960 when offered by the Houston Oilers and became an instant star. Blanda was named the AFL Player of the Year in 1961, throwing for 3,330 yards and 36 touchdowns — amazing numbers for the time period. He spent 7 years with the Oilers and another 8 years with the Raiders after that.

It was during his time with the Oilers that Blanda became a legitimate threat as a kicker, too. He served as the Bears’ kicker but had terrible numbers. His stats with the Oilers look dreadful by today’s standards, but he was a fair kicker at 62.7% across his 7 seasons with the Oilers.

By the time his career was up, Blanda had reached 4 Pro Bowls and was named runner-up for MVP in 1970.

Josh Hines-Allen, OLB – No. 7 Overall, 2019 NFL Draft (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Josh Allen (no, not that one) is probably the best Wildcat in the league today.

Allen was a top-shelf draft pick, taken No. 7 overall in the 2019 draft. He was the catalyst of a stout 2018 Kentucky defense that led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record, one of their best finishes in recent history.

Allen made an immediate splash at the pro ranks with the Jaguars, too. He finished fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 and reached the Pro Bowl after totaling 10.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 11 tackles for loss.

The 2020-2022 seasons were slower than 2019 due to injury issues and other factors, but Allen was back to being dominant in 2023. The Jaguars’ outside linebacker turned in a Pro Bowl season where he totaled 17.5 sacks, second only to TJ Watt. That 17.5 number broke the Jaguars’ single-season franchise record for sacks, too.

Across his career Allen has compiled 45 sacks and 53 tackles for loss in 60 starts.

Josh Allen celebrates after setting the Jaguars single season record for sacks during a Week 17 game against the Carolina Panthers during the 2023 NFL season.

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Down South.