Sun Devil Science: ASU in the NFL Draft – WR/TE

In our third installment of covering every Arizona State football player to appear in the NFL, Devils Digest's Joe Healey breaks down the history how Sun Devils panned out in the pros at the wide receiver and tight end positions.

History in the NFL Draft: Selected in the 17th round (199th overall) by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1955 NFL Draft, Gene Mitcham is the first known pro selection at wide receiver or tight end from Arizona State. Mitcham's pro career would be spent in two games for the Philadelphia eagles in 1958 in which he caught three total passes for 39 yards with one touchdown.

Other standout Sun Devils would be drafted in the 1950s at the position such as John Allen and Charlie Mackey, but when the '60s arrived, ASU would produce some of the most productive pro receivers and tight ends the school has ever seen.

An all-purpose player at ASU during college football's one-platoon era and initially a running back in the NFL, by the time Charley Taylor completed his pro career he was undoubtedly the top NFL performer to have every played at Arizona State.

Selected third overall in the 1964 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, Taylor remains the player to be drafted the highest more than 50 years later. The United Press International Rookie of the Year in 1964, Taylor became the first NFL rookie in 20 years to finish in the league's top-10 in both rushing (sixth, 755 yards) and receiving (eighth, 844 yards), while his 53 receptions on the year established a new NFL record for running backs.

In his third pro season, Taylor switched to receiver full time - a la D.J. Foster for 2015 - and the results were immediate and substantial as he led the NFL in receiving that season and the next. Taylor retired after the 1977 season and finished his career as the NFL's all-time career leader with 649 receptions for 9,110 yards with 79 touchdowns. An eight-time Pro-Bowler, Taylor was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

The year after Taylor was drafted, the Redskins selected yet another Sun Devil who would go on to a legendary career in tight end Jerry Smith, chosen in the ninth round (118th overall).

A two-year standout at ASU after transferring from the junior college level, Smith twice earned Pro Bowl nods in his 13-year NFL career and finished his playing days with 421 receptions for 5,496 yards with 60 touchdowns. At the time of his retirement, his 60 touchdown catches stood as an NFL career record among tight ends.

The 1966 NFL Draft featured yet another highly productive Sun Devil in the pro ranks in receiver Ben Hawkins, chosen in the third round (36th overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles. A team-leading receiver and All-American defensive back at ASU, in 1967 Hawkins became only the second Sun Devil to post a 1,000-yard receiving season in the NFL when he caught 59 passes for 1,265 yards with 10 scores for the Eagles. Over his nine-year career that also included one season with the Cleveland Browns, Hawkins appeared in 104 games with 67 starts, catching 261 passes for 4,764 yards with 32 scores.

In 1969, the Sun Devil pair of Larry Walton and Fair Hooker was taken and both ASU products enjoyed lengthy NFL careers.

Chosen in the third round (59th overall) by Detroit, Walton caught 173 passes for 2,689 yards and 27 touchdowns in eight seasons, while Hooker, picked in the fifth round (124th overall) by Cleveland, played six pro seasons and totaled 129 receptions for 1,845 yards with eight touchdowns.

After recording the first 1,000-yard receiving season in Sun Devil history as an All-American member of ASU's undefeated 1970 squad, J.D. Hill next became one of the highest drafted players in program history when he was chosen fourth overall in the 1971 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills.

A Pro Bowler his second season in 1972 when he posted career highs of 52 receptions for 754 yards, Hill ultimately played five years in Buffalo before his final two with the Detroit Lions, appearing in 73 games with 72 starts and catching 185 passes for 2,880 yards with 21 touchdowns.

Ultimately, four total wide receivers from ASU's legendary 1970 team would play in the NFL, starting with Hill followed by Calvin Demery, drafted in the eighth round (206th overall) by Minnesota in the 1972 NFL Draft. The next year, both Steven Holden and Ed Beverly were taken, with Holden being the second receiver taken in the draft and the 16th overall pick by Cleveland. Beverly was chosen in the fifth round (122nd overall) by San Francisco.

Demery played five career games and Beverly made a pair of NFL appearances, while Holden played 54 games over five total seasons, catching 62 passes for 927 yards with four touchdowns.

Morris Owens recorded only the second 1,000-yard receiving season in Sun Devil history as a junior in 1973 and later was picked in the fifth round (106th overall) by the Miami Dolphins in 1975. In six years of combined service with the Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Owens appeared in 62 games with 116 receptions for 2,062 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Chosen in 11th round (262nd overall) by San Diego, tight end Dave Grannell appeared in nine games his rookie season with the Chargers, recording three receptions for 51 yards.

Larry Mucker was next up to be taken from ASU, as in 1977 he was selected in the ninth round (251st overall) by Tampa Bay. Mucker played four seasons with the Buccaneers, appearing in 53 games with 11 starts, catching 33 passes for 635 yards with five touchdowns.

The 1978 NFL Draft produced one of the most productive receivers and tight ends in eventual College Football Hall of Fame wide receiver John Jefferson as well as Bruce Hardy.

Jefferson was selected 14th overall by San Diego, immediately carried his All-America credentials from college to the pro level as he posted three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons to begin his career. Jefferson's third season was his finest, as he hauled in 82 receptions for 1,340 yards with 13 touchdowns over the course of the 1980 campaign.

After three seasons in San Diego, he spent the next four in Green Bay then his final playing season in Cleveland. In eight NFL seasons, Jefferson appeared in 102 games with 96 starts and caught 351 passes for 5,714 yards with 47 touchdowns.

Originally a quarterback before shifting to tight end at ASU, Hardy enjoyed a tremendously lengthy career in the NFL as he spent his entire 12-year tenure with the Miami Dolphins. In total, Hardy appeared in 151 games with 95 starts and caught 256 passes for 2,455 yards with 25 touchdowns.

In the late 1970s and early '80s, Chris DeFrance was taken in the sixth round (164th overall) by Dallas and appeared in four NFL games and then John Mistler and Melvin Hoover were both chosen by the New York Giants in the 1981 NFL Draft.

Now a member of ASU's Sports Hall of Fame, Mistler was picked in the third round (59th overall) and ultimately appeared in 45 career games across five seasons and caught 72 passes for 737 yards with three touchdowns.

Hoover, picked in the sixth round (145th overall) played four seasons in the NFL, appearing in 34 games while catching 16 passes for 364 yards with two scores.

In the 1982 NFL Draft, Jerry Bell became the highest drafted tight end ASU had ever produced at the time when he was taken in the third round (74th overall) by Tampa Bay. In five pro seasons, Bell appeared in 60 games and caught 101 passes for 1,218 yards with seven touchdowns.

Also that season, Bernard Henry made it to the NFL level despite not being drafted and he ultimately played four seasons with the Colts and one with the Rams, appearing in 39 games with 10 starts and catching 51 passes for 207 yards and six touchdowns.

The very next year, ASU continued the trend of sending a receiver and a tight end to the NFL, starting with former Olympian Ron Brown who was taken in the second round (41st overall) by Cleveland. Next, tight end Ron Wetzel was chosen in the fourth round (92nd overall) by Kansas City.

Brown went on to enjoy an eight-year career with the Rams and Raiders as a receiver and kick returner, appearing in 100 career games, catching 98 passes for 1,791 yards with 13 touchdowns while also returning four kickoffs for touchdowns over his career.

Wetzel's NFL career was limited to his rookie season, though he saw action in all 16 games that year for the Chiefs.

Don Kern made it three straight years for a Sun Devil tight end to be drafted when he was picked in the sixth round (150th overall) by Cincinnati in the 1984 NFL Draft. Kern appeared in 25 career games over three seasons, and caught two passes for 14 yards.

In the 1985 NFL Draft, Doug Allen was chosen in the fourth round (94th overall), but no records can be found of him having played in any pro games.

Two key components at wide receiver from ASU's 1987 Rose Bowl championship squad would also make it to the NFL at a high level in Bruce Hill and Aaron Cox.

Drafted in the fourth round (106th overall) by Tampa Bay in the 1987 NFL Draft, Hill enjoyed a solid NFL career that included a 1,000-yard receiving season in 1988. Over five pro seasons, Hill appeared in 57 games with 50 starts, catching 190 passes for 2,942 yards with 23 scores.

Cox, now a member of ASU's Sports Hall of Fame, became the fifth Sun Devil wide receiver taken in the first round of the NFL Draft when he was taken 20th overall by the Rams in 1988. He enjoyed his best pro season as a rookie, starting 15 of 16 games played, catching 28 passes for 590 yards and five touchdowns. In totals over six seasons with the Rams and Colts, Cox appeared in 82 career games with 28 starts and caught 102 passes for 1,732 yards and eight touchdowns.

Lynn James was next to be drafted in the pros, selected in the fifth round (123rd overall) by Cincinnati. In total, James played three seasons in the NFL, appearing in 25 games with 10 receptions for 139 yards with one touchdown.

Despite being one of ASU's top all-time receivers and returns specialists, Eric Guliford was not drafted in 1993 but was still able to break into the NFL. In five seasons spent with the Vikings, Panthers and Saints, the Peoria native appeared in 52 games with 13 starts and caught 67 passes for 975 yards with two touchdowns while also posting two touchdowns on kick and punt returns.

After just one season spent in Tempe, Johnny Thomas was selected in the seventh round (204th overall) by the St. Louis Rams in the 1995 NFL Draft. In four pro seasons, Thomas appeared in 51 games with two starts, catching 34 passes for 400 yards.

Fittingly, ASU's historic 1996 Pac-10 Champion team produced numerous draft picks at multiple positions, including wide receiver and tight end.

The most notable player of this group was one of the best receivers ever to play for Arizona State in Keith Poole, chosen in the fourth round (116th overall) by New Orleans. Poole's five-year NFL career included 54 games played with 26 starts and he caught 96 passes for 1,734 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Steve Bush did not hear his name called on the draft days in 1997, but that didn't stop him from being one of the longest-tenured tight ends ever to come from Arizona State as he played nine seasons in the NFL. In 118 total games played with 28 starts for the Bengals, Cardinals and 49ers, Bush caught 51 passes for 385 yards with three touchdowns.

A junior on ASU's Rose Bowl team, Lenzie Jackson stepped in for Poole as the Devils' top target in 1997. Though he fell undrafted in 1998, Jackson appeared in 21 career games with the Jaguars, Browns and Steelers.

Tight end Matt Cercone was signed by Minnesota as an undrafted rookie free agent in 1999 and played five games during the 2000 and '02 seasons with the Vikings.

After a stellar three-year career that saw him become perhaps the greatest tight end in Sun Devil history, Todd Heap skipped his senior season at ASU to enter the NFL Draft, where he was chosen 31st overall in 2001 by the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.

A Pro Bowl selection in two of his three seasons, the Mesa native put together an excellent NFL career that spanned 12 seasons - 10 with Baltimore before his final two with the Arizona Cardinals.

In total, Heap appeared in 146 games with 132 starts and caught 499 passes for 5,869 yards with 42 touchdowns. His best season as a pro came in 2005 when he caught 75 passes for 855 yards with seven touchdowns - all single-season career bests in the NFL for Heap.

Like Heap, another Arizonan would soon submit a record setting three-year career before an early departure into the NFL in wide receiver Shaun McDonald, picked in the fourth round (106th overall) by St. Louis in 2003. McDonald went on to play seven total seasons with the Rams, Lions and Steelers, appearing in 88 games with 17 starts and catching 220 passes for 2,490 yards with 11 touchdowns. McDonald's best season came in 2007 when he neared the 1,000-yard mark with the Lions by totaling 943 yards on 79 receptions with six touchdowns.

McDonald passed the torch at ASU to a freshman teammate of his, Derek Hagan, who ultimately would finish his Sun Devil career holding every major school receiving record and also was the Pac-10 Conference's career leader in receptions when he graduated following the 2005 season.

In the spring of 2006, Hagan was selected in the third round (82nd overall) by the Miami Dolphins. Since breaking into the NFL, Hagan has played for the Dolphins, Giants, Raiders, and Bills and finished his ninth pro season last year with the Tennessee Titans. Overall, Hagan has appeared in 99 career games and has registered 148 receptions for 1,734 yards and seven scores.

In just three seasons, Zach Miller put together one of the finest careers by a Sun Devil tight end and parlayed that into becoming a second round selection (38th overall) by the Oakland Raiders in 2007. Through the 2014 season, in eight seasons spent split between the Raiders and Seahawks, Miller has appeared in 110 games with 106 starts and has caught 328 passes for 3,804 yards in the NFL.

Kyle Williams starred as a receiver and punt returner for ASU from 2006-09 and in the 2010 NFL Draft, he was chosen in the sixth round (206th overall) by San Francisco. In time with the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, Williams has played in 39 games with 47 receptions for 574 yards and four touchdowns. The Scottsdale product recently signed with the Denver Broncos.

A pair of former Hamilton Huskies who made their way to ASU, Kerry Taylor and Gerell Robinson, made it into the NFL despite not being drafted after their college careers.

Taylor played in 10 total games with the Cardinals and Jaguars with four starts in Jacksonville in 2013, totaling 22 receptions for 229 yards with one touchdown. Robinson, crafted into a tight end at the pro level, has appeared in three total games with the Browns and Dolphins.

Speedster Rashad Ross, undrafted in 2013, appeared in two games with the Chicago Bears in 2014.

Top NFL Players: At receiver, the nod goes to Charley Taylor, the only Pro Football Hall of Fame member from Arizona State at wide receiver or tight end. John Jefferson also certainly merits mention as he was one of the best in the game during his prime and stands behind Taylor in terms of pro statistics by receivers to come from ASU.

For the tight ends, arguments can be made either way for Jerry Smith or Todd Heap as the top to come from ASU, with Heap likely to be considered the best.

Heap played 146 career games compared to Smith's 168, but caught 499 passes for 5,869 yards to Smith's 421 receptions for 5,496 yards. Smith, however, was a touchdown machine for the Redskins and had 60 scoring catches to Heap's 42.

On the honorable mention level for receiver would have to be Ben Hawkins, while Zach Miller fills the spot at tight end.

Best Not to Make It: Not many wide receivers and tight ends of substantial prestige failed to appear in the NFL, but among the most recognizable receivers are Greg Hudson, a top receiver during Danny White's tenure, Ron Fair, who posted a 1,000-yard season in 1989, do-it-all threat Rudy Burgess as well as the dynamic pair of Michael Jones and Chris McGaha, who starred under Dennis Erickson at ASU. Though players of this group spent time on NFL rosters or practice squads, none saw active regular season duty.

Statistically, McGaha is clearly the most accomplished receiver from ASU never to have played at the pro level as over his career he caught 168 passes for 2,242 yards with nine touchdowns.

At tight end, the two most prominent Sun Devils not to ever see game action in the NFL likely have to be Joe Petty from the 1970s and, much more recently, Chris Coyle.

Petty was a key offensive component for the Sun Devil teams that posted a combined 32-3 record from 1970-72, catching 81 passes for 1,352 yards with 11 touchdowns through his ASU career. Despite being selected in the 16th round of the 1973 NFL Draft by San Diego, he never saw game action.

Coyle's career blossomed exponentially with Todd Graham's arrival as he ultimately finished his career ranked third all-time at ASU in receptions among tight ends and was a First-Team All-Pac-12 selection as a senior in 2013.

Currently in the NFL: In 2014, Derek Hagan completed his ninth season in the NFL as a member of the Tennessee Titans, while Zach Miller (Seattle), Gerell Robinson (Cleveland), Rashad Ross (Washington) and Kyle Williams (now with Denver) also remain in the league.

2015 NFL Draft Prospects: ASU's most highly qualified NFL prospect in over a decade, receiver Jaelen Strong has the credentials to perhaps be the first Sun Devil chosen in the first round since Terrell Suggs in 2003.

Between his accomplishments on the field and the NFL Combine, Strong enters the draft on a very high note, but the immense talent pool at wide receiver will likely dictate whether he is picked in the first or second round.

If Strong is selected in the first round, he would become the first Sun Devil receiver taken in the first round since Aaron Cox in 1988 and the sixth Arizona State wide receiver ever taken in the first round.

Additionally, Strong will help redirect a recent dubious trend for ASU as since Keith Poole in 1997, only three Sun Devil wide receivers (Shaun McDonald, Derek Hagan and Kyle Williams) have been drafted.

Even if Strong slides to the second round, he will be only the fourth second round selection since Suggs' draft season, joining Zach Miller in 2007, Mike Pollak in 2008 and Brock Osweiler in 2012.

At tight end, this time last year it was expected that De'Marieya Nelson would emerge as a go-to threat his senior season and combine his special teams and defensive abilities to perhaps provide all-purpose appeal to an NFL franchise. With the lack of production from his senior season, Nelson is not expected to be drafted but his diverse took kit should enable him at least a training camp opportunity.

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