Heisman winner Tim Brown, while with the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII. Credit: Las Vegas Raiders
The Heisman Fraternity Is About To Add Another Top Draft Pick
Four NFL franchises have drafted five or more Heisman Trophy winners. Get your highlighters ready in case you’ve got a trivia night coming up.
The Tennessee Titans (including their seasons as the Houston Oilers) have drafted six Heisman winners, most recently Derrick Henry in 2016. So has Washington, which includes Ernie Davis and Joe Bellino, who never suited up for the DC club, but also includes, most recently, Jayden Daniels in 2024.
The Los Angeles Rams (including their time in St. Louis) have drafted eight Heisman winners, most recently Sam Bradford in 2010.
The record for bronze statue recipients selected by one team is held by the Detroit Lions, who have drafted a whopping 10 Heisman winners.
The Lions held an early appreciation for Heisman winners, drafting them in the second and third years of the award and in five in the first 15 years, including Frank Sinkwich and Leon Hart going first overall.
Detroit’s most recent Heisman pick was Andre Ware in 1990. He was overshadowed a bit by the Lions’ first overall Heisman pick a year earlier when Detroit took a certain running back destined for greatness named Barry Sanders.
The Las Vegas Raiders have drafted four Heisman winners, including three in the first round: Charles Woodson (fourth overall in 1998), Tim Brown (sixth overall in 1988) and Marcus Allen (10th overall in 1983). Their fourth Heisman drafted was Bo Jackson, a steal in the 1987 seventh round after he had spurned the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to start his Major League Baseball career with the Kansas City Royals.
And while there are no sure things, come Thursday, the Raiders will become the fourth team to draft a fifth Heisman winner when they use the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to take Indiana QB and 2025 Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza. At least we’re 99.999999% sure that will happen.
Assuming swine don’t take flight starting Thursday and Mendoza goes first to Las Vegas, the Hoosier great will be the 26th Heisman winner selected first overall and the sixth winner taken atop the draft among the last nine. That includes Daniels going second behind first overall Caleb Williams in 2024.
And if things go as expected, Mendoza will be the fifth straight Heisman winner selected among the top 2 picks and the ninth straight winner drafted in the top 10. He will also be the 17th Heisman winner taken in the first round among the past 18 winners. The lone outlier is Henry, who was a second-round pick in 2016 and the 45th pick overall. (Don’t think there aren’t more than a few regrets over that draft misjudgement.)
Overall, Mendoza is on pace to become the 45th Heisman winner selected in the top 5 and the 63rd recipient taken in the first round.
Fellow 2025 Heisman finalist Jeremiyah Love is considered a potential top 5 pick this week while fellow draft eligible Heisman finalist Diego Pavia is also drawing interest. The fourth Heisman finalist from 2025, Julian Sayin of Ohio State, will be a third-year Buckeye sophomore this fall.
