UNC Football: Top 10 Tar Heels selected in NFL Draft since 1980
By John Ellis
With the 2021 NFL Draft scheduled for April 29th, I wanted to share my top ten list of draft picks from the UNC Football program over the last forty years.
The criteria to make this list for UNC Football top ten was to either be named as an All-Pro or make the Pro Bowl during their professional career. This list is not all-inclusive as there have been other Carolina players that were drafted and did indeed either make the Pro-Bowl or be recognized as an All-Pro. Ethan Horton from the 1985 draft and Mitch Trubisky from the 2017 draft are just a few that did not make this list. That does not, by any means, take away from their accomplishments.
Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dazz Newsome, Dyami Brown and Chazz Surratt are all expected to be selected in the upcoming draft. While the expectations are very high for all five, only time will tell just how successful they are moving forward.
The 2021 version of the UNC Football program has players on both sides of the ball, including Heisman candidate Sam Howell, that are NFL caliber talent but that is a story for another day. Today is about remembering the greats that have come before and to celebrate their success as representatives of the Tar Heels. Let’s get started.