Huskies Top NFL Draft with 10 Selections
April 21, 1998
Washington proved to be the most popular team among colleges during the 1998 National Football League draft. The Huskies had 10 players selected to top all colleges in this year's draft. Florida State was second with nine picks while Tennessee was third with seven selections. The next highest Pac-10 school was Arizona State with five selections.
The 10 draft selections is the most ever from a Husky team in a seven-round draft. Washington's 1982 and 1991 teams both produced 12 draft picks, but both of those drafts included 12 rounds.
Since the 1990 NFL draft the Huskies have had 51 players selected.
The Pac-10 Conference produced the second-most players taken in this year's draft with a total of 37. The Southern Conference led the way with 40 overall picks.
The 1998 NFL draft marked the fourth time this decade a Husky tight end has been selected in the first three rounds of the draft. Cameron Cleeland was a second-round choice by the New Orleans Saints. This year's draft was the first time had two tight ends selected in the same year. Washington backup tight end Jeremy Brigham was choosen by the Oakland Raiders in the fifth round. The 1995 NFL draft did produce a pair of players who went on to play tight end in the league. Mark Bruener, the Huskies' all-time reception leader for tight ends, was a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Washington wide receiver Eric Bjornson was selected by Dallas in the fourth round and has played strictly as a tight end for the Cowboys.
Husky running back Rashaan Shehee became the fifth Washington tailback taken in the draft during the '90s. Greg Lewis was a fifth-round pick by Denver in 1991, Napoleon Kaufman was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the first round in 1995, Leon Neal was taken in the sixth round in 1996 and Corey Dillon was picked by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round last year. Shehee was the Kansas City Chief's pick in the third round.
Here's a breakdown of the Huskies selected in the 1998 NFL draft:
Jerome Pathon, WR, 2nd round to Indianapolis Colts Tony Parrish, FS, 2nd round to Chicago Bears Cameron Cleeland, TE, 2nd round to New Orleans Saints Olin Kreutz, C, 3rd round to Chicago Bears Rashaan Shehee, TB, 3rd round to Kansas City Chiefs Jeremy Brigham, TE, 5th round to Oakland Raiders Jerry Jensen, LB, 5th round to Carolina Panthers Benji Olson, OG, 5th round to Tennessee Oilers Fred Coleman, WR, 6th round to Buffalo Bills Jason Chorak, DE, 7th round to St. Louis Rams
