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Oklahoma’s football program is one of the best supported in the country. They have a tremendous record of providing players for the NFL.
The Oklahoma Sooners have hit hard times. They have not won a national championship since 2000. Brent Venables, however, is seen as the best coach to bring success back to the program.
Down the years, there have been many stars who lit up the NFL after shining with the Oklahoma Sooners. Adrian Peterson, perhaps, outperformed them all.
This year, 2022, has a number of high-quality active NFL players, who once played college football at Owen Field.
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Peterson’s emergence set a trend. Offensive players are the order of the day for Oklahoma, and 2022 sees a number of these alumni plying their trade in the NFL.
At the start of the 2022 season, there were a total of 42 former Oklahoma Sooners in the league. Below, we will rank the top 10 who are currently active.
Top 10 NFL players from Oklahoma in 2022
10. Orlando Brown, LT, Kansas City Chiefs
Having been signed to rectify the non-existent protection that Patrick Mahomes was receiving, Orlando Brown has been a brilliant pick-up for the Kansas City Chiefs.
The left tackle has played in the NFL for five seasons and has been a three-time Pro Bowler during that time.
The Chiefs gave up a lot of picks to secure Brown’s services, and he hasn’t disappointed.
In his first year, he was second in the league in terms of run block wins, and he only allowed four sacks all season.
These came when he was adjusting to the offense, and he has been lights out ever since.
9. Creed Humphrey, C, Kansas City Chiefs
Creed Humphrey was a stud offensive lineman out of Oklahoma heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.
Having seen Mahomes hit from pillar to post in their Super Bowl defeat to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they selected the former Sooner in the second round.
Humphrey has been sensational ever since. As a rookie, he finished third in the Offensive Rookie of the Year vote, as well as earning First Team All-Pro honors.
After not allowing a single sack at the collegiate level, he allowed just one as a rookie in the NFL, not missing a single snap that year.
8. Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
While Hurts qualifies as an Alabama alumnus, too, his best college performances came with the Oklahoma Sooners.
After having to wait a while for the QB position in Philadelphia to be his, Hurts has definitely taken his chance with the Eagles.
The start of the 2022 season has seen Philly hit an 8-0 record, in which Hurts has been a star performer.
In eight starts, he has thrown for 2,042 yards, 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions. These stats place him as one of the best performing quarterbacks in the NFL.
7. Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Mark Andrews is a big-bodied tight end who can dominate defensive coverage.
He has made the Pro Bowl twice in four full seasons with Baltimore. The 2021 season was a career year for him.
He caught for 1,361 yards and nine touchdowns, making the All-Pro first team.
Few tight ends are more productive than Andrews, and he has carried his form into 2022.
He already has five touchdowns and 488 yards from just 42 receptions, putting him on course to surpass his best ever season.
6. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
CeeDee Lamb has the potential to be one of the most explosive wide receivers in the NFL.
It was difficult to grade him coming out of Oklahoma as the value of rookie receivers was changing. Teams were just starting to trade away high-earning WR1s in search of finding value in younger legs in the draft.
Dallas took the jump on Lamb in the first round back in 2020, and his performances have justified the selection.
Lamb is the archetypal long receiver. He’s tall and athletic, but perhaps lacks the physicality to help on third-down plans.
He’s a homerun hitter, not a pincher. His best year came in 2021 as he made the Pro Bowl with a return of 1,102 receiving yards.
After eight games in 2022, the former Sooner star already has 556 yards and is Dak Prescott’s primary target. If the Cowboys are to do anything this year, CeeDee Lamb will be at the heart of it.
5. Marquise Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Marquise "Hollywood" Brown came out of Oklahoma with a huge reputation, but has had to rejuvenate his own NFL career after the Baltimore Ravens traded him to the Arizona Cardinals.
Brown is a victim of the aforementioned changing trend in the NFL. Teams generally don’t want to pay receivers beyond their rookie deal.
His final year with the Ravens was rather brilliant. He caught six touchdown passes and registered 1,008 yards.
It wasn’t league-leading, but it showed Brown was improving and starting to fulfill his sizable potential.
4. Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the Hollywood Brown trade was none other than Kyler Murray.
The Arizona Cardinals QB wanted to be reunited with his Oklahoma teammate, and the Cards made the deal.
Murray’s own NFL career has been up-and-down. Nobody can question his natural talent. He has proven he wasn’t just an overhyped baseball player, but he is yet to truly convince as a franchise leader.
Every so often, there are QBs who are brilliant on the field, but just can’t lead a franchise. Donovan McNabb and Daunte Culpepper spring to mind.
Murray has time to end such comparisons, but he needs to start adding wins to his excellent individual numbers.
He has been voted to two Pro Bowls and threw for 3,971 and 3,787 yards in 2020 and 2021 respectively. This year, 2022, has seen the Cardinals struggle, but Murray has 2,168 yards and 12 touchdown passes and is their star performer on offense.
3. Lane Johnson, RT, Philadelphia Eagles
Lane Johnson will retire as one of the best offensive linemen of the new millennium. He has won a Super Bowl with the Eagles and could add another in 2022.
His dominant style on the line is down to his frame, which was boosted by a promising shot-put career in his youth.
Johnson has had to overcome struggles away from the field, having missed three games due to depression in 2021.
However, he has returned to the gridiron as strong as ever, offering Jalen Hurts invaluable protection.
To show how good Johnson has been, you need look no further than this statistic. As a right tackle, Johnson hasn’t allowed a single sack since Week 11 of 2020.
2. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Picking a number one for this list of the best Oklahoma Sooners falls entirely down to personal preference. There is very little to split Joe Mixon and Trent Williams at this juncture.
Mixon is in the form of his life in 2022. In Week 9, he scored four rushing touchdowns in a win against the Carolina Panthers, as well as registering 153 yards in a single game.
Mixon accelerates through contact exceptionally well, and that should help his longevity in the NFL.
He was an integral part of the Cincinnati Bengals team that went all the way to the Super Bowl in 2021, and was voted to the Pro Bowl.
This year, 2022, has seen a slight drop as the Bengals have continued to fail on the offensive line, but Mixon is still a serious playmaker. He has the potential to be a multiple Pro Bowler and will continue to run spectacularly.
1. Trent Williams, LT, San Francisco 49ers
In 2022, the greatest active Oklahoma Sooners product is San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams.
Williams has been the benchmark for offensive linemen in the NFL ever since he was drafted fourth overall in 2010.
A veteran presence for the Niners, Williams has dominated defensive players consistently and has been voted to the Pro Bowl nine times.
He’s so strong and has an innate vision for the position. He senses where danger is going to come from and shuffles to prevent sacks before they can even develop.
Williams didn’t allow a single sack in 2021, and in five starts in 2022, he has yet to allow one either.
He is a guaranteed Hall of Famer. The only thing missing from Williams’ career is a Super Bowl ring. This year, 2022, could well be the former Oklahoma Sooner's year in an exceptional 49ers team.
