With the 2019 NFL Draft quickly approaching, it’s interesting to look back at some teams’ under-the-radar selections in past years.
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar sees defensive back Ken Houston as the biggest draft steal of all time for the Tennessee Titans, known as the Houston Oilers during that time period.
The reasoning behind this is that NFL and AFL clubs hadn’t correctly done their homework on small black colleges. Because of this, the Oilers were able to snag Houston, who would go on to be one of the team’s star players, in the ninth round of the 1967 NFL Draft.
“Houston attended Prairie View A&M and slipped through the cracks when NFL and AFL teams weren’t caught up with their scouting services for smaller black colleges,” Farrar wrote.
“So he languished until the 214th overall pick in the ninth round of the 1967 draft, but became an immediate impact defender for the Oilers from 1967 through 1972, and Washington from 1973 through 1980.”
Here’s a look at some of Houston’s top plays:
Houston went on to make the Pro Bowl 12 times, and was a two-time first-team All-Pro.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, and had racked up 49 interceptions for 898 yards with nine touchdowns by the time his career came to a close.
