Cal Football: The Best 15 Golden Bear Values in NFL Draft History
Former Cal cornerback Camryn Bynum is expected to be taken somewhere between the third and sixth rounds in this week’s NFL draft. Offensive line teammate Jake Curhan may be chosen in the fifth round or beyond.
But as other Cal players who have exceeded draft-day expectations show us, this weekend's selections will be merely the starting point to their professional careers and doesn't limit what they might eventually achieve in the NFL.
What would you think about a linebacker picked in the fifth round of the draft who played 16 NFL seasons and averaged nearly 100 tackles a season?
How about a quarterback not chosen until the 18th round who led his team team to the Super Bowl?
Hardy Nickerson and Joe Kapp took those paths from Cal to NFL stardom and others chosen after the first two rounds also have turned into great draft values.
*** In the video above, SI's Greg Bishop talks about quarterback Trey Lance, one of the most fascinating prospects in the NFL draft that begins Thursday.
Below we rank the top-15 Cal draft picks chosen after the first two rounds,. The likes of Aaron Rodgers, Ron Rivera and Craig Morton - all chosen in the first or second rounds - were not considered for this list because they were expected to excel.
Our list includes players dating back to the 1930s and covers virtually every position group, topped by five linebackers:
Hardy Nickerson
Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
1. HARDY NICKERSON, LB (1987, 5th round, No. 122 pick): Productive at Cal, productive in the NFL, where he played 16 seasons —including six with Pittsburgh and seven with Tampa Bay — and racked up 1,586 tackles, 21 sacks, 19 forced fumbles and 14 fumble recoveries. He was a five-time Pro Bowl pick and a two-time first-team All-Pro. And 121 players were drafted ahead of him in 1987.
Joe Kapp
Sports Illustrated
2. JOE KAPP, QB (1959, 18th round, 209th pick): Taken late by Washington, Kapp instead jumped to the Canadian Football League. He got the last word, finally signing with the Minnesota Vikings in 1967. He played just four NFL seasons, but was a Pro Bowl pick in 1969 when he threw 19 touchdowns (including seven in one game to tie an NFL record) and led Minnesota into Super Bowl IV. He passed for 183 yards but was intercepted twice and the Kansas City Chiefs won 23-7.
Keenan Allen
Photo by Robert Hanashiro, USA Today
3. KEENAN ALLEN, WR (2013, 3rd round, No. 76 pick): Hardly a shot-in-the-dark pick, Allen has played eight seasons with 624 career receptions for 7,397 yards and 42 touchdowns. He’s been a Pro Bowl selection each of the past four seasons since suffering a torn ACL that cost him most of the 2016 campaign. He totaled 403 catches for 4,780 yards and 26 TDs from 2017 through '20. Allen has also missed action due to a lacerated kidney and a fractured clavicle.
4. SCOTT FUJITA, LB (2002, 5th round, No. 143 pick): An All-Rookie pick in 2002, Fujita went on to play 11 NFL seasons, piling up 771 tackles, 23.5 sacks and seven interceptions. He had five tackles and recovered a fumble in the New Orleans Saints’ 31-17 win over Indianapolis in Super Bow XLIV.
Justin Forsett
Photo by Isaiah J. Downing, USA Today
5. JUSTIN FORSETT, RB (2008, 7th round, No. 233 pick): Forsett played nine seasons for seven teams, rushing for just under 4,000 career yards and scoring 20 touchdowns. His best year was was 2014 with Baltimore when he ran for 1,266 yards, with five games of at least 100 yards, then had 129 yards and scored a TD in the Ravens’ 35-31 loss to the New England Patriots in the playoffs.
6. LEE ARTOE, OT (1940, 11th round, No. 97 pick): A three-time Pro Bowl pick and a first-team All-Pro standout in 1942, Artoe returned a fumble 52 yards for a touchdown in the Chicago Bears’ 14-6 loss to Washington in the ’42 NFL championship game. He served in the Navy on its underwater demolition team during World War II, then returned to play four more seasons in the pros.
7. DOUG RIESENBERG, OT (1987, 6th round, No. 168 pick): An all-state athlete in Idaho in football, basketball and track and field before making his way to Cal, Riesenberg played 10 NFL seasons, the first nine with the New York Giants. He started 200 regular-season games and was the starting right tackle on the Giants’ team that beat Buffalo 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV.
Marvin Jones
Photo by Kirthmon F. Dozier, Imagn Content Services
8. MARVIN JONES, WR (2012, 5th round, No. 166 pick): Jones had a career-best 76 receptions last fall for the Detroit Lions and has caught 32 touchdowns the past four seasons. Jones' career totals: 423 catches, 6,025 yards, 51 TDs. Last month, Jones signed a two-year, free-agent contract for $14.5 million with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
9. PERRY SCHWARTZ, End (1938, 6th round, No. 43 pick): The 6-foot-2, 199-pounder was the first Cal player picked in the NFL draft who went on to success. He played six seasons, the first five for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and caught 105 passes for 1,696 yards and 10 touchdowns for his career — big numbers for the era. Schwartz was a four-time Pro Bowl pick and a first-team All-Pro selection in 1940, when he led the NFL with a 17.6 yards-per-catch average. He missed three years, serving as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II.
Brandon Mebane
Photo by Ron Chenoy, USA Today
10. BRANDON MEBANE, DT (2007, 3rd round, No. 85 pick): Mebane made 176 starts and had 467 tackles during his 13-year career that ended after the 2019 season. He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a 43-8 win over Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII, posting three tackles, including one tackle for loss for the ferocious Legion of Boom defense.
Bryan Anger
Photo by Scott Galvin, USA Today
11. BRYAN ANGER, P (2012, 3rd round, No. 70 pick): Recently signed by the Dallas Cowboys, Anger averaged 46.2 yards per punt over his first nine seasons with Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Houston, his 651 kicks covering more than 17 miles. In 2014, Anger’s 47.5-yard average led the NFL.
12. MATT HAZELTINE, LB (1955, 4th round, 45th pick): Hazeltine played 15 NFL seasons, the first 14 with the 49ers, and was twice a Pro Bowl pick. He had 13 career interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries. Hazeltine died at the age of 53 in 1987, a victim of ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. He was posthumously voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Tully Banta-Cain
Photo by Benny Sieu, Journal Sentinel
13. TULLY BANTA-CAIN, OLB (2003, 7th round, No. 239 pick): In eight NFL seasons, six of them at New England, Banta-Cain played in 13 postseason games and was part of two Super Bowl victories with the Patriots. He had 249 career tackles and 27.5 sacks, including 10 in 2009.
Desmond Bishop
Photo by Mark Hoffman, Imagineer Content Services
14. DESMOND BISHOP, LB (2007, 6th round, No. 192 pick): Bishop assembled 301 tackles in an eight-year career with five teams. He an had eight tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery in the Green Bay Packers’ 31-25 win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
14. MATT GIORDANO, DB (2005, 4th round, No. 135 pick): Giordano played nine seasons with five teams. He had 11 career interceptions, two of them returned for TDs, and had 227 tackles, and helped the Indianapolis Colts to a 29-17 win over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI.
15. JIM BREECH, PK (1978, 8th round, No. 205 pick): Kickers usually are picked low but Breech played 14 seasons, making 243 field goals, 517 extra points and scoring 1,246 points. He scored 100 points in a season four times and played with the Cincinnati Bengals in a 26-21 loss to the 49ers in Super Bowl XVI.
OTHERS: Brandon Whiting, DL (1998, 4th round, No. 112 pick); Doug Brien, PK (1994, 3rd round, No. 85 pick); Rhett Hall, DT (1991, 6th round, No. 147 pick); Reggie Camp, DE (1983, 3rd round, No. 68 pick); Jeff Barnes, LB (1977, 5th round, No. 115 pick).
Cover photo of Joe Kapp (22) in the 1959 Rose Bowl courtesy of Cal Athletics
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
