Southern Miss has never been mistaken for a blue-blood NFL factory, but the Golden Eagles’ draft history punches far above its weight. The program has produced two Pro Football Hall of Famers, multiple Pro Bowlers, Super Bowl champions, franchise legends and several players who wildly outperformed their draft position. Southern Miss’ own record book lists more than 100 former Golden Eagles who have reached the NFL, and the school’s draft history includes everything from Brett Favre’s gunslinger legacy to Ray Guy changing the way football viewed punters.
For this ranking, I leaned hardest on how each player’s NFL career concluded: Hall of Fame standing, All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors, championships, longevity, franchise legacy, and whether the player finished his career as a true NFL name instead of just a good draft story. In celebration of tonight’s NFL Draft, here are the 10 best NFL draft picks in Southern Miss history.
1. Brett Favre — QB
Drafted: 2nd round, 1991, Atlanta Falcons
Years at Southern Miss: 1987-1990
Years in NFL: 1991 Atlanta; 1992-2007 Green Bay; 2008 NY Jets; 2009-2010 Minnesota
Before Brett Favre became the face of Green Bay Packers football, he was the fearless quarterback from Kiln who helped put Southern Miss on national football maps. At Southern Miss from 1987-90, Favre started as a 17-year-old freshman and became one of the most important players in school history. Southern Miss credits him with 7,695 passing yards, 52 touchdown passes and 7,606 yards of total offense, while also noting that he led the Golden Eagles to road wins over Alabama, Auburn and Florida State.
His NFL career finished as the gold standard for any Southern Miss draft pick. Favre became a Super Bowl champion, three-time NFL MVP and Pro Football Hall of Famer. He finished with 71,838 passing yards, 508 touchdown passes and an NFL-record 299 consecutive regular-season starts by a quarterback. Nobody from Southern Miss has ever had a bigger pro football career.
2. Ray Guy — P/DB
Drafted: 1st round, 1973, Oakland Raiders
Years at Southern Miss: 1969-1972
Years in NFL: 1973-1986 Oakland/Los Angeles
Ray Guy was not just a great Southern Miss player, he was one of the most unique football players the school ever produced. He was a weapon as a punter and defensive back, and Southern Miss’ record book still lists him among the school’s all-time interception leaders with 18 career interceptions for 257 yards. His punting numbers were just as absurd: Southern Miss lists Guy with a school-record 44.7-yard career punting average from 1970-72 and a 46.2-yard season average in 1972.
The Raiders made him the first pure punter ever selected in the first round, and he justified it. Guy played 14 seasons with Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders, won three Super Bowls and eventually became the first punter inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If Favre is Southern Miss’ biggest NFL name, Guy is its most revolutionary.
3. Patrick Surtain — CB
Drafted: 2nd round, 1998, Miami Dolphins
Years at Southern Miss: 1994-1997
Years in NFL 1998-2004 Miami; 2005-2008 Kansas City
Patrick Surtain was already special before he ever became a shutdown corner in Miami. At Southern Miss, he played four seasons and became one of the best defensive backs in school history. His 16 career interceptions rank third on Southern Miss’ all-time list, and his 31 pass breakups rank among the program’s best totals. He was a first-team All-Conference USA selection in 1996 and 1997, the 1997 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American.
In the NFL, Surtain became a three-time Pro Bowler and one of the better corners of the 2000s. He finished with 37 interceptions in 163 games and spent his best years with the Dolphins before closing his career with the Chiefs. His son Patrick Surtain II is an All-Pro cornerback with the Denver Broncos, and one of the top defensive backs in the NFL since being drafted in 2021.
4. Sammy Winder — RB
Drafted: 5th round, 1982, Denver Broncos
Years at Southern Miss: 1978-1981
Years in NFL 1982-1990 Denver
Sammy Winder is one of the great value picks in Southern Miss history. A former walk-on, Winder became a four-year letterman and one of the best running backs the Golden Eagles ever had. He finished his career with the Golden Eagles with with 3,114 rushing yards, 39 rushing touchdowns, 736 carries and 234 points. His 1980 season was huge: 996 yards and 20 rushing touchdowns, and he was the NCAA scoring champion that year.
Denver Broncos took him in the fifth round, and Winder became a Broncos fixture for the next nine years. He finished with 5,427 rushing yards, 39 rushing touchdowns, two Pro Bowl selections and played on three AFC championship teams.
5. Hanford Dixon — CB
Drafted: 1st round, 1981, Cleveland Browns
Years at Southern Miss: 1977-1980
Years in NFL: 1981-1989 Cleveland
Hanford Dixon was a star almost immediately at Southern Miss. As a freshman in 1977, he started at cornerback, made 44 tackles and intercepted two passes on a team that beat Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Auburn. He later led the team with four interceptions in 1978, became part of the tough “Nasty Bunch” defense, and finished his college career with 188 tackles and nine interceptions. In 1980, The Sporting News named him a first-team All-American.
The Browns took Dixon in the first round, and he became one of Cleveland’s defining players of the 1980s. He made three Pro Bowls, earned All-Pro honors and helped create the “Dawg Pound” identity with fellow Browns corner Frank Minnifield. His NFL career did not end in Canton, but it ended with him remembered as a franchise icon.
6. Louis Lipps — WR/Returner
Drafted: 1st round, 1984, Pittsburgh Steelers
Years at Southern Miss: 1980-1983
Years in NFL 1984-1991 Pittsburgh; 1992 New Orleans
Louis Lipps brought big-play ability to Southern Miss before he became a Steelers star. He closed his college career in 1983 with 42 catches for 800 yards, a 19.0-yard average and five touchdowns, while also returning 40 punts at an 11.6-yard average. That 1983 team went 7-4 and beat both Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Pittsburgh selected him in the first round, and Lipps immediately became one of the NFL’s most exciting rookies. He won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, made two Pro Bowls and became one of the best receivers in Steelers history. Pittsburgh’s own records still place him high in franchise history in receptions, receiving yards, 100-yard games and touchdowns.
7. Jamie Collins — LB
Drafted: 2nd round, 2013, New England Patriots
Years at Southern Miss: 2009-2012
Years in NFL 2013-2016 New England; 2016-2018 Cleveland; 2019 New England; 2020-2021 Detroit; 2022 New England
Jamie Collins was one of the freakiest athletes Southern Miss ever sent to the NFL. He arrived in Hattiesburg as a defensive back/safety type, grew into an edge defender and linebacker, and became the kind of hybrid player NFL teams love. His college career included 314 tackles and 21 sacks, and his 2012 season earned him first-team All-Conference USA recognition despite Southern Miss going winless. He was one of the only bright spots during Southern Miss’ 2012 season
The Patriots drafted Collins in the second round, and he became a major piece of New England’s defense. He won a Super Bowl, made a Pro Bowl, earned second-team All-Pro honors and finished his NFL career with 708 tackles, 26.5 sacks, 12 interceptions and 19 forced fumbles. His career is one of the strongest modern Southern Miss NFL stories.
8. Adalius Thomas — LB/DE
Drafted: 6th round, 2000, Baltimore Ravens
Years at Southern Miss: 1996-1999
Years in NFL 2000-2006 Baltimore; 2007-2009 New England
Adalius Thomas is one of the best defensive players Southern Miss has ever had. His M-Club Hall of Fame profile credits him with 242 career tackles, 56 tackles for loss and a school-record 34.5 sacks. He was a three-time All-Conference USA selection, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in both 1998 and 1999, and an All-American. In 1999, he helped Southern Miss win a Conference USA title while recording 67 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, nine sacks and four blocked kicks.
Baltimore stole him in the sixth round. Thomas became a Super Bowl champion, two-time Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro. ESPN’s career log credits him with 53 sacks, 15 forced fumbles and seven interceptions in the NFL. As far as draft value goes, very few Southern Miss picks ever exceeded expectations more than Thomas.
9. Fred Cook — DE
Drafted: 2nd round, 1974, Baltimore Colts
Years at Southern Miss: 1970-1973
Years in NFL: 1974-1980 Baltimore
Fred Cook belongs on this list because he was a monster pass rusher before Southern Miss defensive statistics were tracked the way they are today. He was one of the best pass rushers in program history and one of the most disruptive defensive ends the school ever had. He finished with 18 sacks in 1971 and 19 sacks in 1972, though defensive statistics from that era can be harder to standardize than modern records.
The Colts drafted Cook in the second round, and he became a full-time NFL starter. Pro Football Reference credits him with 104 games, 104 starts and 56 career sacks. His career was not decorated with Pro Bowls, but seven seasons as an every-down defensive end with that kind of production makes him one of Southern Miss’ best draft success stories
10. Michael Boley — LB
Drafted: 5th round, 2005, Atlanta Falcons
Years at Southern Miss: 2001-2004
Years in NFL: 2005-2008 Atlanta; 2009-2012 NY Giants; 2013 Cincinnati
Michael Boley was a tackling machine at Southern Miss. He finished his career at Southern Miss with 412 tackles, 55.5 tackles for loss, 27 sacks, two interceptions, 14 pass deflections, nine forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. He was a three-time All-Conference USA pick, a two-time All-American and the 2004 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. In 2003 alone, he had 151 tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks while helping Southern Miss win a Conference USA championship.
The Falcons got him in the fifth round, and Boley turned that into a long NFL career. He played for Atlanta, the Giants and Bengals, finished with 699 tackles, 9.5 sacks and eight interceptions, and won Super Bowl XLVI with New York. He may not have the Pro Bowl honors of others on this list, but his college production plus a long NFL career and Super Bowl ring give him a strong case.
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