Miami Hurricanes 2002 NFL Draft Continued Legendary Streak

The 2001 Miami Hurricanes set the standard for first-round NFL draft picks. They extended the first round streak to seven years by having five players selected in the first round of the 2002 draft.

The streak would continue through 2008 to set the record for 14 consecutive years with a first-round draft pick.

The first half of the NFL Draft first round draft streak came from teams with exceptional talent that built until the 2000 team came within one game of earning a spot in the BCS Championship game. The first six years of the streak, the Hurricanes were a middling 40-19. The following four seasons Miami finished a combined 46-4 and the final four they finished 30-19.

If we take out the middle four seasons, it’s remarkable the Hurricanes were able to have a long stretch of having first round picks taken despite an average record. Combining the first six and last four years of the streak, the Hurricanes were only 70-38. Those ten seasons produced ten first round draft picks.

Miami’s last season in a BCS/New Years Six bowl game came after the 2003 season when they defeated Florida State in the Orange Bowl. They would split appearances in the Peach Bowl the next two seasons followed by a win in MPC Computers Bowl. That would be Miami’s last bowl win until they defeated West Virginia in the Russell Athletic Bowl in 2016.

The 2001 team continued the streak by having five players taken in the first round of the 2002 draft. Three of those first round picks came from the defensive backfield. Perhaps most amazing is that leading rushing Clinton Portis was not selected until the second round with the 51st pick by the Denver Broncos.