Baylor leads state of Texas in NFL draft picks since 2011

The back-to-back Big 12 football defending champs will return 18 of last season’s 24 starters this fall. Five of the six who have moved on are headed to the NFL this fall.

Two-time All-American Bryce Petty was the first Bear to be selected in the 2015 NFL draft, going early in the fourth round to the New York Jets (who wanted him badly enough to trade up to get him).The Jets believe Petty “has all the physical attributes and parts to be a good quarterback in this league,” said the team’s general manager, and expect to give him time to develop at the next level.

Three-time All-Big 12 selection and 2014 All-American Bryce Hager followed, picked in the seventh round by the St. Louis Rams. The Rams, too, traded up to get Hager — the first defensive player St. Louis selected after seven offensive players. Head coach Jeff Fisher described the linebacker as a “well coached and very talented young man.”

The pair of picks brings Baylor’s NFL draft total to 18 over the past five years — the most of any program in Texas, and second only to Oklahoma among Big 12 foes since 2011.

Three more Bears have reportedly already signed as undrafted free agents: wide receivers Antwan Goodley and Levi Norwood with the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears, respectively, and punter Spencer Roth with the Buffalo Bills.

At the moment, that brings Baylor’s NFL presence to 20, representing 17 different franchises.

Sic ’em, Bears!