Wilson picked seventh overall by Raiders in NFL Draft
April 27, 2023 | Football
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech outside linebacker Tyree Wilson became the highest-drafted defensive player in school history Thursday night as he was selected seventh overall by the Las Vegas Raiders during the opening night of the 2023 NFL Draft.
As expected, it didn't take long for Wilson to hear his name called as the Red Raider trades in his scarlet and black for the silver and black. The selection capped a successful three-year career at Texas Tech as Wilson is the 10th Red Raider all-time to be selected in the first round and the fourth from the defensive side of the ball.
At No. 7 overall, Wilson's selection ties for the second-highest drafted player in school history and is the highest pick in the modern era. Wilson is the fifth Red Raider all-time to go in the top 10 picks, joining the likes of Dave Parks (No. 1 overall, 1964), Donny Anderson (No. 7 overall, 1965), Michael Crabtree (No. 10 overall, 2009) and Patrick Mahomes II (No. 10 overall, 2017). All four of those individuals are already inductees into the Texas Tech Ring of Honors.
Wilson rose up draft boards throughout his final season as a Red Raider as he earned first-team All-America honors despite missing the final four games due to an injury. At the time of his injury, Wilson was one of only two-power five players and one of seven in the FBS to have 60 tackles, at least 10.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 or more sacks.
Wilson frustrated opposing offensive lines, forcing multiple double teams to attempt to limit his impact in the backfield. He was still able to total 29.0 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 15.5 sacks over his three seasons, the majority of which came this past season. He put together his best season to close his career, notching 61 tackles in Tim DeRuyter's rush end scheme – a career-best – as well as 14.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks.
Wilson was among the handful of prospects invited to attend the draft in person as he walked the stage at Union Station in Kansas City to shake hands with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. In addition to Wilson, Texas Tech was represented on-site by head coach Joey McGuire, outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You, director of player personnel James Blanchard and Associate A.D. for football administration Antonio Huffman.
Texas Tech will have the opportunity to add additional Red Raiders into the NFL ranks throughout the weekend as the second and third round begins at 6 p.m. Friday followed by the fourth through seventh rounds at 11 a.m. Saturday. Coverage will be provided on both days via NFL Network, ABC and ESPN.
NFL DRAFT RESULTS
No. 7 (1st Round) – Tyree Wilson, OLB/DE (Las Vegas Raiders)
TEXAS TECH NFL DRAFT NOTES
- Tyree Wilson becomes the 10th Red Raider in program history to be selected in the first round of the draft, joining the likes of Dave Parks (No. 1 in 1964 to the San Francisco 49ers), Donny Anderson (No. 7 in 1965 to the Green Bay Packers), Michael Crabtree (No. 10 in 2009 to the San Francisco 49ers), Patrick Mahomes II (No. 10 in 2017 to the Kansas City Chiefs), Walter Schlinkman (No. 11 in 1945 to the Green Bay Packers), Ted Watts (No. 21 in 1981 to Oakland Raiders), Gabriel Rivera (No. 21 in 1983 to the Pittsburgh Steelers), Jordyn Brooks (No. 27 by Seattle Seahawks in 2020) and E.J. Holub (1961 to Dallas Texans in AFL Draft).
- Among only defensive players, Wilson is the fourth Red Raider to be selected in the first round, joining Watts (DB), Rivera (DL) and Brooks (LB). Rivera is the only other defensive line-type player to be called in the first round in school history.
- Despite being known more for its prowess on the offensive side of the ball, Texas Tech now has two first-round picks from its defense this decade as Jordyn Brooks was previously selected 27th overall by the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.
- Texas Tech has now had a Red Raider selected within the first four rounds of each of the last four drafts after linebacker Jordyn Brooks was chosen late in the first round in 2020 and then defensive back Zech McPhearson and wide receiver Erik Ezukanma were both picked in the fourth round of the 2021 and 2022 drafts, respectively.
- Tyree Wilson is the eighth Red Raider to be picked in the first four rounds since 2014 alone, joining a list that includes tight end Jace Amaro (2nd round, 2014), Le'Raven Clark (3rd round, 2016), Patrick Mahomes II (1st round, 2017), Keke Coutee (4th round, 2018), Jordyn Brooks (1st round, 2019), Zech McPhearson (4th round, 2021) and Erik Ezukanma (4th Round, 2022)
- This is the third predominant rush edge-type player to be selected as a top-10 pick during Tim DeRuyter's career as the second-year defensive coordinator also coached Von Miller at Texas A&M (No. 2 overall selection of the 2011 draft by the Denver Broncos) as well as Kayvon Thibodeaux a year ago at Oregon (No. 5 overall pick by the New York Giants).
- Wilson is the fifth Texas Tech player selected by the Raiders, joining Mike Lienert, RB (1968, 15th round), Ted Watts, CB (1981, first round, No. 21 overall) ,Carlos Francis, WR (2004, fourth round) and DeAndre Washington, RB (2016, fifth round)
