Oklahoma’s NFL pipeline got another loud endorsement this week, and it came from one of the league’s most recognizable player rankings.
FanSided’s top 50 list included five former Sooners, a number that put Oklahoma at 5% of the entire ranking and gave Jim Nagy’s recent recruiting message some extra weight. Nagy, who has been clear that OU is selling a path to bigger NFL paydays, pointed to the long game in a line that landed with plenty of force:
"Sunday money is always going to trump Saturday money."
That idea showed up all over FanSided’s list. Three Oklahoma offensive linemen landed inside the top 25, which is the kind of thing that jumps off the page for offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh.
Lane Johnson checked in at No. 9, Trent Williams at No. 12 and Creed Humphrey at No.
The other two Sooners on the list were CeeDee Lamb at No. 34 and Nik Bonitto at No. 28. And if Oklahoma fans wanted to make a case for Baker Mayfield or Jalen Hurts, there’s at least an argument that both were left out.
Johnson was the highest-ranked former Sooner, and even after missing part of last season with injuries, he still came in at No. 9. He remains a centerpiece for one of the league’s best offensive lines while protecting Hurts in Philadelphia.
"But this is Lane Johnson that we’re talking about," Jake Beckman wrote. "Missing a handful of games in one season isn’t going to take away from the Hall-of-Fame level of player that he is."
Williams continues to be a trusted veteran in San Francisco, while Humphrey has become that same kind of steady presence in Kansas City. Lamb likely would have landed even higher if not for an injury-marred season with the Dallas Cowboys, and next year’s ranking could have him back in the conversation as the league’s top receiver.
Bonitto, though, may be the Sooner most likely to surge the fastest. He finished fourth in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2025, his fourth season, and he already sits just ahead of Maxx Crosby in these rankings. If he keeps climbing and is viewed as the league’s best defender in 2026, he could challenge Myles Garrett, who is currently No. 1 among edge rushers.
"Now that Nik Bonitto has put up 27.5 sacks and the 30 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, suffice it to say that he's not the player who barely saw the field in his rookie campaign back in 2022," Cody Williams wrote. "The former second-round pick didn't make immediate contributions to Denver upon his arrival when he was drafted, but he's certainly given them their money's worth since the Broncos began giving him more opportunities."
Bonitto’s rise fits neatly with the point Nagy made about Oklahoma’s selling pitch. Even though Bonitto left Norman before Brent Venables took over, he still stands as the kind of NFL success story Nagy is talking about. And there’s more on the way from the current staff, with safety Billy Bowman Jr. in Atlanta and incoming rookie edge rusher R Mason Thomas in Kansas City expected to add to the picture.
Nagy laid out the philosophy plainly in his comments to On3’s J.D. PicKell this week:
"Sunday money is always going to trump Saturday money," Nagy told On3's J.D. PicKell this week. "If that's the end goal is to play in the National Football League, I don't expect a guy to take half as much money to come to OU than another school, but if you see the big picture and you feel like if you're in the building and you love the coaches and you see the development and the track record of what Coach Venables has put in the league, there needs to be value in that."
Oklahoma didn’t need FanSided to make the case, but the ranking gave the Sooners’ NFL track record another national spotlight. The message is hard to miss: Oklahoma doesn’t just send players to the league. It sends players who matter.
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Just Sent Brent Venables A Message Sooners Fans Will Feel
Gentry Williams move from Oklahoma to Georgia adds another layer to a secondary storyline that has been building all offseason for Brent Venables. After four years in Venables defense, the former Sooners cornerback arrives in Athens with the kind of experience Kirby Smart values, and Smart made a point of praising what players learn in that system. For Oklahoma, it is another reminder that Venables defensive reputation extends well beyond Norman, even when it means one of his own former players ends up helping a national title contender.
The timing matters for the Sooners because cornerback depth was already a concern after multiple departures through the transfer portal. Venables has answered by bringing in new help and leaning on younger players, but the room still has a different feel than it did a year ago. Williams transfer to Georgia only sharpens the contrast: one program is adding a seasoned defender who knows how to play within a demanding scheme, while Oklahoma is still sorting out how its rebuilt cornerback group will hold up once the real competition begins. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Nagys First Oklahoma Surprise Hits At A Bigger Sooners Concern
Oklahomas move into a more professional front-office model has already changed the way the program operates, with a general manager and scouting department helping navigate the NIL and transfer-portal era. For Jim Nagy, the adjustment has not just been about evaluating talent and roster building. It has also meant dealing with a college football landscape where money is now part of everyday conversation, and where keeping a team aligned depends as much on structure as it does on personnel.
Nagys early read on the job points to a bigger concern for the Sooners than just recruiting rankings or roster turnover. The program knows the financial side of the sport can create friction if standards slip, so the emphasis has been on culture and accountability to keep differences from becoming divisions. In a sport where players are more aware than ever of what others are making, Oklahoma is trying to make sure the locker room still feels like one team. [Read more 🡒]
Courtland Guillory Is Entering A Massive SEC Conversation For Oklahoma
Oklahomas secondary already has one of the better young cornerback tandems in the league, and Courtland Guillory has quickly become a big part of why. He and Eli Bowen both arrived with freshman All-American honors, and Guillory turned that early promise into a starting role last season, holding onto it even after Bowen returned from injury.
The on-field production backed up the rise, with Guillory finishing with 41 tackles, a tackle for loss and seven pass deflections. That kind of season is what has some national observers starting to talk about him in a much bigger SEC context, including the possibility that he enters 2026 as one of the conferences top defensive backs. [Read more 🡒]