The Missouri Tigers Legends Draft: Round XX

Just jumping in? Here are the previous rounds of the Missouri Tigers Football Draft:

Round XII (this has the halfway point breakdown and links to rounds 1-11)

Round XIII

Round XIV

Round XV

Round XVI

Round XVII

Round XVIII

Round XIX

Welcome, Tiger fans, to #PeakOffseasonContent. Despite a lack of championships, the Missouri Football Tigers have had some excellent players throughout the years, both at the college and professional levels. There have been excellent ambassadors on and off the field, as well as some that changed the program or revolutionized a position. So what better time than now to draft a hypothetical team of these exquisite athletes?

BK and I will build a team of 22 starters (sorry, specialists!) to craft a team to play against the other. For simplicity’s sake, we’re limiting our selections to guys who played on the 2000 team going forward, including the current roster in 2020. Each Round will alternate who goes first and we’ll provide our reasoning/explanations/defense afterwards.

At the end, you all will be able to vote for who you think has the best team! And of course, we’d love to hear your picks for each round as well and why we are dumdums who don’t know what we’re talking about.

Round XX, Pick 39: Nate selects DE Kony Ealy

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

I finally complete my defensive line and...wow, what a steal this one is.

Kony Ealy was one of the best, pure “defensive linemen” Missouri has seen. Able to play end or tackle with equal skill, Ealy was able to bounce around the line to take advantage of whatever matchup the defense was trying to get. He was quick enough to squeeze past guards and big enough to rip through opposing offensive tackles. He was a rare athlete and a tremendous asset to 2013’s D-line Zou.

It took Ealy a little bit to get used to the college game, but even with lower tackle numbers in ‘11 and ‘12, the pressure he generated and the TFLs he logged showed the promise that he could bring. And in 2013 he hit maximum power: 15 TFLs, 9 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and an interception, outshined only by Michael Sam’s transcendent performance at the same time.

Ealy fills in my missing 3-4 defensive end spot, giving me the most tremendous pass rush I can possible put together one one team. My pass rush is absolutely devastating, BK :)

Round XX, Pick 40: BK selects Offensive Guard Tony Palmer

Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images

Palmer was an All-State player at Midwest City High School in Oklahoma before ultimately becoming part of Gary Pinkel’s first recruiting class at Mizzou. The decorated career was only just beginning.

Palmer made an impact right away at Mizzou en route to being named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team. By his junior season he was a second-team All-Big 12 selection, and he finished his career being named a first-team All-Big 12 offensive lineman his senior year.

For four years, Palmer was a key piece of the offensive line blocking for Brad Smith. A big, athletic guard who can move, Palmer is going to be a key piece to the offensive line unit blocking for Chase Daniel.