A product of Oklahoma State, Tony Banfield signed with the Houston Oilers of the American Football League, an easy decision as he was not drafted by any team in the NFL.  Banfield would win the starting job at Left Cornerback as a rookie, and he helped the Oilers win the inaugural AFL Championship.

Following that success, Banfield went on a three-year tear as one of the top Defensive Backs in the AFL.  The Oilers successfully defended their title in 1961, and Banfield was a First Team All-Pro and AFL All-Star that year and the two after.

He would, unfortunately, have knee problems that forced him out of the entire 1964 Season, and he was mediocre when he was back in 1965.  Banfield retired afterward but still had 27 Interceptions over his brief career and was one of the franchise's first defensive stars.

Jurrell Casey was a First Team All-Pac 10 Selection at USC, and the Tennessee Titans chose the Defensive Lineman in the Third Round of the 2011 Draft.

Casey became the starting Right Defensive Tackle as a rookie and moved to Defensive End in his fourth season.  The former Trojan was close to Pro Bowl worthy early in his career and likely should have been named to one in 2013, where he had a career-high 10.5 Sacks.  Casey did make the Pro Bowl in 2015 and did so again in the four years after, making him one of the top DEs in football.

Casey’s tenure in Tennessee ended after the 2019 season when he was traded to Denver.  With the Titans, Casey accumulated 51 Sacks and 493 Combined Tackles.

An original Oiler, Jim Norton mainly played off of the bench as a rookie, which was the year that Houston won the inaugural AFL Championship.  He would be a much more significant contributor in the years that followed.

Norton was a starting Safety in his sophomore season, posting a career-high nine Interceptions.  The Oilers won the AFL Championship again, and Norton's performance against Denver cemented them a spot in the 1962 AFL Title Game when he picked off Bronco's Quarterback, Frank Tripucka, three times.  The Oilers did not three-peat, but Norton was named to the AFL All-Star Team that year.

Norton was an All-Star again in 1963 and 1967, and twice was a Second Team All-Pro.  He retired after the 1968 season with 45 career Interceptions.  Norton was also a star Punter who led the AFL in Punts and Punting Yards in 1965.

Norton, who was beloved by the Oilers, would have his number 43 retired by the team in 1968, becoming the first player to earn that in franchise history.  He would later be inducted to the Oilers/Titans Ring of Honor in 1999.

From Prairie View A&M, Ken Houston was taken way back in the 9^th Round of the 1967 Draft, and it could have been the biggest theft of that year's selection process.  Ironically, the Oilers would make the worst trade in franchise history when they sent him to Washington years later.

The Safety was a starter as a rookie, beginning nine of his 14 Games, and he would make the Pro Bowl the following year and did so again the next four seasons.  Houston was easily one of the top Safeties in the AFL/AFC when he competed as an Oiler, and he picked off 25 passes, returning nine for Touchdowns.  

The Oilers had a superstar in their defensive backs corps, but they made a tactical error; as though they were struggling, they traded him to Washington for five players.  None of the players that Houston acquired would be decent, and the Safety would go to many more Pro Bowls.  

Houston was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and is also a member of the NFL 75^th and 100^th Anniversary Teams.  

As an Oiler, Houston had 25 Interceptions, but he could have had more for the team had they not sent him East.  The Oilers/Titans organization named Houston to their first franchise Ring of Honor class in 1999.