One can argue that Jim Ray Smith missed his window to be known on a higher level as he arrived in Cleveland one year too late and left two years too early, as the Browns would win NFL Championships before and after his arrival, but this was no reflection on the playing ability of Jim Ray Smith.

Smith was drafted in 1954 as an early draftee (Cleveland won the title that year), but due to military commitments, did not arrive until 1956.  Smith played both sides, but excelled as an Offensive Lineman, earning his first of what would be five straight Pro Bowls in 1958.  In that half-decade time frame, Smith would also be named a First or Second Team All-Pro (three First Team and two Second Team).  He retired right after, though he came out of retirement for two seasons with his home-state team, the Dallas Cowboys.

While Goose Gonsoulin was a 17^th Round Pick by the San Francisco 49ers, the Baylor Bear was a 2^nd Rounder by the Denver Broncos of the AFL, the professional team he elected to play for.

It was a good move for both sides, and the original Bronco was a First Team All-Pro and the inaugural AFL leader in Interceptions as a rookie.  Gonsoulin would go on to have five AFL All-Star Game appearances and another First Team All-Pro Selection, and while the Broncos were not particularly strong when he was there, he was undoubtedly a bright spot of the organization.

At the time of his signing with the 49ers in 1967 (he only played one year before retiring), he was the AFL's all-time leader in Interceptions with 40.  He later made the AFL All-Time 2^nd Team and was part of Denver's inaugural Ring of Fame Class.

Jerry Norton began his professional football career in 1954 with the Philadelphia Eagles, starting as a Safety, then playing halfback before returning to safety.  Norton was also an excellent Punter, and in 1957 he would lead the league in Punts and Punting Yards.  He was traded to the Chicago Cardinals (which would become the St. Louis Cardinals) before 1959, where he played safety and Punter, and he continued a five-year streak of Pro Bowls that began in Philadelphia.  Norton again led the NFL in Punts and Punting Yards in 1960, the same season he led the league in Interceptions (10).  He would accumulate 35 picks in total.

Late in his career as a Green Bay Packer, he would act solely as a Punter.

From the University of Kentucky, Bob Talamini would play his entire nine-year professional career in the American Football League.  The first eight of those campaigns were with the Houston Oilers, where the Left Guard was a six-time AFL All-Star (1962-67) who played his way into three First Team All-Pros.  The Oilers were one of the league's powers, and Talamini was part of the first two AFL Titles (1960 & 1961); after his run with Houston, he played one final year with the New York Jets.  

That year, he was part of the history-making team that won Super Bowl III.  Not a bad way to finish your career!