From Utah State, Al Smith played his entire 125-Game career with the Houston Oilers, an excellent career for the former Ute.

Smith was a starter as a rookie (1987), and the run-stuffer would become a Pro Bowl selection in 1991 and would be again in 1992.  The latter year saw Smith earn a First Team All-Pro honor, and overall he had 880 Tackles.

Smith was severely injured through most of his last two seasons, playing only three Games and retiring after the 1996 Season.

Pat Holmes took an atypical route to the NFL, as in 1962, he passed up on the Philadelphia Eagles, who took him in the Third Round in 1962, and went to Calgary Stampeders of the CFL instead.  A CFL All-Star in 1965, Holmes went back to the United States in 1966, though not to Philadelphia, but Houston of the American Football League.

Holmes became one of the few players to earn All-Stars in both the CFL and AFL when the Defensive Lineman earned the latter honor in his second season with the Oilers.  He was also a First Team All-Pro that year.  Holmes was an All-Star again in 1969, and he remained with Houston until 1972 when he joined the Kansas City Chiefs.

With the Oilers, Holmes recorded an even 30.0 Sacks.

After two unimpressive years with the Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL, Glick joined the Houston Oilers in 1961, where he made the most of his new opportunity.

A starting Safety for the majority of his Oilers career, Glick helped his new team win the AFL Championship.  He then began a three-year run as an AFL All-Star, with the middle campaign seeing Glick record an AFL-leading 12 Interceptions and earn a First Team All-Pro.  Glick played until 1966, when a back injury forced him out.  He would have 30 Interceptions for Houston.  He would also have 910 Return Yards. 

When the New England Patriots traded Leon Gray to the Houston Oilers in 1979 for a pair of Draft Picks, Gray’s linemate, John Hannah, famously quipped, "There goes our Super Bowl."

The Patriots did not win one until the next millennium, though to be fair, neither did the Oilers.  Gray was only with Houston for three seasons, but he was the same dominating presence at Left Tackle that he was in New England.  Gray helped the Oilers reach the 1979 AFC Championship, and he went to his third Pro Bowl and second First Team All-Pro.  Gray remained spectacular over the next two seasons, collecting another Pro Bowl and a First Team All-Pro, and the Oilers brass never had to worry about that position while he was there.

Before the 1982 Season, Gray was part of another curious trade when he was sent to New Orleans for Archie Manning. 

Ed Husmann was a seven-year NFL vet (six with the Chicago Cardinals and one with Dallas), with his last year coming in 1960.  After the Cowboys released him, Husmann found a new life in the AFL with the Oilers, and it would be the best run of his career.

Husmann aided the Oilers in retaining their AFL Title, and in the process, he was named to the All-Star Team and led the league in Sacks (8).  The Defensive Tackle was again an All-Star the next two seasons, with a First Team All-Pro coming in 1962 with a second Sack title (10) occurring.

He played until 1965, finishing out his career with a season in Edmonton of the Canadian Football League.  Husmann had 33 Sacks for the Oilers.

From Texas, and a product of TCU, Don Floyd was a Second Round Pick in both the NFL and AFL, and he opted to go to the AFL when the team that selected him, the New York Titans, traded him to the Houston Oilers.

Floyd was not a player who would dazzle you, but he was sound fundamentally in all aspects of defensive football.  The Defensive End was exceptionally agile, and in addition to his defensive duties, he was a great blocker on kicks.  Floyd was a key figure in Houston's two AFL Championship (1960 & 1961) and was twice named an AFL All-Star (1961 & 1962).

Injuries piled up in 1966, and two years later, he was forced to retire.  

From Purdue, Cris Dishman did not play much as a starter in his first two years after being drafted in the Fifth Round in 1988, but the Cornerback became a starter on the left side in 1990, where he became one of the better Defensive Backs in franchise history.

Dishman had a spectacular campaign in 1991, where he had six picks and was a Pro Bowl and First Team All-Pro.  Analytically, Dishman had a 16 in Approximate Value, one of the best in franchise history for a Defensive Back.  Dishman continued to run the Secondary for Houston for years until he joined Washington as a Free Agent in 1997.

He recorded 31 Interceptions for Houston.

They called the 1971 Draft the "Year of the Quarterback," as the first three picks were Jim Plunkett, Archie Manning, and Dan Pastorini, that last of which was taken by Houston.

The Oilers of the early 70s were not the Oilers of the early 60s, and Pastorini did not have many talents around him.  During his rookie season, he became the starter but only had six wins in his first three years and threw far more Interceptions than Touchdowns.  It got better as the decade progresses, and he went to the Pro Bowl in 1975, and while his Interceptions were still high, he found ways to win. 

In 1978, Pastorini had his best year, throwing for a career-high 2,473 Yards and engineering a league-leading six Game Winning Drives.  1979 better in terms of team success, as Pastorini and the Oilers made it to the AFC Championship Game, and looked to have won it, had not a Touchdown Pass to Mike Renfro been called incomplete.  That turned out to be Pastorini’s swansong with Houston.

Pastorini was traded to Oakland for future Hall of Fame inductee Ken Stabler, though he was injured early in the season, and Plunkett, who was taken first in his draft class, took over and would lead them to a Super Bowl win.  

As an Oiler, Pastorini threw for 16,864 Yards with a TD-INT ratio of 96-139.

There are a lot of “What ifs?” in sports, but in terms of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans, Al Jamison might have been the first but still the most appropriate.

Undrafted out of Colgate, "The Assassin," as he was known for his punishing play, signed with the Oilers, winning the starting Left Tackle job as a rookie.  Jamison was phenomenal, earning First Team All-Pro honors while helping Houston win the inaugural AFL Title.  The Oilers won it again in 1961, with Jamison even better, securing a second First Team All-Pro nod.  This was the last title for Houston in the AFL, but not the last First Team All-Pro for Jamison, as he did it again in his third year.

A severe back problem rendered 1962 his last season, and he never played football again, thus ending what began as a Hall of Fame worthy career.

After six years with the Dallas Cowboys, Mark Stepnoski joined the Houston Oilers.  Notably, the Center brought a three-year streak of Pro Bowls with him, and he continued that in Houston, earning that accolade in 1995 and 1996, giving him five in total.

As the team relocated to Tennessee, Stepnoski’s Pro Bowl days were behind him, but Stepnoski was still a top Center.  He played two more years for the now-named Titans and would rejoin the Cowboys for the 2000 Season.

Stepnoski started all 61 of his Games for Houston/Tennessee. 

The first two years of Miller Farr's pro career could only be classified as "O.K.," as the Defensive Back from Wichita State was not a head-turner in his time with Denver and San Diego.  Farr joined the Oilers in 1967, and for a three-year period, he was one of the best Corners in the AFL.

Farr exploded with an AFL-leading 10 Interceptions and 264 Interception Return Yards.  He was rewarded with a First Team All-Pro Selection, and he was so again in 1968, though Farr was not going to sneak up on anyone anymore and was rarely targeted by opposing Quarterbacks.  Farr was stellar again in 1969, collecting a third straight AFL All-Star nod.

He would bolt for the St. Louis Cardinals after, but he was never the same player again that he was with Houston.  Farr amassed 19 Interceptions with the Oilers, an excellent number for only three years of service.

George Webster was a beast at Michigan State, earning two All-Americans and a trip to the College Football Hall of Fame.  The Houston Oilers grabbed him Fifth Overall in the first ever Common Draft between the AFL and NFL, and for the first three seasons, he was incredible as a pro.

In the aforementioned time frame, Webster was named a First Team All-Pro and an AFL-All Star.  Webster, who UPI named the Rookie of the Year (1967), controlled the middle of the field expertly and was go good in those three seasons, that he was named to the AFL All-Time Team.

After 1969, a barrage of injuries beset Webster, and he was never close to being the same player.  His role diminished, as did his health, and he was released during the 1972 Season.

Webster's peak pro period was brief but was impactful.

From Auburn, Al Del Greco had a mediocre start in the NFL, four years with Green Bay, and four more with the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals.  When he joined Houston (eventually Tennessee) in 1991, Del Greco was thought of more as a band-aid.  As it turned out, he became "Automatic Al."

Del Greco never made the Pro Bowl, but there were seasons where he belonged in the conversation.  With the Oilers/Titans, Del Greco never had a season where his Field Goal Percentage went below 76%, and he was in the top ten five times.  Del Greco led the NFL in Field Goals Made in 1998 (36) and was in the top ten six other years.

A member of the AFC Championship Team that made it to the Super Bowl (Del Greco made his lone FG attempt), he is currently the all-time franchise leader in Field Goals (246), Extra Points (322) and Points Scored (1,060). 

From Purdue, the Houston Oilers drafted Greg Bingham in the Fourth Round of the 1973 Draft, which would be the only pro team that the Linebacker played for.

Bingham started all 173 of his Games for the Oilers, recording 21 Interceptions with 14.5 Quarterback Sacks.  Known for his all-out effort in every play, Bingham gave everything he had and was known as a cerebral defensive player.

Haywood Jeffires was a First Round Pick (20^th Overall in 1987), but injuries and the depth chart held him to only nine Games with 138 Yards in his first two seasons.  That changed in his third year.

The Wide Receiver from North Carolina State had 47 Receptions with 619 Yards that year, and he became a top target for Warren Moon afterward, hitting at least 1,000 Yards the next two seasons.  In 1991, Jeffires led the NFL in Receptions (100) and was a First Team All-Pro with a Pro Bowl Selection.  He would go to the Pro Bowl the next two years, remaining a top wide out for the Oilers, completing seven straight years with at least 600 Yards.

Jeffires signed with New Orleans in 1996 but only played one more year before he retired.  With the Oilers, Jeffires totaled 6,119 Yards with 47 Touchdowns.

A First Round Pick from Illinois, Brad Hopkins was an All-Rookie for the Oilers in 1993 at Left Tackle.  This would be his role for the franchise for the next 12 years.

Hopkins played his entire career with the Oilers/Titans, starting 188 of his 194 Games.  Twice named to the Pro Bowl (2000 & 2003), Hopkins was a dependable presence on the left side of the line, allowing the organization to worry about holes elsewhere for a decade-plus.  

It is grunt work but necessary.

From Ball State, Blaine Bishop landed a job with the Houston Oilers, who took the Defensive Back with their Eighth Round Pick.  He made the team as a rookie but would win a starter's role in his second season.

As Houston’s starting Strong Safety, Bishop went to his first of three Pro Bowls in 1995, with the streak continuing as the team moved to Tennessee.  Bishop secured the fourth one in 2000 and played with the Titans until 2001, accumulating 738 Tackles for the team.

Drew Hill played his first six seasons (one on the injured list) for the Los Angeles Rams, but they were nothing special, and none of which saw him crack 20 Receptions.  This changed when he joined the Oilers in 1985.

At age 28, Hill had his first four-digit Receiving Yard season (1,168).  It would be easy to see this is a fluke, but Hill proved to be a worthy staring Wide Receiver, cracking 1,000 Yards four more times and becoming the first man to break that mark four times after 30.  Hill was a two-time Pro Bowl Selection (1988 & 1990) and amassed 7,477 Yards for Houston, a number that nobody would have projected when he joined the team.

Ken Burrough was a First Round Pick in 1970, chosen 10^th Overall by New Orleans.  Burrough had a lousy rookie year, oft-injured and only recording 13 Receptions.  The Saints decided to trade him to Houston, and while he didn’t do much as an NFL sophomore, the rest of the decade would become more productive.

Burrough became a regular starter in 1972, and in 1975, he caught 53 passes for a league-leading 1,063 Yards.  For his efforts, he went to his first Pro Bowl and was a Second Team All-Pro.  This would be Burrough's peak year, but he still eclipsed over 800 Yards the next two years and was a Pro Bowler again in 1977.  After two more good years, injuries took him out of most of 1980, though he rebounded for one final year, a 668 Yard and 7 TD campaign.

He had 6,906 Yards with 47 Touchdowns as an Oiler.

Ernest Givins was one of the best returners in the history of Louisville and was also a star Wide Receiver.  The Houston Oilers used their Second Round Pick to obtain him, and he would become one of the best Wide Receivers in history.

Givins had 1,062 Receiving Yards as a rookie, which was his career-high.  That isn't to say that he considerably regressed, as, over the next five seasons, he had at least 900 Yards in four of them.  A crowd favorite for his electric slide touchdown dance, Givins went to the Pro Bowl in both 1990 and 1992, where he had nine and ten Touchdowns.  He played with the Titans until 1994 and had one final year with Jacksonville.

As a Titan, Givins had 7,935 Yards with 46 Touchdowns.