Former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick and College Football Hall of Famer Kenneth Sims died Friday at age 65, the University of Texas announced.
The university said Sims died peacefully at his home. According to a report, Sims had been battling an illness.
Sims played defensive end for Texas from 1978 to 1981 and was a consensus All-American as a junior and senior. He had 23 tackles for loss as a senior, won the Lombardi Award and finished in eighth place in Heisman Trophy balloting.
Sims then went No. 1 in the NFL draft to the New England Patriots in an era in which quarterbacks didn’t always go first overall.
Sims had three sacks in nine games as a rookie and placed fourth in Defensive Rookie of the Year balloting.
He had a career-best 5.5 sacks in 13 games in 1985 before breaking a leg. That caused him to miss the postseason, including the Patriots’ Super Bowl XX loss to the Chicago Bears.
Former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick and College Football Hall of Famer Kenneth Sims died Friday
Sims poses with ex-Patriots owner William Sullivan (left) and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle
Overall, Sims had 17 sacks and five fumble recoveries in 74 games over eight NFL seasons with the Patriots.
Sims was inducted into the College Hall of Fame in 2021.
According to Texas, Sims had 322 tackles, 29 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and three blocked kicks during his stellar college career.
On X, the Patriots wrote: ‘We are deeply saddened by the passing of our 1982 first overall draft pick, Kenneth Sims.’