By Associated Press - Saturday, April 29, 2017

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Latest on the NFL draft (all times Eastern):

7:05 p.m.

The SEC led all conferences in number of draft picks for the 11th straight year.

The Southeastern Conference had 53 players selected. The run started with Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett going No. 1 overall and ended with Mississippi’s Chad Kelly going last, at No. 253, as “Mr. Irrelevant.”

Power five leagues following the SEC were the Atlantic Coast Conference (42), Pac-12 (36), Big Ten (35) and Big 12 (14). The American Athletic Conference led the Group of Five conferences with 15 selections.

Michigan led all schools with 11 players taken.

___

6:45 p.m.

“Mr. Irrelevant” was not so irrelevant this year.

The final player selected in the NFL draft by the Denver Broncos, No. 253 overall, was Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly.

The nephew of Hall of Famer Jim Kelly has had numerous off-the-field issues in his career, plus he blew out his knee last season. And he injured his wrist during the offseason draft process.

__

5:40 p.m.

The SEC continues to lead all conferences with 49 players selected through six rounds.

Among schools, Michigan is first with a school-record 11 draftees. Alabama is second with 10.

Following the SEC in picks are the Atlantic Coast Conference (33), Big Ten (32), Pac-12 (31) and Big 12 (10).

The ACC had eight players taken in the fifth round and eight more taken in the sixth to move past the Big Ten.

___

5:30 p.m.

Miami Hurricanes quarterback Brad Kaaya was selected with the 215th pick overall in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions.

Kaaya, a three-year starter, left school after his junior year. A lack of mobility and slim frame caused Kaaya to slide. Kaaya’s former Miami coach, Al Golden, is an assistant with the Lions.

___

4:50 p.m.

Defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad, one of the players thrown off the Miami Hurricanes last August for breaking NCAA rules, has been drafted in the sixth round by the New Orleans Saints.

Muhammad, who was found to have had access to luxury rental cars in violation of NCAA rules, sat out last season after being unable to transfer to another school.

He made 54 tackles in 2015 and led the Hurricanes with 8.5 tackles for loss.

___

4:30 p.m.

Four Utah offensive linemen have been drafted.

The run started with the Denver Broncos taking tackle Garett Bolles in the first round.

In the fifth round, the Miami Dolphins selected guard Isaac Asiata and the Cincinnati Bengals took center J.J. Dielman.

The Los Angeles Chargers chose tackle Sam Tevi in the sixth round.

___

4:10 p.m.

The Cleveland Browns raised some eyebrows by using the first pick of the sixth round on Florida defensive tackle Caleb Brantley, who is facing a domestic battery charge.

According to a Gainesville police affidavit, Brantley and Chelsea Austin were arguing shortly after 2 a.m. April 13 when she pushed him. The affidavit says Brantley responded by hitting the woman in the face, knocking her out and dislodging a tooth.

Brantley’s draft stock plummeted following the charge.

Brantley declared for the NFL following his junior season. He led the Gators with 9 ½ tackles for loss and had 2 ½ sacks.

___

4 p.m.

The SEC leads all conferences with 43 players selected through five rounds.

Alabama and Michigan are tied for first among schools with 10 draftees each.

Following the SEC in picks are the Big Ten (31), Pac-12 (26), Atlantic Coast Conference (25) and the Big 12 (eight).

The ACC had eight players taken in the fifth round to pull within one of the Pac-12.

The Southeastern Conference is on track to lead the nation in draft picks for the 11th straight year.

___

3:25 p.m.

The first quarterback taken in the fifth round was Pittsburgh’s Nathan Peterman, who went to Buffalo with pick No. 171.

So the quarterbacks taken so far in Day 3 have been Tennessee’s Josh Dobbs and Peterman, a Tennessee transfer.

___

2:55 p.m.

The first kicker is off the board.

Cincinnati took Memphis kicker Jake Elliott in the fifth round with the 153rd overall pick in the draft.

Elliott joins New England’s Stephen Gostkowski as the only Memphis kickers ever to be drafted.

The fact it took this long for a kicker to get taken represents a major change from last year, when Tampa Bay traded up to take Florida State’s Roberto Aguayo in the second round.

___

2:25 p.m.

Michigan tight end Jake Butt, who was considered a potential first-round selection until he injured his knee in the Orange Bowl, went to the Denver Broncos with the first pick in the fifth round.

Plenty of productive college running backs went late in the fourth round.

San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey, who led the nation with 2,133 yards rushing last season, went 132nd overall to the Philadelphia Eagles. The major knock on Pumphrey is a lack of size at 5-foot-8.

Other running backs to go late in the fourth round were BYU’s Jamaal Williams to Green Bay at No. 134, Clemson’s Wayne Gallman to the New York Giants at No. 140 and South Florida’s Marlon Mack to Indianapolis at No. 143.

___

2:15 p.m.

The SEC expanded its lead over the other power five conferences in NFL draft picks, increasing its total to 38 through four rounds.

Tennessee had three players taken in the fourth — linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (Lions), wide receiver Josh Malone (Bengals) and quarterback Joshua Dobbs (Steelers).

Alabama leads all schools with 10 players selected.

Following the SEC in picks are the Big Ten (25), Pac-12 (21), Atlantic Coast Conference (17) and the Big 12 (seven).

The Southeastern Conference is on track to lead the nation in draft picks for the 11th straight year.

___

2 p.m.

The fourth round has a Tennessee and Michigan flavor.

Tennessee had three players taken in a span of 12 picks. The Detroit Lions selected linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin 124th overall. The Cincinnati Bengals continued their pursuit of offensive playmakers by choosing wide receiver Josh Malone at No. 128. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs went 135th overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Michigan defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow and wide receiver Jehu Chesson went in back-to-back picks. The Bengals took Glasgow at No. 138 and the Kansas City Chiefs selected Chesson at No. 139. Michigan linebacker Ben Gedeon went 120th overall to the Minnesota Vikings.

___

1:35 p.m.

The first quarterback drafted on Day 3 was Tennessee’s Josh Dobbs, who went in the fourth round at No. 135 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dobbs was selected with the same pick as Dallas took Dak Prescott last year.

Ben Roethlisberger is the unchallenged starter, and the Steelers resigned Landry Jones as his backup.

___

1:21 p.m.

Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook, a Heisman Trophy finalist and Biletnikoff Award winner with a history of domestic abuse allegations, will be on a short leash with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

General manager Dave Caldwell said the team believes Westbrook has matured, but the franchise won’t tolerate any off-the-field problems with the NFL draft’s 110th selection.

“Obviously he’s had some issues earlier in his career we feel that’s behind him, and it has to be behind him,” Caldwell said. “… With coach (Doug) Marrone and coach (Tom) Coughlin here there’s no margin for error for him off the field.”

Westbrook was accused of domestic violence by the mother of his two children in 2012 and in 2013. The district attorney’s office rejected the first charge and the second charge was dropped because prosecutors could not locate a witness.

“I felt like my past, I’ve grown up and I’ve learned a lot from it,” Westbrook said Saturday. “… For Jacksonville, I thank them for believing in me and I’m going to do everything that I possibly could to help this organization win.”

___

1:05 p.m.

The fourth round has featured teams making picks with famous faces in exotic locations rather than announcing their selections at the Philadelphia draft headquarters.

In one of the best of these announcements, Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson helped announce his team’s fourth-round pick from Grand Canyon National Park while accompanied by the wife and son of a Phoenix police officer who was killed in the line of duty.

As for the picks themselves, Alabama and Michigan continue to get mentioned quite a bit.

The Chicago Bears made safety Eddie Jackson the 10th Alabama player taken, while the Minnesota Vikings made linebacker Ben Gedeon the seventh Michigan selection. Pittsburgh offensive guard Dorian Johnson, who had been projected to go in the first couple of rounds, went to Arizona with the 115th overall pick.

___

12:50 p.m.

The Broncos have traded running back Kapri Bibbs and a fifth-round pick to San Francisco for the 49ers’ 2018 fourth-round pick.

The fifth-rounder was one of John Elway’s four compensatory picks. This is the first year the league allows teams to trade compensatory selections.

Bibbs is a fourth-year pro who appeared in 13 games for the Broncos, including 12 last season when he finished the year on IR with a sprained ankle.

Bibbs broke Colorado State’s single season records for rushing yards (1,741), TD runs (31) and points (186) in his lone season with the Rams in 2013 after starting out in junior college

___

12:35 p.m.

No. 10 for Alabama.

Chicago took defensive back Eddie Jackson with the fifth pick of the fourth round, No. 112 overall. Jackson is the 10th Alabama player to be selected, with more than three rounds remaining.

Last season, Ohio State led all schools with 12 players selected in the NFL draft.

___

12:25 p.m.

Three picks into the fourth round, Jacksonville drafted a Heisman Trophy finalist. Oklahoma receiver Dede Westbrook finished fourth in the Heisman voting, won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver and was an All-American.

The Sooner also comes with baggage. He was accused of domestic violence by the mother of his two children in 2012 and 2013, before he came to Oklahoma as a junior college transfer. On the field, Westbrook is only about 180 pounds and there are concerns about his ability to be beat physical cornerbacks.

___

12:10 p.m.

Cheesehead to the Packers.

Green Bay stayed in-state to open the fourth round of the NFL draft Saturday, taking Wisconsin linebacker Vince Biegel. He comes off a season shortened by a broken foot, but was a standout for the Badgers before getting hurt.

The round began with an introduction from three of Philly’s football idols: Troy Vincent, now in charge of the NFL’s football operations, Brian Westbrook and Brian Dawkins. Dawkins led an impromptu version of “Fly Eagles Fly,” and Westbrook dared anyone representing the Cowboys to stand in front of the big crowd.

“If anybody from Dallas steps to this podium in my city, we are going to give them a true Philadelphia welcome,” Westbrook promised in response to former Cowboys receiver Drew Pearson taunting the fans when announcing a Dallas pick on Friday night.

Including compensatory picks, which now can be traded, there will be 253 selections overall. Denver owns the final spot, Mr. Irrelevant.

___

For more NFL coverage: https://www.pro32.ap.org and https://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide