There were four former Southeastern Conference football players who were invited to Thursday night's opening round of the NFL draft in Nashville but were never selected.
Three of them - Florida offensive tackle Jawaan Taylor, Missouri quarterback Drew Lock and LSU cornerback Greedy Williams - were picked Friday evening during the early stages of the second round. Ole Miss receiver D.K. Metcalf was the final selection of the second round, going 64th overall to the Seattle Seahawks.
Former Ole Miss wide receiver D.K. Metcalf runs a drill at the NFL combine last month in Indianapolis.Their dreams of playing at football's ultimate level have been realized, though waiting nearly 24 extra hours had its challenges.
"I just sat around with my family and tried to stay patient," Taylor said on a conference call after the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to take the 6-foot-5, 312-pounder with the 35th pick. "I spent all day and all last night praying. The whole day was really not doing anything but just praying and talking with my family."
Friday's second round began with the Arizona Cardinals drafting cornerback Byron Murphy of Washington, but the selection of Taylor opened an SEC parade in which the league had 13 second-round picks following the nine who were tabbed Thursday. The San Francisco 49ers picked South Carolina receiver Deebo Samuel 36th overall, and the Carolina Panthers snagged Ole Miss offensive tackle Greg Little at No. 37.
The next SEC player to go was Lock, who went 42nd overall to the Denver Broncos, who traded up to land him. Lock guided Missouri to bowl games each of his final two college seasons and set a league record in 2017 with 44 touchdown tosses.
"We were very fortunate, because we didn't think he would fall nearly this far," Denver general manager John Elway told the team's official website. "We think he can be a very good player in this league for a long time. We've got a starting quarterback with Joe Flacco, so Drew will be an understudy, and I'm sure he'll learn a lot from Joe.
"Drew is going to be under center a lot more than he's used to, so there are some things he's going to have to learn."
Williams went to the Cleveland Browns as the 46th overall selection, one pick after Vanderbilt cornerback Joejuan Williams was drafted by the New England Patriots. Alabama had a fourth player selected with tight end Irv Smith, who went 50th to the Minnesota Vikings.
Friday's draft drew another crowd well in excess of 100,000 people on the Broadway Strip, and the Tennessee Titans fans among them cheered when another Ole Miss receiver, A.J. Brown, was chosen 51st. Brown amassed 160 receptions for 2,572 yards and 17 touchdowns during his final two seasons with the Rebels.
"I think (Marcus) Mariota is a real tough quarterback, and I have to come in and build that trust with him," Brown told the Titans' team website. "That's going to be big. He's going to get a complete receiver. Anything he needs, I'm going to be there."
Former Missouri quarterback Drew Lock poses on stage at the NFL draft after the Denver Broncos selected him during the second round Friday night in Nashville.Georgia had cornerback Deandre Baker selected late in Thursday's first round by the New York Giants, and the Bulldogs had their second player drafted when the Kansas City Chiefs landed receiver and return specialist Mecole Hardman with the 56th pick. Hardman may instantly replace Chiefs receiver and return man Tyreek Hill, who has been barred from team activities after an audio recording surfaced in which Crystal Espinal, Hill's fiancée, accuses him of hitting their 3-year-old son.
The final selections of the second round were upstaged by news that Arizona traded quarterback Josh Rosen, the 10th pick last year, to the Miami Dolphins for the 62nd overall pick in this year's draft and a fifth-round selection next year.
A familiar face resurfaced three picks into Friday's third round when San Francisco, with the 67th overall selection, picked Baylor University receiver Jalen Hurd. The 6-5, 226-pound Hurd began his college career as a Tennessee Volunteers running back, rushing for 899 yards as a freshman in 2014 and for 1,285 yards in 2015 before leaving seven games into his junior season.
The Titans used their third-round pick and the 82nd overall selection on Charlotte offensive guard Nate Davis, who was a 37-game starter in his college career.
Alabama's fifth player taken was running back Damien Harris, who went to the New England Patriots with the 87th overall pick. Harris rushed for 3,070 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry in his Crimson Tide career.
The SEC, which has produced the most overall picks in 12 consecutive drafts, provided 26 of the first 95 selections entering the late stages of Friday's third round. The league had 90 players invited to February's combine in Indianapolis.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.
2019 NFL DRAFT SELECTIONS
At Nashville
Thursday
FIRST ROUND
1. Arizona, Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma.
2. San Francisco, Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State.
3. N.Y. Jets, Quinnen Williams, NT, Alabama.
4. Oakland, Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson.
5. Tampa Bay, Devin White, LB, LSU.
6. N.Y. Giants, Daniel Jones, QB, Duke.
7. Jacksonville, Josh Allen, DE, Kentucky.
8. Detroit, T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa.
9. Buffalo, Ed Oliver, DT, Houston.
10. Pittsburgh (from Denver), Devin Bush, LB, Michigan.
11. Cincinnati, Jonah Williams, OT, Alabama.
12. Green Bay, Rashan Gary, DE, Michigan.
13. Miami, Christian Wilkins, DE, Clemson.
14. Atlanta, Chris Lindstrom, OG, Boston College.
15. Washington, Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State.
16. Carolina, Brian Burns, DE, Florida State.
17. N.Y. Giants (from Cleveland), Dexter Lawrence, DT, Clemson.
18. Minnesota, Garrett Bradbury, C, N.C. State.
19. Tennessee, Jeffery Simmons, DT, Mississippi State.
20. Denver (from Pittsburgh), Noah Fant, TE, Iowa.
21. Green Bay (from Seattle), Darnell Savage, S, Maryland.
22. Philadelphia (from Baltimore), Andre Dillard, OT, Washington State.
23. Houston, Tytus Howard, OT, Alabama State.
24. Oakland (from Chicago), Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama.
25. Baltimore (from Philadelphia), Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma.
26. Washington (from Indianapolis), Montez Sweat, DE, Mississippi State.
27. Oakland (from Dallas), Johnathan Abram, S, Mississippi State.
28. L.A. Chargers, Jerry Tillery, DT, Notre Dame.
29. Seattle (from Kansas City), L.J. Collier, DE, TCU.
30. N.Y. Giants (from New Orleans through Green Bay and Seattle), Deandre Baker, CB, Georgia.
31. Atlanta (from L.A. Rams), Kaleb McGary, OT, Washington.
32. New England, N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State.
Friday, April 26
SECOND ROUND
33. Arizona, Byron Murphy, CB, Washington.
34. Indianapolis (from N.Y. Jets), Rock Ya-Sin, CB, Temple.
35. Jacksonville (from Oakland), Jawaan Taylor, OT, Florida.
36. San Francisco, Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina.
37. Carolina (from N.Y. Giants through Seattle), Greg Little, OT, Ole Miss.
38. Buffalo (from Jacksonville through Oakland), Cody Ford, OT, Oklahoma.
39. Tampa Bay, Sean Bunting, DB, Central Michigan.
40. Oakland (from Buffalo), Trayvon Mullen, DB, Clemson.
41. Denver, Dalton Risner, OT, Kansas State.
42. Denver (from Cincinnati), Drew Lock, QB, Missouri.
43. Detroit, Jahlani Tavai, LB, Hawaii.
44. Green Bay, Elgton Jenkins, OG, Mississippi State.
45. New England (from Atlanta through L.A. Rams), Joejuan Williams, DB, Vanderbilt.
46. Cleveland (from Washington through Indianapolis), Greedy Williams, DB, LSU.
47. Seattle (from Carolina), Marquise Blair, S, Utah.
48. New Orleans (from Miami), Erik McCoy, C, Texas A&M.
49. Indianapolis (from Cleveland), Ben Banogu, DE, TCU.
50. Minnesota, Irv Smith, TE, Alabama.
51. Tennessee, A.J. Brown, WR, Ole Miss.
52. Cincinnati (from Pittsburgh through Denver), Drew Sample, TE, Washington.
53. Philadelphia (from Baltimore), Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State.
54. Houston (from Seattle), Lonnie Johnson, CB, Kentucky.
55. Houston, Max Sharping, OT, Northern Illinois.
56. Kansas City (from Chicago through New England and L.A. Rams), Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia.
57. Philadelphia, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford.
58. Dallas, Trysten Hill, DT, Central Florida.
59. Indianapolis, Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State.
60. L.A. Chargers, Nasir Adderley, S, Delaware.
61. L.A. Rams (from Kansas City), Taylor Rapp, DB, Washington.
62. Arizona (from New Orleans through Miami), Andy Isabella, WR, UMass.
63. Kansas City (from L.A. Rams), Juan Thornhill, S, Virginia.
64. Seattle (from New England), D.K. Metcalf, WR, Ole Miss.
THIRD ROUND
65. Arizona, Zach Allen, DE, Boston College.
66. Pittsburgh (from Oakland), Diontae Johnson, WR, Toledo.
67. San Francisco, Jalen Hurd, WR, Baylor.
68. N.Y. Jets, Jachai Polite, DE, Florida.
69. Jacksonville, Josh Oliver, TE, San Jose State.
70. L.A. Rams (from Tampa Bay), Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis.
N.Y. Giants exercised in supplemental draft
71. Denver, Dre'Mont Jones, DT, Ohio State.
72. Cincinnati, Germaine Pratt, LB, N.C. State.
73. Chicago (from Detroit through New England), David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State.
74. Buffalo, Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic.
75. Green Bay, Jace Sternberger, TE, Texas A&M.
76. Washington, Terry McLaurin, WR, Ohio State.
77. New England (from Carolina through Seattle), Chase Winovich, DE, Michigan.
78. Miami, Michael Deiter, OG, Wisconsin.
79. L.A. Rams (from Atlanta), David Long, DB, Michigan.
80. Cleveland, Sione Takitaki, LB, BYU.
81. Detroit (from Minnesota), Will Harris, S, Boston College.
82. Tennessee, Nate Davis, OG, Charlotte.
83. Pittsburgh, Justin Layne, CB, Michigan State.
84. Kansas City (from Seattle), Khalen Saunders, DT, Western Illinois.
85. Baltimore, Jaylon Ferguson, DE, Louisiana Tech.
86. Houston, Kahale Warring, TE, San Diego State.
87. New England (from Chicago), Damien Harris, RB, Alabama.
88. Seattle (from Philadelphia through Detroit and Minnesota), Cody Barton, LB, Utah.
89. Indianapolis, Bobby Okereke, LB, Stanford.
90. Dallas, Connor McGovern, OG, Penn State.
91. L.A. Chargers, Trey Pipkins, OT, Sioux Falls.
92. N.Y. Jets (from Kansas City through Seattle and Minnesota), Chuma Edoga, OT, Southern Cal.
93. Baltimore (from New Orleans through N.Y. Jets and Minnesota), Miles Boykin, WR, Notre Dame.
94. Tampa Bay (from L.A. Rams), Jamel Dean, DB, Auburn.
95. N.Y. Giants (from New England through Cleveland), Oshane Ximines, DE, Old Dominion.
Compensatory Selections
96. Buffalo (from Washington), Dawson Knox, TE, Ole Miss.
97. L.A. Rams (from New England), Bobby Evans, OT, Oklahoma.
98. Jacksonville (from L.A. Rams), Quincy Williams, LB, Murray State.
99. Tampa Bay (from L.A. Rams), Mike Edwards, S, Kentucky.
100. Carolina, Will Grier, QB, West Virginia.
101. New England (from New England through L.A. Rams), Yodney Cajuste, OT, West Virginia.
102. Minnesota (from Baltimore), Alexander Mattison, RB, Boise State.