Austin Johnson was first on the board, but Christian Hackenberg and Carl Nassib each joined him on day two of the NFL Draft. Anthony Zettel and Jordan Lucas each went in the later rounds on Saturday.
The first round of the NFL Draft came up dry on Penn State players for a sixth consecutive season, but the second day of the draft saw some notable Nittany Lions get picked up. Defensive tackle Austin Johnson was the first to be selected when the Tennessee Titans drafted him with the 43rd overall pick in the second round on Friday night. Eight picks later saw the New York Jets draft quarterback Christian Hackenberg with the 51st pick. Defensive lineman Carl Nassib went in the third round to the Cleveland Browns with the 65th overall pick.
The @Titans are gonna love having this guy on the line.
Congratulations, @AJohn15. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/G8x7P8gOTk
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) April 30, 2016
The draft continued and wrapped up on Saturday with rounds four through seven. A third defensive lineman, Anthony Zettel, was drafted in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions. Defensive back Jordan Lucas went two picks later to the Miami Dolphins. In all, five Penn State players were drafted by NFL teams this season, which was the most since 2010 when six players from Penn State were drafted by NFL teams. It is the 26th time in program history Penn State had at least five players drafted.
All-time leader in passing yards and passing TDs.
(Just to name a couple of the PSU records @chackenberg1 owns.)https://t.co/ZeVSqmC6cC
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 30, 2016
For a brief moment on Friday night it looked as though former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien and his Houston Texans made the move up in the draft order to take Hackenberg. The Texans moved up two spots to jump ahead of the Jets after trading picks with the Atlanta Falcons. Given the O’Brien-Hackenberg narrative, it seemed to make too much sense, but the Texans just signed free agent Brock Osweiler and instead drafted Notre Dame guard Nick Martin (the second Notre Dame player drafted by O’Brien in this draft). That left Hackenberg on the big board and the Jets took him with the next pick. The New York Post is apparently on board with the selection, calling it a slam dunk. It also puts the writing on the wall for former Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty.
“He’s going to be confident enough to be the face of the franchise for the Jets when that time comes for him,” Hackenberg’s NFL-prep coach Jordan Palmer (Carson Palmer’s brother) said Saturday. “In the meantime, he’s going to be a guy that’s going to get in line and learn and be humble. I think it’s a great fit.”
Once the draft wrapped up with the Titans drafted Southern Mississippi defensive back Kalan Reed with the final pick, the phones started ringing as NFL teams began signing undrafted free agents. Penn State cornerback Trevor Williams was among those getting calls as he signed with the San Diego Chargers. According to a database compiled by the reliable NEPatriotsDraft.com, Tarow Barney signed with the Jets. Tight end Kyle Carter is heading to Minnesota, as he announced with a simple image…
— Kyle Carter (@KCarter_87) April 30, 2016
So now we turn the page ahead to the 2016 season where the odds look wide open at this stage, while the draft experts out there are already starting to think about the 2017 NFL Draft.
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