Chris Long goes to the St. Louis Rams
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After the Miami Dolphins passed on him with the first selection in the NFL Draft, Chris Long hoisted the jersey of the St. Louis Rams on stage at Radio City Music Hall, as the Rams used their second overall pick to take the fourth-year UVA defensive end.
Long is the highest Cavalier ever selected in the history of the NFL Draft in the Super Bowl era, and only the second highest after the Pittsburgh Steelers chose Wahoo running back Bill Dudley first overall in 1942. He is also the first Cavalier to be chosen in the first round of the draft since 2006, when the New York Jets chose offensive lineman D’Brickashaw Ferguson with the fourth overall pick.
Long’s pigskin legend father, Howie, accompanied his son backstage before the selection. After the Rams announced their pick, Long became only the fifth son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer to be drafted into the NFL.
3:52pm update: Long isn’t the only Wahoo of interest to teams picking in the top 10. ESPN has a camera trained on third-year guard Branden Albert, awaiting his NFL fate at home in Edgewood, Maryland. If Albert goes to the Jacksonville Jaguars (who traded up to get the Baltimore Ravens’ eighth-overall pick), the Cincinnati Bengals, or the New England Patriots, it will be the first time ever that two Cavaliers have been chosen in the top 10.
4:10pm update: The Patriots chose Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo at #10, so Cavalier history will have to wait another year. Still, if a team drafts Albert in the first round, it will be the first time two ‘Hoos have been chosen in the first round since 1997, when linebacker James Farrior went to the New York Jets as the eighth pick, and defensive end Jon Harris landed with the Philadelphia Eagles as the 25th selection.
4:41pm update: Branden Albert is a Kansas City Chief. The Chiefs chose the Cavalier offensive lineman with the 15th overall pick. Seeking to fill a porous offensive line, the Chiefs traded up for the 15th spot from the Detroit Lions.
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Why does everyone writing about sports fall into phrases like, “He is also the first Cavalier to be chosen in the first round of the draft since 2006.”
“The first since” is intended to show it’s been awhile since the last time. One year - one eligibility period - does not meet the meaning of “awhile” except perhaps to fan nitwits. The writer looks absurd for saying it.
There are higher target markets to aim for than the fan nitwits who will shortly fill this space with non sequitur indignation over draft choices.
Broadway Tittle,
I’m afraid you look far more absurd than the writer for getting all bent out of shape over one sentence. Talk about a nitwit!
I’ve been laughing about this selection since Saturday. I used to work with somebody who is a big Rams fan, but hates - and I mean HATES WITH A PERVERSE PASSION anything to do with the University of Virginia and Charlottesville (yet she chooses to live here and takes full advantage of UVA’s facilities for her running pursuits, but that’s another story). So seeing Long go to the Rams is especially satisfying in that regard.