Duke has its most players taken in NFL Draft since 1973
Coming off its fewest wins in a season since 2007, Duke’s NFL Draft experience went better than it has seen in nearly five decades.
After going 2-9 last season, the Blue Devils had four players selected in the draft, which concluded its three-day run on Saturday.
The last time Duke had four of its players selected in a single draft was 1973 when the draft lasted 17 rounds.
No Blue Devils were picked in the first three rounds Thursday and Friday before the Los Angeles Chargers picked up an athletic edge rusher when they picked Duke defensive end Chris Rumph II in the fourth round on Saturday.
The 118th player selected in this year’s draft, Rumph became Duke’s first draft choice since Daniel Jones went No. 6 overall in the first round to the New York Giants in the 2019 draft. No Blue Devils were selected in the 2020 NFL Draft. Prior to Jones, the last Duke players to be selected in the draft were Laken Tomlinson (Detroit, first round) and Jamison Crowder (Washington, fourth round) in 2015.
The 6-3, 244-pound Rumph played 36 games in his Duke career, logging 34 tackles for loss, including 17.5 sacks. He’s third on Duke’s all-time career sack list.
His father, also Chris Rumph, is the Chicago Bears’ defensive line coach.
But Rumph’s selection was just the start of a big day for Duke.
Later, in the fifth round, two more Duke players got the call. The Jets selected safety Michael Carter II 10th in the fifth round, 154th overall, and the Kansas City Chiefs added tight end Noah Gray to their collection of picks, selecting Gray 18th in the fifth round, 162nd overall.
This was the first time since 1996 that Duke has had three players selected in one NFL Draft.
It got better in the sixth round when the Arizona Cardinals used the 210th overall pick in the draft to select defensive end Victor Dimukeje with the 26th selection in the sixth round.
Its the fourth time in program history Duke has had four or more players picked in a draft. This year’s haul gives Duke nine players selected over the last nine drafts.
Three more Duke players who went undrafted signed free agent contracts Saturday night. They are cornerback Mark Gilbert (Pittsburgh Steelers), offensive tackle Devery Hamilton (Las Vegas Raiders) and running back Deon Jackson (Indianapolis Colts).
This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 2:00 PM.