LSU Looks To Add Newest Members To NFL

BATON ROUGE – LSU will look to send a new group of Tigers to the professional football ranks as the NFL Draft takes place at Union Station in Kansas City beginning on Thursday evening.

The three-day event opens with the first round on Thursday followed by rounds two and three on Friday. The final four rounds of the draft take place on Saturday.

ESPN, ABC and NFL Network will televise the event with the opening round taking place at 7 p.m. CT. Day 2 of the draft begins at 6 p.m. CT followed by an 11 a.m. start on Saturday. The draft will also be streamed on ESPN.com and NFL.com.

This year’s group of LSU’s NFL Draft prospects will join the 58 former Tigers currently on NFL rosters. The 58 former players on NFL rosters are the most in school-history and ranks No. 3 among all college football programs nationally.

Last year, LSU had 10 players selected in the NFL Draft, which included the third overall pick in Derek Stingley Jr. to the Houston Texans. LSU is one of only three schools nationally to have a player picked in the Top 10 overall in each of the past three drafts. Stingley is joined by quarterback Joe Burrow No. 1 overall in 2020 and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase No. 5 overall in 2021.

This year’s LSU draft class is highlighted by outside linebacker BJ Ojulari, a two-year starter and a first team All-SEC selection for the Tigers in 2022. Ojulari, who will join his brother Azeez in the NFL, finished his three-year career at LSU with 129 tackles, 25.0 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks.

Ojulari will potentially be followed off the board by a host of Tigers including defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy, offensive guard Anthony Bradford, defensive end Ali Gaye, wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, defensive back Jay Ward and cornerbacks Mekhi Garner and Jarrick Bernard-Converse.

LSU’s other draft-eligible players include linebacker Micah Baskerville, defensive back Todd Harris Jr., wide receiver Jaray Jenkins, linebacker Mike Jones Jr., safety Joe Foucha, and cornerback Colby Richardson.

LSU has had at least one defensive back taken in the NFL Draft eight consecutive years dating back to 2015 when Jalen Collins was selected in the second round by Atlanta.

LSU also has had a player taken in the first round in four consecutive drafts, which includes a school-record five in 2020 – Joe Burrow, K’Lavon Chaisson, Justin Jefferson, Patrick Queen and Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

(Release via LSU Athletics)