DG151 - Part 1

From the moment he first put on a South Carolina uniform in September 2011 and started living up to the huge amount of hype he received in high school, it quickly became obvious that Jadeveon Clowney was going to be the 1st pick of the 2014 NFL Draft. And so it indeed came to pass, finally becoming official on the evening of May 8, 2014. Even after his overanalyzed, overcriticized, disappointing, injury-plagued junior season with the Gamecocks, the Houston Texans decided he was worth taking with their 1st overall selection in the draft. And with good reason. In today's pass-happy NFL, having a good defense begins with having a great pass rusher. And that's Clowney's specialty. He has the potential to be one of the best pass rushers the league has ever seen. The Texans are counting on it, while all the rest of the teams in the AFC are hoping he never reaches that potential.

Clowney's selection at #1 marks the first time a player with dreads has been the first player selected in the NFL Draft (it was bound to happen sooner or later). Previously the highest anybody with dreads had been selected was 3rd overall, which happened three times - Larry Fitzgerald in 2004, Tyson Jackson in 2009, and Trent Richardson in 2012. In addition to Clowney there were 27 other players with dreads drafted, including six selected in the 1st round (photo below) - five of whom were on hand in person to take that walk across the stage and be greeted by Commissioner Goodell. In dread gallery #151 we'll look at all the rookies with dreads currently in training camp hoping to be on their teams' rosters on opening day.
That's a total of 68 players - the 28 drafted plus another 41 who signed as free agents after not being drafted. (FYI: the total of 68 is as of Tuesday, July 29. It's possible - but not likely - that some of these players may be cut by the time I get this posted).

Let's begin part 1 in Buffalo.
Jadeveon Clowney was not the only player with dreads to be picked early in the 1st round .....

1. Less than a week after being the 4th overall pick of the draft, former Clemson WR Sammy Watkins is already at work in the Bills' weight room. A day after moving up from the #8 selection to #4 to nab Watkins (in a trade that cost them their 1st round pick next year) the Bills traded star WR Stevie Johnson away to the 49ers; so they're expecting Sammy to be in the starting lineup on opening day and for many days after that.

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2. Sammy Watkins enjoys the awesome view of Niagara Falls on May 21 during the Bills' traditional rookie tour around the Buffalo area, two days after the conclusion of their rookie minicamp.

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3. Of course, Bills fans don't care about Sammy Watkins in the weight room or at Niagara Falls, they want to see him making catches and running after the catch, as he does here at rookie minicamp on May 18 - something he did to the tune of 3,391 yards and 27 TD during his three seasons at Clemson. No doubt Sammy has the hands and the speed to be a star on Sundays. But does he have the quarterback?

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The Bills picked three players with dreads in this year's draft (tying them with the Steelers for the most by any team).

4. With the first of their two picks in the 7th round the Bills took LB Randell Johnson, shown here in action and in an interview after practice on May 18. Johnson was the first of 7 players with dreads selected in the 7th (and final) round of the draft and the first of four players with dreads drafted that I did not mention in my draft preview. Johnson's stock improved significantly thanks to an impressive showing at FAU's pro day on Apr. 4.

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5. I thought former Baylor G Cyril Richardson would be selected much earlier than the 153rd overall pick (5th round), but apparently his stock started falling when he got knocked over by Pittsburgh DT Aaron Donald, whom he outweighs by nearly 60 pounds, on this play on Jan. 20 during practice for the Senior Bowl.

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6. Most players with dreads don't let their dreads flow freely while performing at the NFL Combine, but Cyril Richardson does otherwise during his drills on Feb. 22.

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7. At 343 pounds, Cyril Richardson might have nudged the Richter scale upon landing after this leap at Baylor's pro day on Mar. 19. Richardson, shown on the right at rookie minicamp, hopes his time with the Bills is as successful as it was at Baylor, where he was named Big 12 offensive lineman on the year after both his junior and senior seasons.
I already had known that Packers RB Eddie Lacy and Texans S Kendrick Lewis are among those players that are New Orleans natives who were uprooted by Hurricane Katrina on their paths to the NFL; but until I read the story on the Bills website (link below) shortly after he was drafted, I didn't know the same was true about Richardson. Please take the few minutes to read the article.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/Cyril-Richardson-always-moving-forward/c51add6e-541b-4e4b-b746-dc18ac6a99b7

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Trying to improve upon their anemic total of TD by players with dreads ever since Santonio Holmes cut his dreads off during the 2008 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected WR Markus Wheaton in the 3rd round of the 2013 draft. But after he failed to take even one to the house as a rookie, the Steelers are going all out this year to get some touchdowns.

8. In the 4th round of this year's draft (a little later than I thought he'd be picked) they took 6-foot-4 WR Martavis Bryant - an excellent target in the red zone - who had 7 TD catches as Sammy Watkins' sidekick at Clemson last season. 

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9. And in round 3 the Steelers picked the fastest player in the draft, RB/WR Dri Archer, shown (left photo above and video on link below) running the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.26 seconds at the Combine. Archer, who scored 40 TD in his four seasons at Kent State, picks up a few tips from former KSU star Josh Cribbs (right photo above) at Kent State pro day on Mar. 20.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000328405/article/kent-states-dri-archer-turns-in-a-426second-40yard-dash 

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10. Dri Archer didn't debut his dreads until late in the 2012 season; but they're growing quickly and are already visible outside his helmet at this OTA practice on June 4. With his speed and great ability to make defenders miss, the Steelers will try to get Archer the ball in open space and on returns as much as possible.

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11. Having selected Archer and Bryant in rounds 3 and 4, the Steelers made it three players with dreads in a row when they picked CB Shaquille Richardson in round 5. Richardson, shown here in his first NFL practice on May 16, had 10 career INT in four seasons for Arizona.

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12. Shaquille Richardson high fives a fan as he and Dri Archer arrive for the day's activities at the NFL's rookie symposium on June 28 at Aurora, OH.

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13. Looks like Dri Archer and Shaquile Richardson will be enjoying their free time at training camp in style, as they carry their new televisions to their rooms after arriving for Steelers camp in Latrobe, PA, last week.

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14. Also trying to earn a job in Steelers training camp will be undrafted rookie DT Roy Philon, shown here in rookie minicamp on May 17. Philon is on the second edition of his dreads after cutting off the first at the end of his sophomore season at Louisville.

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15. There are three Cincinnati Bengal rookies with dreads this season, including DE Will Clarke, shown here at OTA practice on May 27. Clarke, the Bengals' 3rd round draft choice, was a 3-year starter at West Virginia, where he had 9.5 career sacks.

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16. There were 6 CBs with dreads drafted this year, the most of any position; and the last of those six is Lavelle Westbrooks, from Georgia Southern, shown defending during an OTA practice on May 27 (left photo) and breaking up a pass (right photo) during mandatory minicamp on June 11. You did not see Westbrooks' name in my draft preview because ..... well, I just blew it. I remember seeing him briefly at the Combine but then forgot to include him on my list of prospects. My bad.

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17. Former South Carolina CB Victor Hampton is also looking for a job with the Bengals. Hampton skipped his senior year with the Gamecocks, hoping his checkered past wouldn't cause him to drop any further than the middle of the draft. But when he couldn't stay out of trouble in the weeks just before the draft (as was mentioned in my draft preview), he went undrafted and, worse yet, unsigned by anybody until the Bengals finally picked him up on June 10. The Bengals have gotten a lot of mileage out of several players deemed as "character risks" before, so Victor probably is with the perfect team for him.

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18. Like Hampton, the other player I featured in my draft preview that I feared would get drafted later than he should due to off-field problems - former Alabama State RB Isaiah Crowell - also did not get drafted at all. But if he's as good as he says he is, Crowell, here carrying the ball during the Cleveland Browns' mandatory minicamp on June 10, should be able to make the Browns' final roster.

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The Browns have two other undrafted rookies with dreads .....

19. I have seen former Towson O-lineman Randall Harris several times in video shots of the Browns' summer practices on the NFL Network (actually I think it was the same shot over and over), but the only photo I could find of him was from when the Browns rookies hosted a youth football clinic on June 19. Harris (you might recall) made my dread all-America team all four years he was at Towson, so hopefully he'll do well enough in camp that we'll be able to continue these dreads for many more years to come.

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20. I also could find no photos of former Florida State DT Jacobbi McDaniel other than from the youth clinic. McDaniel had dreads much longer than this during his freshman season at FSU but decided to cut them off and is now growing them back.

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There are a total of only 6 rookies with dreads with NFC North teams this summer, including just two who were drafted.

21. Former Arizona State DT Will Sutton stands next to former LSU DT Ego Ferguson during a Chicago Bears OTA practice on May 27. After allowing the most points and the most yards in franchise history in 2013, the Bears are going with an almost entirely new D-line this season, including Sutton and Ferguson, who were drafted in the 3rd and 2nd round respectively.

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22. Will Sutton had his dreads reduced at the Combine, at his pro day, and throughout the offseason practices, but thankfully he had them back to normal on the first day of training camp on July 25. Sutton blames his gain in weight for his noticeable drop in production during his senior year at ASU (even though he repeated as Pac-12 defensive player of the year) and has been trying to slim back down to regain his quickness.

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23. RB Senorise Perry, shown at Louisville pro day (on left) on Mar. 17, was not drafted, but earned a trip to Bears' training camp after an impressive enough showing during rookie minicamp (on May 16, right photo). Perry came back from a torn ACL to rush for 677 yards (4.8 per carry) and score 7 TD for Louisville in 2013, but he's a long shot to make the Bears' final roster. 

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24. I don't think the Green Bay Packers drafted Khyri Thornton in the 3rd round to carry the ball, but the 6-foot-3, 304-pound DE gets a chance to show off his speed anyway at the Packers rookie orientation camp (left photo) on May 16. Thornton, stretching at minicamp practice on June 17 (right photo) was the first of two players with dreads drafted from CUSA teams, and no doubt he's happy to be with a team more successful than he was at Southern Mississippi, which went 0-12 and 1-11 the last two seasons.

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25. Competing with Thornton for a job on the Packers D-line will be former Miami Hurricane Luther Robinson, who had no sacks during his career at the U playing mostly as a reserve.

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26. Oops! I had Antonio Richardson on my 'certain to be drafted' list when I did my draft preview. So did he. So it must have been a humbling experience for the 330-pound OT when the entire draft went by without any team selecting him. That big of a snub figures to provide some major incentive for Richardson, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings immediately after the draft.

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27. The Vikings will also have an undrafted rookie with dreads on the D-line in training camp - 6-foot-4, 302-pound DT Isame Faciane, who had an outstanding career at FIU, finishing with 27 career TFL, including 7.5 sacks.

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As usual, there won't be a lot of dreads shakin' by rookies at the NFC East training camps. Only 6 rookies have dreads, tying the NFC East with the NFC North for the fewest this season. It looked like none of the four teams was going to draft anybody with dreads, until .....

28. ...... Finally, six picks from the end of the draft there was one, as the Dallas Cowboys selected former Northern Illinois DT Ken Bishop. One of two players drafted from MAC teams, Bishop made my dread all-America team both of his seasons at NIU with those extra long dreads; so I'll be pulling very hard for him to make the team. 

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29. Cowboys 1st round pick Zack Martin is featured in this photo, but the player he is blocking at rookie minicamp on May 17 is DE/DT Davon Coleman, who had 15 TFL and 8.5 sacks in his senior year at Arizona State to land a spot on my all-America with dreads team. Coleman, who was not drafted, has now switched to jersey #60.  

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30. The biggest of the three big rookies with dreads in Cowboys training camp is former Cincinnati Bearcat G Andre Cureton, who weighs in at 343 pounds as he walks off with Martin after practice on May 17.

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31. If only his hair were a bit longer, Andre Cureton could have touched dreads with Ken Bishop on this play during practice on May 17. 

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32. Former Michigan S Thomas Gordon will be trying to win a roster spot with the N.Y. Giants; but you wonder how much of a chance he has because I couldn't find any photos of him from all of the offseason practices. Finally during the first day of Giants training camp on July 22 I found him appearing in this shot of RB David Wilson carrying the ball. 

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33. Another long shot to make the Giants final roster is DE Emmanuel Dieke, here doing an agility drill at an OTA practice on May 28. The 6-foot-6, 257-pounder had 5 sacks in his career at Georgia Tech.

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34. The Philadelphia Eagles finished last season with no dreads on their roster and may do the same this season, unless Quron Pratt makes the team. The former Rutgers WR here does an interview at OTA practice on June 6.

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35. Quron Pratt hands a ball to S Earl Wolff to feed into a passing machine at practice on June 10. Quron certainly has a tough act to follow if he's going to wear jersey #10. Although he was named MVP of the Rutgers team for the 2013 season, that was more for his leadership qualities than his actual production on the field. He had only 1 career TD catch with the Scarlet Knights.

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36. Who is the rookie with dreads in this photo from a Seattle Seahawks OTA practice on June 9? No it's neither WR Areceto Clark (#14, on left), who was a rookie last season, nor S Terrance Parks (#42), who was a rookie in 2012. It's former UTEP LB Horace Miller (#47), whom the Seahawks signed after he impressed at their rookie minicamp.

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37. RB Demitrius Bronson carried the ball 32 times for 107 yards during his senior season at Eastern Washington, so I was shocked to see him practicing with the Seahawks this summer. I'll be amazed if he's still on the roster when the Seahawks open the 2014 season against the Packers on Sept. 4.

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38. Five players with dreads from Big 12 teams were drafted, tying them with the ACC for the most from any conference. The last of those five picked was former Oklahoma FB Trey Millard, drafted in the 7th round by the San Francisco 49ers. An excellent blocker, Millard likely would have been picked earlier had he not suffered a torn ACL injury in October.

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39. The only rookie with dreads on the Arizona Cardinals roster is former Alabama DE Ed Stinson, shown in both photos at rookie minicamp on May 23. The 6-foot-3, 287-pounder figures to have a pretty good mentor. Tweeted DT Darnell Dockett after the Cardinals drafted Stinson in the 5th round, "Ed Stinson will be the next Dockett if not better, I will give him all the tools and show him all the tricks." Let's hope Ed is a quick learner.

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40. What's this? A center with dreads in the NFL? Former Tennessee State C Demetrius Rhaney, drafted in the 7th round by the St. Louis Rams, prepares to snap the ball to QB Garrett Gilbert (on left) and works alongside 1st round pick, OT Greg Robinson (on right), during his 1st NFL practice on May 16. I'll be honest; I didn't include Rhaney in my draft preview because I had no idea he was an NFL prospect. I mean, he didn't even make the all-conference team in the OVC. That's why I didn't have him on my all-America with dreads team either. Let's see if the Rams know what they're doing.  

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41. The Rams certainly knew what they were doing in the 3rd round. That's the round they drafted former Auburn RB Tre Mason, fresh off of his record-setting 2013 season with the Tigers. With Steven Jackson no longer on the team, none of the Rams' 38 TD last season were by any players with dreads. Mason, shown at Auburn pro day on Mar. 4 (on left) and at his first NFL practice on May 16 (on right), figures to make sure that doesn't happen again. With CB Janoris Jenkins already holding the Rams #21 jersey, Tre's new number will be #27 with the Rams.

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42. The Rams also have one undrafted rookie with dreads. WR Jordan Harris, who made the dread stars list many a Saturday while wearing a Bryant uniform the last four years, first signed with the Indianapolis Colts after the draft, then was picked up by the Rams after the Colts released him. The Rams seemingly are already set at WR, so Harris is going to have to do something special in training camp if he plans on being around on opening day.

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We earlier saw the three Buffalo Bills rookies with dreads, now here are the other four on teams in the AFC East.

43. In need of offensive lineman after that fiasco they endured last season, the Miami Dolphins used their 3rd round draft pick to take former North Dakota State OT Billy Turner - being interviewed after practice on May 23 (right photo) and working with 1st round pick, OT Ja'Wuan James, in a drill (left photo) during practice on May 23. Turner, 6-foot-4 and 313 pounds, was a star player on the FCS level, and the Dolphins are hoping he'll be able to have the same success against the big boys.

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44. CB Walt Aikens, the Dolphins' 4th round draft choice, gets beat for a TD by WR Armon Binns during a minicamp practice on June 19. Aikens, a big corner at 6-1, 200 pounds, started his college career in the Big 10 at Illinois and had a successful freshman season before transferring to FCS school Liberty, where he had 7 career INT the last three seasons.

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45. A week after being the first safety selected in the draft - with the 18th pick in the 1st round by the New York Jets, Calvin Pryor gets his head measured to assure he gets a helmet that fits right.

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46. Calvin Pryor, who skipped his senior year after starring at Louisville for three seasons, participates in his first NFL practice at Jets rookie minicamp on May 16.

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47. Calvin Pryor signs autographs after practice on the second day of rookie minicamp on May 17, and after changing his jersey number to 25, the number he wore at Louisville. Interesting, because RB Alex Green already has #25. The Jets current roster lists them both as #25; so we'll see what happens with that if Green makes the final roster. The NFL isn't like college football. You can't have more than one player wearing the same number.

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48. Calvin Pryor tries to distract the Jets' other rookie DB with dreads - 6th round pick Brandon Dixon - from making a catch during an OTA practice on May 28. Pryor missed this practice because whenever he put his helmet on, it was causing his wisdom teeth to ache too severely. He was scheduled to get them pulled the following week. 

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49. CB Brandon Dixon, one of the players featured in my draft preview, participates in his first NFL practice on May 16. Dixon, who played his junior and senior seasons for Northwest Missouri State, was the only Division 2 player with dreads to be drafted and the only player with dreads picked in the 6th round.

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That's 5 divisions down, and 3 more still to go in our look at this season's rookies with dreads. For rookies on teams in the AFC West, AFC South, and NFC South, go to part 2 of DG151.