All in the Family

With apologies to Archie and Edith Bunker and the Meathead, this post has nothing to do with the successful sitcom that aired on CBS Television back in the 1970's. I just thought the title of that show (reruns of which are still being shown today) also would be the perfect title this year for my annual preview of the NFL Draft. What? You didn't think the small matter of the Draft already being held two months ago was going to keep me from doing a preview, did you? No way! And doing it this way is going to make this my best preview ever. I mean, it's going to be kind of hard to go wrong on my predictions of which day of the Draft all the players with dreads will be selected. Seriously though, since we already know which teams drafted which players, I thought I'd do kind of a draft preview and review all at the same time.

The title fits because there were no fewer than seven players with dreads eligible for the 2018 Draft who have older brothers already playing in the NFL. And for five of those seven, their brothers also have dreads. I'll feature the five before then doing a dread gallery that includes all of the players with dreads drafted this year.

Once upon a time, back before there were dreads in the NFL, there was a player by the name of Ferrell Edmunds. He was a tight end who played 7 seasons (1998-94) and caught 148 passes, 12 of which went for touchdowns. I remember the name; but since he played for teams I don't follow (the Dolphins and Seahawks), I don't remember anything about him. But that doesn't matter. What does matter is that the woman he chose to marry, Felicia, just so happened to be an athlete too, described in a 2016 Washington Post article (first link below) as a "standout hurdler at Southern Illinois in the 1980's." Obviously with bloodlines like that, any offspring of Ferrell and Felicia couldn't help but be great at sports. And so it was with their three sons.

Coach Beamer certainly didn't waste any time, deciding that he wanted all three of them - Trey, Terrell, and Tremaine - to come and play for him at Virginia Tech, even while Trey was a junior in high school and Terrell and Tremaine were still in middle school. That was in 2010. Now 8 years later Trey already has played one season in the NFL, and Terrell and Tremaine will soon be playing on Sundays as well.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/terrell-and-tremaine-edmunds-keep-virginia-tech-football-a-familt-affair/2016/10/26/6c527050-9af3-11e6-b3c9-f662adaa0048_story.html?utm_term=.31c1494435ee

The caption to the photo at the beginning of  the article above misidentifies two of the three brothers. Actually Tremaine is in the middle of that photo and Trey on the right. In the photo on the left that's Trey on the left and Tremaine on the right, with Ferrell and Terrell in between them. And in the photo above Felicia and Ferrell pose with their two youngest, Tremaine and Terrell. I hope I'm not confusing you too much. If you want, the link below is to Part 1 of a short 4-part documentary about the E-Boyz done by NBC Sports Washington. The links to the other three parts are included on the same page as Part 1. Each video is less than 4 minutes long (and if you're only interested in seeing the dreads, you can skip Part 2).

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/video/edmunds-family-documentary-e-boyz-ep-1-players
  
Only if you are a friend or member of the family or a fan of the New Orleans Saints do you know that Trey Edmunds was in the NFL last season. After an injury-plagued college career, which began with him leading the Hokies in rushing as a redshirt freshman in 2013 and ended with him transferring to Maryland for his senior year, Trey was not selected in the Draft last year; but he didn't let that stop him. He signed with the Saints as a free agent and made the team. But with not one but two Pro Bowl running backs ahead of him on the depth chart, he carried the ball only 9 times all year, spending most of his rookie season playing on special teams.

Meanwhile back at Tech Terrell and Tremaine were starring on defense, both earning All-ACC honors the last two seasons, Tremaine as a LB and Terrell as a S. Both decided to forgo their senior season and enter the NFL Draft; and it's not hard to understand why.

Tremaine Edmunds, who played the 2017 season as a 19-year old, not only was rated one of the best linebackers in this year's Draft, but as is mentioned in an episode of Brett Kollman's "The Film Room" series (first link below) he has the potential to be one of the best ever. In a draft not exactly loaded with a lot of top prospects with dreads, Tremaine was the clear favorite for anyone betting on who the first player with dreads drafted would be. The video also mentions that Tremaine is far from a finished product, specifically warning that too often he is out of position and that in the NFL he won't be able to get away with a lot of the things he did in college. The link below that is to a video of Tremaine's workout at the NFL Combine on Mar. 4, where he was one of the few players with dreads that didn't have his dreads reduced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oTjfbxn3Ng&feature=player_embedded
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va2puQCsJ74 

Weighing in at about 30 pounds less than his 250-pound younger brother, Terrell Edmunds was mostly a safety for the Hokies; but he's versatile enough that he played some at cornerback and linebacker as well. Hoping to be fully healed and healthy for his first pro season, Terrell, bothered all season by a shoulder injury (torn labrum), shut down his 2017 season after 10 games (after Tech had been eliminated from contention for the ACC crown) and underwent surgery. At the Combine he only did the 40-yard dash (photo on left), vertical jump, and broad jump; so his highlight video is a bit brief. Instead here's a video of his highlights from last season (first link below). Below that is a link to his draft profile done by NFL.com, and the third link is to an article in the Virginian-Pilot from one day before the Draft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zpgozKO-98
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/terrell-edmunds?id=32462018-0002-5601-25af-a59d7c8988a5
https://pilotonline.com/sports/college/virginia-tech/football/article_418aa670-48cc-11e8-b1d9-e32d1883308d.html

If you clicked those last two links, you might have noticed that Terrell was projected to be a 3rd or 4th round pick by NFL.com. And the V-P article said that he "would have to wait longer" than Tremaine to be drafted. But that wait turned out to be far shorter than he (or anybody else) ever imagined.

Maybe they didn't quite steal the show on the first night of the Draft (Apr. 26); but Tremaine and Terrell were one of the biggest stories, becoming the first pair of brothers ever to both be selected in the 1st round of the same draft (details in article on link below). Tremaine was picked a little later than expected, 16th overall by the Buffalo Bills, but indeed was the first player with dreads picked. Then about 90 minutes or so later Terrell was picked .... way sooner than expected. Just hoping he wouldn't fall to Day 3 of the Draft (rounds 4-7) Terrell, along with most of the rest of us, was shocked when the Pittsburgh Steelers picked him in the 1st round, 28th overall.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2018/04/27/brothers-tremaine-and-terrell-edmunds-make-nfl-draft-history/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.af0a2cd30164

At first the fact that Terrell and Tremaine had just made history went unnoticed. It was completely overshadowed by the man who announced the Steelers' pick. Walking out onto the stage and up to the microphone was none other than Ryan Shazier, the Steeler LB who suffered a serious spinal cord injury last December: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNBQ6M7BoeE .....
Never mind that Shazier was struggling to walk, it was wonderful to see him walking at all. After seeing him carted off the field against the Bengals (of course) in Week 13 last season and hearing the reports of his injury, I thought he was going to be paralyzed. He's not likely to ever play again, but thankfully he won't have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. After he announced Terrell as the Steelers' selection, and after everyone got over the shock that they had just picked someone nobody expected to be picked in the 1st round, it finally sunk in that something historic had just happened. Terrell and Tremaine thus become the answer to a trivia question that's sure to be asked for many years to come. As it turned out - and I guess it's fitting - Terrell and Tremaine also were the only two players with dreads picked in the 1st round this year. And speaking of fitting .....
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If anybody other than the Seattle Seahawks had drafted Shaquem Griffin, it just would not have been right. Fortunately things played out as they should have, and next season Shaquem will be rejoining his twin brother, Shaquill, who was drafted by the Seahawks last year. Their reunion was one of the biggest and best stories on the 3rd day of the Draft. By now surely you're aware that Shaquem Griffin (photo on left below, from the Senior Bowl on Jan. 27) has starred in football despite having no hand on his left arm. If not, you can click on this link and watch an ESPN video detailing why his hand was amputated when he was 4 years old, how his parents didn't allow him to use the loss of his hand as an excuse, and how his brother always stood by his side: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-fkYtcbZa8

Twins tend to stick together, and Shaquem and his older (by a minute) brother were no different. But after being teammates throughout their high school and college careers, they were separated in 2017. While Shaquill was playing his rookie season with the Seahawks, Shaquem (who had redshirted as a freshman) was still in college, playing his senior year for the UCF Knights and playing a starring role in their storybook undefeated season. Shaquem had a tough start to his career at UCF; but once Coach Frost showed up in 2016 and switched him from S to LB, his star began to shine ever brighter than Shaquill's. As a junior Shaquem was named the AAC defensive player of the year; and the only reason he didn't repeat as a senior is that he was beat out for the honor by Houston superstar D-lineman Ed Oliver - the same Ed Oliver who's expected to be one of the first players picked in the 2019 Draft.

While featuring Shaquill (with Shaquem at UCF pro day on Mar. 29 in photo on right below) in my preview of the 2017 Draft, I wrote about Shaquem that "hopefully we'll be hearing a lot more about him around this time next year." Well, we were. He made sure of that. Evidently the people who decide who gets invitations to the NFL Combine thought that the loss of his hand would be too great an obstacle for Shaquem to overcome to play in the NFL, no matter how great a player he was in college ..... because he didn't get one at first. But after impressing at the Senior Bowl, he was invited to the Combine after all .....

And all he did there was impress even more, as is confirmed in his highlight video (link below), which has been viewed more than a half million times. On the morning of Mar. 5 he began his workout by running the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds (exactly the same time Shaquill ran at the Combine last year, of course), an astonishingly fast time for someone who weighs 225 pounds. In his 2nd attempt on the 40 he ran a much slower 4.58, which was more like it; but by the end of the day he had changed the question about him from "Will he be drafted?" to "In what round will he be drafted?".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6XSAb4DKlE

With two hands a player with Shaquem's credentials would have been drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round; but as he found out, teams are still doubting him. Day 2 of the Draft came and went without him hearing his name called. Then on Day 3 the 4th round passed by too. After he ran that 4.38 at the Combine, viewers on the NFL Network were quickly cut to a shot of Coach Carroll looking on from a booth above the field, looking shocked and delighted at the same time. And when I saw that reaction, I figured Shaquem had a great chance of ending up with the Seahawks.

And so it came to pass, finally in round 5, the choice that made Shaquem and Shaquill at least for one day the happiest pair of twins in the world. The first link below is a video from the Griffin's hotel room of the emotional reaction of the two when they found out they were going to be teammates again. And below that is an article from Seahawks.com on the selection of Shaquem, which includes links to a couple of extras, including a brief photo gallery of Shaquem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSFmuI-DAK4
https://www.seahawks.com/news/shaquem-griffin-on-joining-twin-brother-shaquill-with-seahawks-it-was-like-i-was   

Honestly I too have doubts about whether Shaquem can thrive in the NFL. Tackling is hard enough with two hands; and we're talking the NFL here, where every game you're trying to tackle players that are incredibly difficult to stop. Hopefully Shaquem will make fools out of me and all the other doubters. But he certainly has a tough task ahead.
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Just like Trey Edmunds, Kevin White has two younger brothers who were hoping to be picked in this year's Draft. Unlike Edmunds though, only one of White's siblings has dreads. As seen in the photo on the left and confirmed in an article from the West Virginia football website (first link below), Kevin was back in town to support his brothers at WVU's pro day on Mar. 29. As you may recall, Kevin was so big a star during his time at WVU that he was a top 10 pick in the 2015 Draft and the first player with dreads picked that year. His brothers weren't as highly rated this year as he was three years ago, but Kyzir and Ka'Raun are talented enough that it was possible they both would be picked this year.

Unfortunately Kyzir decided to go his own way, both with his hair (no dreads) and the position he plays (safety). But Ka'Raun White so far has followed big brother's footsteps. His dreads aren't quite as long as Kevin's, but they're long enough. And he is a WR, just like Kevin. And he (and Kyzir too) even went to the same junior college as Kevin (playing his freshman season in 2014) before suiting up for the Mountaineers the last three years. His stats improved in each of those seasons, culminating with a stellar senior year in 2017 in which he had 61 receptions for 1,004 yards and 12 TD.

https://wvusports.com/news/2018/3/29/football-family-matters.aspx

But big numbers alone aren't enough to impress NFL scouts, especially when they're numbers put up by a WR from WVU. In recent years several WVU receivers have had outstanding seasons only to move on and do little or nothing for their teams on Sundays. I was hoping that Kevin White would be the one to buck the trend. But ever since the Chicago Bears spent the 7th overall pick on him three years ago, a heartbreaking rash of serious injuries has prevented him from helping them at all. I guess that means then that 2018 will be the year all three of the White brothers make their mark in the league. Well, at least they hope they all do. The first link below is to an article about the three in the Morning Call from right after the Combine. The second link is to a draft profile on Ka'Raun from the Diehards website. And on the bottom is the link to a video of Ka'Raun's performance at the Combine on Mar. 3.

https://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-spt-white-brothers-nfl-combine-20180305-story.html
https://www.diehards.com/west-virginia/west-virginia-football-karaun-white-draft-profile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvTircm_2Wc

If this had been an actual draft preview, I would've had Ka'Raun in the "maybe they'll be drafted" category. And as it turned out he wasn't drafted. In fact, if Ka'Raun ends up playing on Sundays this fall, it will be after having the door slammed in his face twice already. The next weekend after he wasn't drafted he was released by the Seahawks, who had signed him as a free agent, at the end of their rookie minicamp. The next weekend after that he was at the Cincinnati Bengals rookie camp after they signed him. Thankfully he survived there; and barring an unforeseen disaster, he'll be at the Bengals' training camp in August trying to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Kyzir, by the way, was drafted in the 4th round by the L.A. Chargers.
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As you may recall from last year's preview, Shaquill Griffin was not the only player with dreads about to be separated from his twin brother. Deciding to skip his senior season with the Texas Longhorns to enter the Draft, RB D'Onta Foreman left his twin, WR Armanti Foreman, behind in Austin. Armanti, after three seasons of not living up to expectations, was going to have to have a huge senior year for the Longhorns if he was planning on being drafted. Well, it was huge alright - hugely disappointing, that is. It seems the team's new coach wasn't exactly enamored with the lack of enthusiasm Armanti displayed at practice - so much so that Armanti was flat-out benched for a couple of games last October. After a decent start he then had a total of 7 receptions in the team's first 8 Big 12 games. He played well in the final two games of the season, but all in all it was a train wreck of a season for someone hoping to and talented enough to play football for a living. I mean, finishing your senior season with 31 catches for 280 yards (and barely topping 1,000 yards for your whole career) isn't exactly going to make scouts take notice.

Uninvited to both the Senior Bowl and the Combine of course, Armanti's only big chance to impress NFL decision makers was at Texas' pro day on Mar. 28, where he had his dreads looking like a two-layer cake and where D'Onta was on hand (photo on left) to lend whatever support he could. But evidently D'Onta felt that just being in attendance at pro day wasn't enough. Tired of reading all the negative and (in his opinion) inaccurate things being written and said about his older (by 12 minutes) brother, he decided to preach the truth, his truth, about Armanti in an article posted in the Players' Tribune (details in an article from the Burnt Orange Nation blog in the first link below, and D'Onta's full article in the second link).

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2018/4/16/17245004/armanti-foreman-practice-habits-donta-foreman-open-letter-nfl-draft-texas-longhorns
https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/donta-foreman-armanti-nfl-draft

No doubt D'Onta was just trying to help; but he need not have bothered. All the teams had already made up their minds to take a pass on this "diamond in the rough." The link below is to an article in 247 Sports announcing that after the Draft Armanti had signed with a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings. It also briefly recaps his career (including his stats) with the Longhorns.

https://247sports.com/college/texas/Bolt/Texas-Longhorns-Football-Armanti-Foreman-signs-free-agent-contract-Minnesota-Vikings-2018-NFL-Draft-117802760/

Thankfully Armanti's dreads were back to normal and looking much better than at his pro day during the Vikings' rookie minicamp (photo on right) on May 4-6. But unfortunately whatever he did on the field in camp apparently was far less impressive than his dreads ..... because he, just like Ka'Raun White, was let go after just those three days. The next weekend Armanti tried out at the Indianapolis Colts' rookie minicamp; but they didn't offer him a contract after those three days. So, with training camps beginning a month from now, it looks like  Armanti isn't going to be in any of them. I don't know; maybe D'Onta can come to the rescue again and talk the Texans into giving his brother a chance.
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DG

In addition to Tremaine Edmunds, Terrell Edmunds, and Shaquem Griffin there were 37 other players with dreads selected in the 2018 Draft. But before you get all excited, only about half of them have dreads long enough to be seen with their helmets on. Let's take a look at them now in some photos taken mostly either at the Combine or their pro days.


MOSTS

1. So far I've mentioned only five of the seven players with dreads hoping to be drafted that had brothers already in the NFL. Here is one of the two I didn't mention earlier, S Justin Reid, brother of free agent and former 49ers S Eric Reid, with his dreads reduced at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 5 and normal at Stanford pro day (right photo) on Mar. 22.
The Houston Texans are the team that picked the most players with dreads this year, with Reid being the first of four. And according to this article in the Full Press Coverage blog they were lucky he was still available in the 3rd round: https://fullpresscoverage.com/2018/04/28/justin-reid-was-the-biggest-steal-of-the-nfl-draft/

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2. The Texans weren't the only AFC South team to draft a safety with dreads in round 3. So did the Jaguars, taking former Alabama S Ronnie Harrison, showing off his 34-inch vertical at the Combine (right photo) on Mar. 5.
The AFC South was the division with the most players with dreads drafted. Their total of 9 was two more than the next highest division.

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3. The round in which the most players with dreads were picked was the 6th round, where 9 of the 40 players with dreads were selected. One of the nine was another safety, former Florida Gator Marcell Harris, who was picked by the 49ers. The last of 6 safeties with dreads drafted, Marcell's got dreads we'll have no problem at all seeing if he makes the team. Harris, shown here at a media session at the Combine at Mar. 4, only did the bench press at the Combine because he was still recovering from torn Achilles, an injury that forced him to miss his entire senior season for Florida.

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4. Not surprisingly, there were more cornerbacks with dreads picked than any other position. Isaac Yiadom was the third of 8 CBs with dreads drafted this year, taken in round 3 by the Denver Broncos. Yiadom is shown doing drills at the Combine (right photo) on Mar. 5 and at Boston College pro day (left photo) on Mar. 21.
DE was the position with the second most players with dreads picked with 7.

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5. The ACC, not the SEC, was the college conference that had the most players with dreads drafted this year. The ACC's total of 11 was three more than the SEC's 8. The only one of the 11 from the U is one of those 7 DEs with dreads picked, Chad Thomas, shown here doing drills at the Combine on Mar. 4. Thomas, a 275-pounder, was taken in round 3 by the Cleveland Browns.

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FIRSTS

6. With the dreads that Donte Jackson has, it's a crime for him to have them reduced, as he did at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 5. At least he had them flowing at full blast at LSU pro day (right photo) on Apr. 4. You can see those dreads in motion in this interview he did after his pro day workout: http://www.lsusports.net/mediaPortal/player.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&id=6256640&KEY=
Jackson was the first of the 8 CBs with dreads drafted as well as the first of the 8 SEC players with dreads drafted, taken in round 2 by the Carolina Panthers.

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7. Growing the 2nd edition of his dreads, RB Ronald Jones works out at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 2 and at USC pro day (right photo) on Mar. 28. After the Edmunds brothers were drafted in the 1st round, Jones was the first offensive player with dreads picked, selected early in the 2nd round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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8. Former Boston College DE Harold Landry does drills at the Combine on Mar. 4. Landry was supposed to be drafted in the 1st round, and every team needs good pass rushers. But with all the teams worried about his health, he fell all the way to the 9th pick of the 2nd round, where the Tennessee Titans were more than happy to take a chance on him. Despite the fall, Landry was still the first of the 7 defensive ends with dreads drafted .....

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9. ..... And Kemoko Turay was the second. 11 picks after the Titans took Landry, the Colts picked Turay, making him the first of 4 players with dreads from the Big 10 to be drafted. Kemoko injured his hamstring while running his 40-yard dash at the Combine on Mar. 4 but still was able to do his drills (left photo); but he took it easy at Rutgers pro day (right photo) 5 days later.

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10. There were 4 players with dreads drafted from FCS schools, and the first of those was former Sam Houston State DT P.J. Hall. He wasn't invited to the Combine, and I couldn't find any photos from SHSU pro day, so here's a shot of him trying to sack Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 20. A tremendous performance at his pro day (a 305-pounder with a 38-inch vertical jump?!) vaulted him up to the 2nd round of the Draft, where he was picked by the Oakland (for now) Raiders: http://houstonianonline.com/2018/03/28/hall-shines-at-pro-day/

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DOUBLING UP

11. The Kansas City Chiefs used their two picks in the middle of round 6 on players with dreads. After taking former Central Arkansas CB Tremon Smith (left photo, at the Chiefs' rookie minicamp on May 6) 196th overall, two picks later they took Kahlil McKenzie (right photo, at Tennessee pro day on Mar. 19). McKenzie was at DT for the Volunteers, but the Chiefs are trying to convert him into an O-lineman. As for Smith, I'll let him tell you a little bit about himself in this video of his media session after practice on May 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65zO6W5p9GI

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12. After selecting two players with dreads in round 2, the Texans took two more in round 6 - these two: DE Duke Ejiofor (left photo, at his media session at the Combine) and LB Peter Kalambayi (right photo, at Stanford pro day). Ejiofor, who went to college at Wake Forest but attended a Houston high school, didn't participate in any pre-draft workouts because he was recovering from the surgery he had done in February for a torn labrum.

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13. Shaquem Griffin (left photo, running his 40 at the Combine) was not the only player with dreads picked by the Seahawks. 5 picks after they got Griffin, the Seahawks drafted a player with much shorter dreads than Shaquem, former Oklahoma State S Tre Flowers (right photo, at the Combine on Mar. 5).

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14. For a change - and it's change for the better - there were actually two tight ends with dreads drafted this year, one of whom was a teammate of Shaquem Griffin last year. Jordan Akins (right photo, running a route at UCF pro day on Mar. 29) and Ian Thomas (left photo, making the one-handed grab at the Combine on Mar. 3) were selected three picks apart, at numbers 98 and 101. Akins was the third to last pick of the 3rd round, by the Texans; while Thomas was the first pick of Day 3 of the Draft, taken by the Panthers at the beginning of round 4.
While looking for info about Thomas, whom I had never heard of until seeing him at the Combine, I came across this really nice story about him from the Baltimore Sun that's well worth the 10 minutes or so it takes to read: http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/ravens-insider/bs-sp-ian-thomas-nfl-draft-20180419-story.html

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15. The Colts doubled up on WRs with dreads in consecutive rounds late in the Draft, taking Daurice Fountain (left photo, from Northern Iowa pro day on Mar. 25) in the 5th round and Deon Cain (right photo, from Clemson pro day on Mar. 15) in round 6. And that's too bad, because only a handful of rookie WR with dreads each year have a chance to make teams' opening day rosters. Having two of them on the same team increases the chance that one of them won't make it. The first link below is to an article on Fountain's great performance at his pro day; and the bottom link is a story about Cain at his pro day.

https://wcfcourier.com/sports/college/uni/football/uni-football-fountain-has-impressive-pro-day/article_e07c1127-ff27-52f5-a655-cd4522baaaec.html
https://www.apnews.com/e715f86c3341412fb8861d809fc2ed38/Draft-Diary:-Cain-shows-out-for-NFL-on-Clemson's-pro-day

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16. Round 6 of the Draft was where you had to look to find the two players with dreads from Tulane that were drafted, both shown here at Tulane pro day on Apr. 3. CB Parry Nickerson (left photo, with his dreads reduced, as usual) was the only player with dreads picked by the Jets, and DE Ade Aruna (right photo) was the only one picked by the Vikings. This article from the Times-Picayune includes videos of both of their workouts as well as a photo gallery: https://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2018/04/tulane_pro_day_parry_nickerson.html

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17. Listening to instructions before doing a drill at Temple pro day on Mar. 19 were these three D-linemen, one with dreads and the other two who were just getting their dreads started. DE Sharif Finch (on right) was not drafted, instead signing with the Titans as a free agent after the Draft; but the other two were .....

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18. DE Jacob Martin (left photo) stretches next to Coach Carroll at rookie minicamp on May 4 after being the 3rd player with dreads drafted by the Seahawks this year, taken in the 6th round. Also on May 4 DT Jullian Taylor signs his contract (right photo) after being the 2nd of 3 players with dreads drafted by the 49ers, picked early in round 7.

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19. Which team drafted the pair of players with dreads with the longest dreads? That would be the Cincinnati Bengals, who picked former Texas LB Malik Jefferson in round 3 and former Illinois State CB Davontae Harris in round 5. Jefferson, unfortunately, had his dreads reduced at both the Combine and at Texas pro day (left photo); but Harris' hair was flowing at full blast at the Combine (right photo and video on link below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxODVN08lkk

Coming in a close second - a very close second - to the Bengals were .....

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20. ..... The Philadelphia Eagles, who selected this pair 5 picks apart in round 4. Picked 125th overall was former Pittsburgh Panthers CB Avonte Maddox (left photo, from the Combine on Mar. 5), with Psalm 23 tattooed on his arm; and at #130 they picked DE Josh Sweat (right photo, with his dreads reduced at Florida State pro day on Mar. 20).

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21. S Jordan Whitehead may have much shorter dreads than Avonte Maddox (the two take a break at Pittsburgh pro day on Mar. 21), but Whitehead (right photo, at the Combine on Mar. 5) gets bragging rights over his former teammate when it comes to who was drafted first. That's because 8 picks earlier in round 4 than the Eagles got Maddox the Buccaneers selected Whitehead.

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22. CB Nick Nelson had his dreads reduced (right photo, from Wisconsin pro day on Mar. 14) and severely reduced (left photo, from the Combine on Mar. 5) during his predraft workouts. Hopefully he'll give us a better look at his dreads once he puts on his uniform for the Raiders, who drafted him in the 4th round.

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23. Former North Carolina State DT Justin Jones works up a sweat (left photo) during a drill and moves his 309 pounds as fast as he can (right photo) while running the 40 at the Combine on Mar. 4. Jones' time was 5.09, good enough to convince the L.A. Chargers to pick him in the 3rd round.

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24. I watched so few college games last season that I didn't find out that CB Carlton Davis had started growing dreads until I saw him at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 5. Davis (at Auburn pro day on Mar. 9 in right photo) was drafted by the Buccaneers, the last of 7 players with dreads selected in the 2nd round.

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25. And I didn't know that LB Travin Howard had started growing dreads until after he already was drafted. Howard, shown here at TCU pro day on Mar. 30, was the only player with dreads drafted by the Rams, who took him in the 7th round.

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26. If you're looking for the player with dreads drafted who has the fewest locks, your best bet would be WR DaeSean Hamilton, shown at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 3 and at Penn State pro day (right photo) on Mar. 21. Hamilton was picked by the Broncos in the 4th round, but I'm not sure if I'm going to welcome him to the house. He really hasn't shown that he's committed to letting his dreads grow long. I mean, they look nearly the same now as they did three years ago. I'll wait until the season begins before I make a decision.

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27. The Bears will have at least two WRs with dreads in training camp this year. Hoping to make an impact along with Kevin White will be the player they drafted in the 7th round, Javon Wims, shown making a catch during the gauntlet drill at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 3 and at Georgia pro day (right photo) on Mar. 21. Wims was the second and last player with dreads drafted by teams in the NFC North, taken 6 picks after the Vikings took Ade Aruna.

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28. Just the same as Donte Jackson (photo #6), RB Derrius Guice had his dreads reduced at the Combine (left photo, from Mar. 2) and back to normal at LSU pro day (right photo) on Apr. 4. After scoring 13 TD for LSU in his first season with dreads as a junior in 2017, Guice hopes to be making at least that many house calls in 2018 for the Washington Redskins, who drafted him in the 2nd round.

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LASTS

29. Former Alabama RB Bo Scarbrough (both photos from the Combine on Mar. 2) was the last of 8 SEC players with dreads to be drafted. And he also takes the honor of having the longest dreads of the 10 offensive players with dreads drafted this year, dreads he'll be able to show off much better now that he's not at Alabama anymore. But don't look for him to get a lot of carries next season, because he was drafted (7th round) by the Dallas Cowboys, who already have a pretty good starting RB.
Four picks after Scarbrough was drafted .....

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30. ..... WR Richie James became the 40th and last player with dreads to be drafted. In action at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 3 and at MTSU pro day (right photo) on Mar. 12, James hopes to be wearing a 49ers uniform for his 2nd season with dreads, after they made him the 240th player overall (out of 256) to be drafted.

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Here once again are the 40 players with dreads selected in the 2018 Draft, this time listed in the order they were picked.

ROUND 1
16. LB Tremaine Edmunds - Bills
28. S Terrell Edmunds - Steelers

ROUND 2
38. RB Ronald Jones - Buccaneers
41. DE Harold Landry - Titans
52. DE Kemoko Turay - Colts
55. CB Donte Jackson - Panthers
57. DT P.J. Hall - Raiders
59. RB Derrius Guice - Redskins
63. CB Carlton Davis - Buccaneers

ROUND 3
67. DE Chad Thomas - Browns
68. S Justin Reid - Texans
78. LB Malik Jefferson - Bengals
84. DT Justin Jones - Chargers
93. S Ronnie Harrison - Jaguars
98. TE Jordan Akins - Texans
99. CB Isaac Yiadom - Broncos

ROUND 4
101. TE Ian Thomas - Panthers
110. CB Nick Nelson - Raiders
113 WR DaeSean Hamilton - Broncos
117. S Jordan Whitehead - Buccaneers
125. CB Avonte Maddox - Eagles
130. DE Josh Sweat - Eagles

ROUND 5
141. LB Shaquem Griffin - Seahawks
146. S Tre Flowers - Seahawks
151/ CB Davontae Harris - Bengals
159. WR Daurice Fountain - Colts

ROUND 6
177. DE Duke Ejiofor - Texans
179. CB Parry Nickerson - Jets
184. S Marcell Harris - 49ers
185. WR Deon Cain - Colts
186. DE Jacob Martin - Seahawks
196. CB Tremon Smith - Chiefs
198. DT Kahlil McKenzie - Chiefs
214. LB Peter Kalambayi - Texans
218. DE Ade Aruna - Vikings

ROUND 7
223. DT Jullian Taylor - 49ers
224. WR Javon Wims - Bears
231. LB Travin Howard - Rams
236. RB Bo Scarbrough - Cowboys
240. WR Richie James - 49ers
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31. I was expecting the total number of players with dreads drafted to be even higher than it was. But unfortunately CB Denzel Ward, who had his hair in dreads here at Ohio State pro day on Mar. 22, untwisted them by the time Draft Day arrived. Ward missed out on the chance to be the first player with dreads drafted, as he was the 4th overall player picked, taken by the Browns.

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32. As if the Ravens didn't already have enough LBs with short dreads on their roster, they added another one in the Draft. Well, they thought they did. But after having dreads at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 4 and at UCLA pro day (right photo) on Mar. 15, Kenny Young, whom they picked in the 4th round, showed up at rookie minicamp with these dreads untwisted back to normal hair. Hopefully he'll change his mind again and go back to dreads after his hair grows longer.

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We'll look at all the rookies with dreads who signed as free agents after the Draft in a DG before the season starts. But, just as a tease, here are a few of them right now.

33. There were no O-linemen with dreads drafted this year, and the only one at the Combine was Desmond Harrison (on Mar. 2), who played last season at West Georgia. NFL.com gave him a grade of 5.72 as a prospect, which falls in their "chance to become NFL starter" category; but off the field issues made him too risky to spend a draft choice on. But if he's got his act together now, don't be surprised to see him playing for the Browns next season.

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34. Hopefully Tremon Smith (photo #11) will not be the only rookie CB with dreads from an FCS school to make the Chiefs' roster. Also in training camp will be D'Montre Wade (both photos from the Combine on Mar. 5) from Murray State, a player I knew absolutely nothing about until I was going over the list of free agents after the Draft.

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35. CB Andre Chachere had his dreads reduced almost to the max at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 5, which deprived everyone the chance to see how great they look when flowing full blast, as he had them at his pro day (right photo) on Mar. 23. There have been a handful of NFL players with dreads from San Jose State over the years (most notably, Dwight Lowery). Chachere hopes to add his name to the list. He's one of six rookies with dreads who'll be in the Texans' training camp.

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36. Whether it was at Northwestern pro day or at the Combine (here on Mar. 5) S Godwin Igwebuike had his dreads reduced. Which was totally unnecessary, because they're not long enough. Igwebuike signed with the Buccaneers, the same team his cousin played for back in the late 1980's (remember Donald Igwebuike, the kicker?).

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37. If I had done a college all-America with dreads team for 2017, Josh Adams certainly would have been one of the RBs on it. Shown here in both photos from Notre Dame pro day on Mar. 22, he rushed for 1,430 yards for the Irish as a junior in 2017. Adams, who went to high school in Bucks County just north of Philadelphia, signed with his hometown team, the Eagles, who'll need another RB with dreads to replace the departed LeGarrette Blount.

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38. I'm excited that LB D'Juan Hines (both photos from Houston Cougars pro day on Mar. 30) is getting a chance to play in the NFL, but not too thrilled that it'll be with the Chargers. I mean, they already have plenty of players with awesome dreads on their roster. Dreads like these are needed on some other team.
And on the subject of awesome dreads .....

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39. If I had done a college dread all-America team for 2017, two seniors for South Carolina would have made the team (and very likely the 1st team). One of them is 305-pound DT Taylor Stallworth, shown here doing drills at the Combine (left photo) on Mar. 4 and at the Gamecocks pro day (right photo) on Mar. 20. After going undrafted, Stallworth signed with the Saints .....

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40. ..... And the other is CB JaMarcus King, shown at the Senior Bowl (left photo) on Jan. 27 and at pro day (right photo). Unfortunately though, these dreads are not likely to be coming to an NFL stadium near you. King, who had 5 INT in his two seasons for the Gamecocks after transferring from junior college, is not currently on any team's roster. He posted on Twitter that he was "Headed to Oakland" on Apr. 28; but apparently that was as a tryout player. He was never on the Raiders' official roster. JaMarcus' biggest problem - and it's going to be hard to overcome it - is that he's just not fast enough for the NFL. Maybe he'll give the CFL a try.

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41. For the first time since 2012 the Atlanta Falcons did not draft a player with dreads; so if they are to have any rookies with dreads on the team this year, either former Ball State DE Anthony Winbush (left photo, at the Combine on Mar. 4) or former West Virginia RB Justin Crawford (right photo, at the Combine on Mar. 2) or both will have to really stand out at training camp.

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42. Kemoko Turay (photo #9) did not work out at Rutgers pro day on Mar. 9, but WR Janarion Grant most definitely did. The article from the Asbury Park Press (link below), which also includes a big photo gallery from pro day, tells the story of how a broken ankle in 2016 sidetracked Grant's career. The good news is that it appears to be back on track. After not being drafted or signed as a free agent, Janarion tried out with the Ravens at their rookie minicamp and did well enough to be signed to a contract. He'll be at training camp later this summer.

https://www.app.com/story/sports/college/rutgers/2018/03/11/rutgers-football-rutgers-pro-day-janarion-grant-rutgers-janarion-grant/403016002/
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