LIVE BLOG: Tracking Purdue Players During Rounds 2-3 in NFL Draft on Friday
EDITOR'S NOTE: We have a fresh blog going for Saturday's four rounds of the NFL Draft. Please follow along in real time at this link. CLICK HERE
FRIDAY'S BLOG
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — There's a lot going on in the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft on Friday night, so we'll keep you updated on the last and we will continue to update this blog throughout the night.
So stay tuned!! Here we go as we watch to see what happens with Purdue tight end Brycen Hopkins and linebacker Markus Bailey, who both could get drafted at some point tonight.
LIVE BLOG: Constant updates
- 11 p.m. (ET) — Rounds 4 through 7 will take place on Saturday, and starts at Noon ET. We'll see you then.
- 10:30 p.m. (ET) — The NFL graded all the linebacker together and Pudue's Markus Bailey was 14th on the list. Through three rounds, 11 of them have been drafted, with only one ranked lower (No. 15, LSU's Jason Phillips).
- 10 p.m. (ET) — Brycen Hopkins was the 10th-ranked tight end in the draft, according to NFL.com Through three rounds now, just five tight ends have been drafted, and all were ranked higher.
- 9:30 p.m. (ET) — The second round is complete. Just one tight end and two linebackers taken in the 32 picks. So it's on to the third round. That last pick was Jeremy Chinn of Southern Illinois. He's a Fishers, Ind., native. Lots of bigger schools missed out on him.
- 9 p.m. (ET) — Joined Bob Lovell on the radio for a few segments in Indianapolis, but I didn't miss anything.
- 8:30 p.m. (ET) — Still not a single linebacker drafted through the first 21 picks on round 2. Wonder when that run will start. I'm sure Markus Bailey is wondering, too. There were four linebackers taken in the first round.
- 8 p.m. (ET) — Purdue had an NFL draft pick for 21 years in a row until last year. The new streak will start against this season, the question is just when. There's been very little activity with tight ends and linebackers so far, so we'll see if it happens Friday night or if we have to wait for rounds 3-7 on Saturday.
- 7:30 p.m (ET) —There were no tight ends drafted at all in the first round, so that might be pushing everyone down a bit, though a run might start at some point. The Chicago Bears just took the first one with the selection of Cole Kmet of Notre Dame. The 6-foot-6, 262-pound tight end broke out as a junior, hauling in 43 passes for 515 yards and six touchdowns. Kmet's father Frank played football at Purdue and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills
- 7 p.m. (ET) — We got through Round 1 on Thursday night and now the virtual draft continues with rounds 2 and 3 on Friday night. There are seven minutes between picks in the second round, and five minutes in the third round.
What to remember about Brycen Hopkins
Hopkins has made a name for himself slowly but surely during his time at Purdue. He went from 10 catches as a freshman to 25 as a sophomore to 34 as a junior.
A full-time starter for the first time as a senior, Hopkins earned some All-American honors and was voted the Big Ten’s Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year. He recorded 61 receptions for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. His reception and yardage totals were the most by a Boilermakers tight end since Dustin Keller had 68 receptions for 881 yards in 2007.
What to remember about Markus Bailey
Bailey was ready for a huge year for the Boilermakers but all those dreams ended early with a torn ACL. He's worked hard to be as close to 100 percent as possible prior to the draft.
“My training and, more importantly, my rehab have both gone extremely well throughout this pre-draft process," Bailey told Sports Illustrated Purdue in a statement. "Starting with my athletic trainers at Purdue, everyone who has worked with me during my recovery has contributed to getting me ready to play football again, especially the physical therapists at the Fischer Institute."
Related Stories on Purdue Football
- FAMILY AFFAIR FOR HOPKINS: Brycen Hopkins was raised in a football family, and he's ready to make his own dreams come true. CLICK HERE
- BAILEY CLEARED FROM ACL SURGERY: Three weeks ahead of the NFL Draft, linebacker Markus Bailey shows off his skills. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.