Las Vegas Raiders Select UCLA Running Back Brittain Brown in 7th Round of NFL Draft
The Bruins have churned out another pro ball-carrier under Chip Kelly, this time right before the buzzer.
The Las Vegas Raiders selected UCLA football running back Brittain Brown with the No. 250 overall pick in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Saturday. Brown was the sixth Bruin to come off the board, following in the footsteps of Denver Broncos tight end Greg Dulcich, Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Sean Rhyan, Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kyle Philips and Los Angeles Rams safety Quentin Lake.
Brown is now the third running back to get drafted out of UCLA in the past three drafts, with his former backfield mate Demetric Felton going to the Cleveland Browns in the sixth round in 2021 and Joshua Kelley going to the Chargers in the fourth in 2020.
Unlike those two – and current Bruin workhorse Zach Charbonnet – Brown was rarely the top back in Westwood.
Brown started his collegiate career at Duke, where he broke onto the scene with 701 yards and seven touchdowns on 130 attempts his freshman year. Brown slipped down the depth chart and missed some games in both 2018 and 2019 before making his way out west.
Playing second fiddle to Felton in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 campaign, Brown racked up 627 yards and five touchdowns from scrimmage in seven games. Felton missed the season finale against Stanford with an injury, opening the door for Brown to hang 219 yards on the Cardinal at the Rose Bowl.
Brown recorded 744 yards and seven touchdown from scrimmage in 2021, splitting carries with Charbonnet before becoming his backup later on in the season, but he still had four performances with over 95 total yards. Brown then earned a spot at the NFLPA Bowl in January, also appearing at UCLA’s pro day in mid-March.
The Raiders have 2019 first round pick Brittain Brown set to lead their backfield this fall, but the front office declined his fifth-year option for 2023. Veteran backup Kenyan Drake will also be a free agent next March, as will Ameer Abdullah, meaning Las Vegas came into the weekend knowing it would need to plan for the future at running back.
After not making a pick in the first two rounds, the Raiders picked Memphis guard Dylan Parham at the end of the third, then picked up Georgia running back Zamir White in the middle of the fourth.
White and Brown boast similar bodies and playstyles, both coming in over 6 feet and 200 pounds without much promise as receiving backs. Brown is used to playing backup, though, and he has always managed to contribute regardless of his place on the depth chart.
The Raiders had two former Bruins on their starting offensive line last season, with Kolton Miller holding down the left tackle spot and Andre Miller playing center.
Brown was the 21st running back to hear his name called in Las Vegas this weekend and the third out of the Pac-12 after Arizona State’s Rachaad White and USC’s Keaontay Ingram.
Safety Qwuantrezz Knight and offensive tackle Alec Anderson highlight the list of UCLA products who were remaining on the board when the draft came to a close Saturday afternoon.
The six Bruins who did get picked helped make up the program’s largest class since 2016.
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