Blessings & Opportunities: Commanders Add Two Prospects in Seventh Round of NFL Draft
ASHBURN, Va. -- As the NFL Draft wound to an end, a whole lot of prospects found their first NFL homes, including two in the seventh round heading to the Washington Commanders.
Chances are, these two players won't last long in the NFL, and likely won't ever become household names. But it won't stop Tulsa guard Chris Paul and Oklahoma State cornerback Christian Holmes from celebrating tonight and fighting for the careers they've worked so hard to get in the first place.
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"I'm really just grateful and blessed to have such an amazing opportunity," Paul said in his first interview with Washington media, conducted on Zoom.
Paul estimated there were around 80 people on hand to wait with him and eventually celebrate his selection by an NFL franchise, something he says is a testament to the amazing support he's received in Tulsa as a member of the Golden Hurricane football team.
With experience at both tackle and guard, Paul said if he was pressed into choosing just one he'd go with guard, but will do whatever the team needs him to in order to win games.
For Holmes, "It was a good day," he said in his own Zoom meeting with media. "It was a good feeling to finally get that call."
Surrounded by family and friends including his grandmother, Holmes' NFL journey begins with a good barbecue and smiles.
Good food aside, his focus on others extends beyond his family values and into his presence as a teammate.
"What I feel I can bring (to the Commanders) is my maturity," said Holmes. "Every defense I've been on I've always been a leader, I've always been a captain. It's never something I labeled myself it's always something my teammates blessed me with."
Holmes said he plans on coming in level-headed, looking to mesh well with his professional teammates and veterans on the team.
Both men have an uphill battle ahead of them, and both are coming into their new careers with a head-down workman attitude.
Which is promising. At a minimum, it appears the Washington Commanders secured some high character grinders, and every team can always use more of those.
