Four Bears Selected on Day Two of the NFL Draft

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 29, 2022
Four Bears Selected on Day Two of the NFL Draft
Friday marked the first time since 1984 four Baylor players went in the top three rounds
For more information contact: Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>
WACO, Texas– For just the third time in program history, four Baylor Football players heard their names called in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft on Friday. Safety Jalen Pitre (37th overall), wide receiver Tyquan Thornton (50th overall), safety JT Woods (79th overall) and linebacker Terrel Bernard (89th overall) were all selected in rounds two and three.

Pitre was selected by the Houston Texans in the second round, becoming the highest drafted player for Baylor since Cleveland took Corey Coleman with the 15th overall pick in 2016. He is the second player in program history drafted by Houston.

Thornton went off the board 13 picks later in the second round to the New England Patriots, joining Pitre as the first Bears drafted in the same round since 2016, when Jimmy Landes and Rico Gathers were taken in the sixth round.

JT Woods was picked in the third round by the Los Angeles Chargers, joining Pitre as the first BU safeties drafted since Ahmad Dixon was taken in the seventh round in 2014.

Terrel Bernard came off the board 10 picks later to the Buffalo Bills, as the fourth Bear taken on the night. 1959 was the last time four BU players were taken in the first three rounds of a draft that did not include expansion/supplemental rounds.

Pitre started all 14 games in 2021, where he tallied at least a 0.5 tackle for loss in 13 of those games. In addition to being named a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, he earned All-America First Team honors from six different publications (AP, AFCA, The Athletic, ESPN, FWAA, Walter Camp), in addition to being a Sporting News All-America Second Team selection. The Stafford native won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection by the media and coaches. He was the only player in all of D1 FBS football with at least three fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles and two interceptions, and he led the Big 12 with 17.5 TFL; 2.5 TFL shy of Baylor's single-season record.

Thornton became the ninth wide receiver drafted since 2010 when he was taken with pick 50 by the New England Patriots. The Miami, Fla., native led the team with 62 receptions and 10 touchdowns, earning him a spot on the AP and Coaches All-Big 12 Second Team. Thornton wrapped up his career ranked 10th on BU's career receiving yards list with 2,242 yards. His 19 career touchdowns tied for eighth on Baylor's all-time leader board, and he ranked 14th in career receptions with 143.

Woods is the third player drafted by the Chargers franchise in the modern draft era (1970-present) and the first since Tevin Reese in the seventh round of the 2014 draft. The San Antonio native led the Big 12 with six interceptions in 2021 and finished fourth on the team with 57 tackles, which earned him All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and Dave Campbell's Texas Football All-Texas Second Team honors. Over his career in Waco, he appeared in 50 games, the fifth-most all-time, and left with the fifth-most career interception return yards in program history with 201.

Bernard is the fourth BU player drafted by the Bills since 1970 and the first since Cyril Richardson in 2014. The LaPorte, Texas, native led the team in tackles with 106, which was fifth-best in the Big 12 conference helping him to First-Team All-Big 12 honors by the Associated Press and the league's coaches. He was also Dave Campbell's Texas Football's Best Linebacker and made the DCTFB All-Texas First Team. The Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Semifinalist was also named a Reese's Senior Bowl All-American and claimed Most Valuable Player of honors at the Sugar Bowl after a record-tying 20-tackle two-sack performance against Ole Miss. Bernard left Baylor third in program history with 16.5.
BAYLOR DB’S IN THE NFL DRAFT (Since 1970)
1973, Ira Dean – 9th Rd (227), Detroit
1977, Gary Green – 1st Rd (10), Kansas City
1977, Mike Nelms – 7th Rd (170), Buffalo
1978, Milton Reed – 11th Rd (293), Atlanta
1980, Kirk Collins – 7th Rd (176), Los Angeles
1980, Howard Fields – 12th Rd (329), Philadelphia
1982, Vann McElroy – 3rd Rd (64), Oakland
1983, Bo Scott Metcalf – 4th (106), Pittsburgh
1986, Reyna Thompson – 9th (247), Miami
1987, Ron Francis – 2nd (39), Dallas
1987, Thomas Everett – 4th (94), Pittsburgh
1987, Johnny Thomas – 7th (192), Washington
1989, Ray Crockett – 4th (86), Detroit
1990, Robert Blackmon – 2nd (34), Seattle
1991, Charles Bell – 9th (243), Washington
1992, Frankie Smith – 4th (104), Atlanta
1996, Adrian Robinson – 7th (232), Indianapolis
1997, George McCullough – 5th (143), Tennessee
2001, Gary Baxter – 2nd (62), Baltimore
2006, Willie Andrews – 7th (229), New England
2007, C.J. Wilson – 7th (226), Carolina
2011, Mikail Baker – 7th (216), St. Louis
2014, Demetri Goodson – 6th (197), Green Bay
2014, Ahmad Dixon – 7th (248), Dallas
2016, Xavien Howard – 2nd (38), Miami
2022, Jalen Pitre – 2nd (37), Houston
2022, JT Woods – 3rd (79), Los Angeles

BAYLOR WIDE RECEIVERS IN THE DRAFT (since 1970)
1976, Ricky Thompson – 8th Rd (228th) Baltimore
1981, Robert Holt – 6th Rd (161st), Buffalo
1981, Mike Fisher – 8th Rd (198th), St. Louis
1984, Gerald McNeil – 2nd Rd (44th), Cleveland
1984, Bruce Davis, 2nd Rd (50th), Cleveland
1989, John Simpson, 10th Rd (277th), Chicago
1992, Lee Miles, 11th Rd (294th), Miami
1993, Melvin Bonner, 6th Rd (154th), Denver
1995, David Mims, (expansion), Carolina
2010, David Gettis, 6th Rd (198th), Carolina
2012, Kendall Wright, 1st Rd (20th) Tennessee
2012, Josh Gordon, 2nd Rd (supplemental) Browns
2013, Terrance Williams, 3rd Rd (74th), Dallas
2014, Tevin Reese, 7th Rd (240th), San Diego
2017, Corey Coleman – 1st Rd (15thoverall), Cleveland
2019, Jalen Hurd<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=924> - 3rd Rd (67th overall), San Francisco
2020, Denzel Mims<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=9325> – 2nd Rd (59th overall), New York Jets
2022, Tyquan Thornton – 2nd Rd (50th overall), New England Patriots


BAYLOR LINEBACKERS IN THE NFL DRAFT (Since 1970)
1971, Dave Jones – 11th Rd (286th), Baltimore
1973, Roger Goree – 15th Rd (365th), Houston
1975, Derrel Luce – 7th Rd (166), Baltimore
1977, Tim Black – 7th Rd (179), Detroit
1981, Mike Singletary – 2nd Rd (38th), Chicago
1981, Doak Field – 7th Rd (192nd), Philadelphia
1983, Geff Gandy – 10th Rd(179), Washington
1985, Ervin Randle – 3rd Rd (64th), Tampa Bay
1985, Kevin Hancock – 4th Rd(90th), Detroit
1990, James Francis – 1st Rd (12th), Cincinnati
1996, LaCurtis Jones – 4th Rd (125th), Miami
2015, Bryce Hager – 7th Rd (224th), St. Louis
2020, Clay Johnston<https://baylorbears.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=9303> – 7th Rd (234th), Los Angeles Rams
2022, Terrel Bernard – 3rd Rd (89th), Buffalo Bills

BAYLOR 2022 DRAFT SELECTIONS
Jalen Pitre, S – Houston Texans (2nd Round, 37th overall)
Tyquan Thornton, WR – New England Patriots (2nd Round, 50th overall)
JT Woods, S – Los Angeles Chargers (3rd Round, 79th overall)
Terrel Bernard, LB – Buffalo Bills (3rd Round, 89th overall)


-baylorbears.com<http://baylorbears.com>-





Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MGOLF/ WGOLF/ FOOTBALL/ MBB)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-4206 | C: 254-709-2348

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