Duke at the NFL Draft

DURHAM, N.C. – The 2020 NFL Draft begins Thursday, and seven former Blue Devils have spent the last three-plus months preparing for the opportunity to play professional football.

Defensive tackle Edgar Cerenord, quarterback Quentin Harris, defensive end Tre Hornbuckle, defensive tackle Trevon McSwain, punter Austin Parker, linebacker Koby Quansah and safety Dylan Singleton all are in the draft pool hoping to become Duke's next NFL name.

This year's draft starts on Thursday at 8 p.m. and continues through until Saturday. For the first time in draft history, the event will be completely virtual as the physical draft slated to be held in Las Vegas was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

With the draft being held completely virtual, all 32 teams will be operating and making selections from their respective homes. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will also be announcing picks from his home in New York.

The Cincinnati Bengals hold the top spot in the NFL draft, followed by the Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, New York Giants and Miami Dolphins to conclude the top five. The Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns make up the top 10 pending any last-minute trades.

The draft can be watched on TV or through a live stream on ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network throughout all three days. In addition, fans can listen to the draft on ESPN Radio.

Full Schedule
Thursday, April 23: Round One (8 p.m.)
Friday, April 24: Rounds Two and Three (7 p.m.)
Saturday, April 25: Rounds Four Through Seven (12 p.m.)

Draft Nuggets
** Two of Duke's last three draftees were first round selections in quarterback Daniel Jones (2019) and guard Laken Tomlinson (2015).

** Last season, Jones was taken by the New York Giants with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Jones was the highest-drafted Blue Devil since Mike Junkin was taken fifth in the 1987 draft by the Cleveland Browns. In addition, Jones was just the seventh first round selection in Duke history.

** During his rookie campaign, Jones played in 13 games, starting 12, threw 284-of-459 (.619) passes for 3,027 yards with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. On the ground, Jones tallied 279 carries and two touchdowns in 45 carries. The Charlotte, N.C., native set the NFL record for most games with four or more passing touchdowns by a rookie with three and tied the NFL record for most passing touchdowns in a game by a rookie when he threw five versus Washington.

** Tomlinson was selected in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions and was the 28th overall pick in the draft.

** Tomlinson, who is now with the San Francisco 49ers, started all 19 games at left offensive guard last season, including Super Bowl LIV against the Kansas City Chiefs. The 49ers went 15-4 and captured the NFC West championship. He helped San Francisco rank among the NFL leaders in rushing TDs, total TDs, total rushing yards, points per game and total offensive yards.

** Since 1936, Duke has produced 154 NFL Draft picks, including eight first-rounders. The Blue Devils largest draft class was in 1946 when they had 10 selections. Under current head coach David Cutcliffe, Duke has seen Sean Renfree (Falcons – 2013), Ross Cockrell (Bills – 2014), Laken Tomlinson (Lions – 2015), Jamison Crowder (Redskins – 2015) and Daniel Jones (Giants – 2019) selected.

#GoDuke

Players Mentioned

Edgar Cerenord

Quentin Harris

Tre Hornbuckle

Trevon McSwain

Austin Parker

Koby Quansah

Dylan Singleton

Duke information