FORT SMITH - Arkansas was on the brink of having no Razorback selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft late Friday when the Kansas City Chiefs pulled a surprise, taking tailback Knile Davis with the second-to-last pick in the third round.
Davis, a two-time team captain, is two years removed from his breakout 1,322-yard rushing season in 2010, which helped Arkansas play in its first Bowl Championship Series game in the Sugar Bowl. The Chiefs took Davis with the No. 96 pick, a compensatory selection, at the end of the third round.
Davis was the only running back chosen in the third round and the sixth overall, following North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard, who was the No. 37 pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, Michigan State’s Le’Veon Bell (No. 48, Steelers), Wisconsin’s Montee Ball (No. 58, Broncos), Alabama’s Eddie Lacy (No. 61, Packers) and Texas A&M’s Christine Michael (No. 62, Seahawks).
Davis said last week he hoped to get picked earlier rather than later in the draft and he got his wish.
“Man, I just want to go,” Davis said. “I just want to wear an NFL uniform.”
Chiefs Coach Andy Reid, meeting with reporters in Kansas City, said Davis could “skeedaddle.”
The pick was met with applause by Razorback fans at The Varsity Grill in Fort Smith, where Greenwood native Tyler Wilson, the record-setting Arkansas quarterback, was watching the draft in a private room with friends and family.
Davis missed all of 2011 after suffering the third broken ankle of his career, and he rushed for just 377 yards and two touchdowns during Arkansas’ 4-8 run in 2012, He fell behind Dennis Johnson on the depth chart after a slow start.
ESPN’s draft analysts quickly pointed out Davis’ fumbling problems last year, with Todd McShay stating Davis fumbled on 6.4 percent of his carries last season, citing it as the worst fumble ratio he can recall in the past six or seven years.
“We believe we can fix Knile Davis’ fumbling,” Reid told reporters. “Tiki [Barber] turned it around, so can Knile.”
Said ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., “I know he had 1,300 yards and averaged 6.5 yards as a sophomore with 13 touchdowns and 19 receptions. That year he was outstanding … and he’s 5-11½ , 230 pounds and he runs a 4.37. He’s a heck of an athlete and he’s got enormous strength in his upper body. The kid’s got talent running the football.”
Davis’ choice was met by instant reaction on Twitter, where former teammates like Michael Smith, D.J. Williams, Chris Gragg and Ryan Mallett sent congratulatory remarks, as did many current Razorbacks like Julian Horton, Travis Swanson and others.
The Razorbacks’ impact on the rest of the 2013 NFL Draft will have to be written in the final four rounds today. Wilson, receiver Cobi Hamilton, tight end Chris Gragg, guard Alvin Bailey and Johnson. among others, are having to wait another day.
The Razorbacks went a fifth consecutive year without a pick in the first two rounds. Arkansas has not had a first round selection since 2008, when Darren McFadden was the No. 4 pick by the Oakland Raiders and Felix Jones went No. 22 to the Dallas Cowboys.
Most analysts criticized the quarterback class as subpar and nowhere near the 2012 class that produced Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson, and the early selections backed up their position.
Florida State’s EJ Manuel, taken No. 16 by the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, was the lone quarterback taken in the first round. On Friday, West Virginia’s Geno Smith went No. 39 to the New York Jets and North Carolina State’s Mike Glennon was taken No. 73 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Wilson and USC’s Matt Barkley, who was considered a top-of-the-first-round choice heading into the 2012 season, look to be value picks early today when the draft resumes at 11 a.m.
“I think losing Coach [Bobby] Petrino the way they lost him, losing his offensive coordinator, losing three very good receivers and having the injury early in the season against [Louisiana] Monroe derailed Tyler Wilson,” ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said in a recent teleconference. “I credit him for trying to hold the Razorbacks together amid a lot of adversity.”
Arkansas has had only two picks higher than the fourth round in the last five years: Quarterback Ryan Mallett in the third round in 2011 and defensive end Jake Bequette in the third round last year, both to the New England Patriots.
Twelve of the Razorbacks’ last 13 draft selections, dating to Nate Garner’s pick in the seventh round in 2008 by the New York Jets, and 14 of their last 16 NFL Draft picks have been offensive players.
Information for this article was contributed by Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Sports, Pages 19 on 04/27/2013