Cal's Nohl Williams, Stanford's Elic Ayomanor head Bay Area picks in NFL draft
One phone call. Countless football players around the country dedicated the better part of their lives to be on the receiving end of a dream Thursday, then Friday, then Saturday. Among the select group of 257 who would actually realize it, a handful of Bay Area products emerged.
Cal cornerback Nohl Williams was a third-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs after being honored as a consensus All-American and an All-ACC first-team selection after he led the nation with seven interceptions last season. Williams headlined the school's four draftees, all of whom were invited to the NFL Combine.
In the fourth round, versatile Bears safety Craig Woodson went to the New England Patriots and linebacker Teddye Buchanan, a San Francisco native, was selected by the Baltimore Ravens. After they'd seen their names hit the ESPN draft ticker, they were later followed by cornerback Marcus Harris in the sixth round after he was selected by the Tennessee Titans.
An All-ACC third-team pick, Woodson's seven pass breakups ranked second only to Williams on Cal. Buchanan led the team with 114 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss, making his impact as a transfer from UC Davis. The Bears' next closest player in tackles had just 71. Harris also took advantage of his lone FBS season, tallying five pass breakups and two interceptions after arriving from Idaho as a first-team FCS All-American.
Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor, for whom San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch seemed to have a soft spot, was drafted by the Titans in fourth round. Two picks later, the 49ers welcomed Ole Miss wideout Jordan Watkins.
Ayomanor, 21, was a model of consistency in his two seasons as a Cardinal starter, with 62 receptions, 1,013 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns as a redshirt freshman, followed by 63 more catches for 831 yards and six touchdowns during his draft year. Ayomanor ranked as high as No. 35 overall on Pro Football Focus' pre-draft ranking, with a Day 2 floor according to a number of other outlets.
After the draft was completed, San Jose State wide receiver Nick Nash agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent, according to thedraftnetwork.com. Similarly, Bay Area product Nikko Reed, an Oregon cornerback who played at Moreau Catholic-Hayward in high school, has a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Chargers per the draft network.
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