When the 2017 NFL Draft closed without a University of Virginia football player being selected, it wasn’t totally unexpected.
Cavaliers fans will have a better chance to hear a UVa player’s name being called this weekend and that won’t necessarily be the last one.
No Virginia players were projected to go in the first round Thursday night, but there could be some activity Friday as defensive lineman Andrew Brown and linebacker Micah Kiser have been mentioned as possible third-round picks.
The second and third rounds will be held Friday night.
On its sports website, CBS has Brown going to the Tennessee Titans as the No. 89 overall pick.
While other publications list Kiser as a third- or fourth-round pick, CBS has Kiser going to the Los Angeles Rams in the fourth round as the No. 111 overall pick.
That same site has UVa quarterback Kurt Benkert and safety Quin Blanding going in the sixth round, Benkert to Atlanta and Blanding to Washington.
Blanding holds the UVa record for tackles in a career and was a three-time All-ACC selection, as was Kiser.
Virginia had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft for 34 straight years between 1984 and 2016. The last UVa player to be selected was Maurice Canady, a sixth-round choice of the Baltimore Ravens in 2016.
Canady has played in a combined 12 games for Baltimore over the past two seasons.