Undrafted Hokies Land Free Agent Deals

The Virginia Tech Hokies were well represented in the NFL Draft, and are even better represented in the undrafted free agent pool

The Virginia Tech Hokies had four former players drafted in this weekend’s 2017 NFL Draft, as safety Chuck Clark was taken by the Baltimore Ravens, receiver Bucky Hodges was taken by the Minnesota Vikings, fullback Sam Rogers was taken by the Los Angeles Rams, and receiver Isaiah Ford was taken by the Miami Dolphins.

While plenty of draft eligible Hokies were chosen over the weekend, there have been additional players from the program who have since latched on as undrafted free agents with organizations across the NFL.

Starting right tackle Jonathan McLaughlin announced on Twitter on Saturday afternoon that he agreed to a deal with the Arizona Cardinals for their training camp this summer.

The 6’5″ 290 lbs. McLaughlin was a four-year starter at right tackle for the Hokies, appearing in 49 games over the course of his collegiate career.

Also on the offensive side of the football was a former member of the Hokies who transferred to the University of Maryland for his senior season. Running back Trey Edmunds has reportedly latched on with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to Ricky LaBlue of Tech Sideline.

As mentioned in the tweet from LaBlue above, Edmunds participated in Virginia Tech’s pro day to display his skills for scouts at the next level. The oft-injured running back has an abundance of potential as a power back in the NFL, but will need to stay healthy moving forward to fully realize that potential.

On the defensive side of the football, there were a handful of Hokies signed as undrafted free agents from the defensive line. Starting defensive end Ken Ekanem, who was a force over his years in Blacksburg for opposing quarterbacks, signed with the Denver Broncos on Saturday night.

There were two other interior defensive linemen who signed with NFL teams on Saturday night as well. The first was defensive tackle Nigel Williams, who inked a deal with the Buffalo Bills.

Williams recorded 73 tackles in 51 games over the course of his career with the Hokies.

His counterpart, defensive tackle Woody Baron, signed with the Dallas Cowboys about an hour after Williams’ announced deal with the Bills.

https://twitter.com/HokiesFB/status/858508206921875456

Baron, who was an All-ACC lineman a year ago, recorded 99 tackles in his career with the Hokies, with 56 of those tackles being made last year in his only season as a full-time starter.

One additional name that I’m sure many Hokies are wondering about is quarterback Jerod Evans. As of Sunday evening, Evans has not yet signed a training camp deal, but it is expected that an announcement of his destination will be made in the coming days. I spoke about Evans in the video below with Mark Rogers.