Bears Select Buffs' Hambright; Montez, Brown, Abrams Among Those Signing Free Agent Deals
April 25, 2020 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Tackle Arlington Hambright became the third Colorado player selected in the 2020 NFL Draft on Saturday when the Chicago Bears used a seventh-round pick to select him.
Hambright, the 12th pick in the seventh round (226th overall), joined wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (second round, Jacksonville) and linebacker Davion Taylor (third round, Philadelphia) as Buffaloes to hear their names called in the draft.Â
Several former Buffaloes were also in the process of signing as undrafted free agents. The list included quarterback Steven Montez, Washington Redskins; wide receiver Tony Brown, Cleveland; and cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr., Atlanta.
The 6-5, 300-pound Hambright started all 12 games for the Buffs last season at left tackle after coming in as a graduate transfer from Oklahoma State. He was named the Pac-12 Offensive Lineman of the Week after CU's 16-13 win over Stanford, one of three times he was nominated, with the others coming against Nebraska and Washington. He finished the year with 75 knockdown blocks, 12 touchdown blocks and 14 perfect plays on passing touchdowns.
He also became the first Buff taken by the Bears since 1995, when Chicago used a first-round pick to take Heisman Trophy winner Rashaan Salaam.
In conference call with reporters, Hambright said he believes he can play guard or tackle in the NFL.
"I feel like I can play any position on the offensive line and I feel like that's part of the reason why they selected me," Hambright said. "I'll just try to learn every position on the line and I think I can play either or, inside or out."
Montez left CU with his name on 51 Buffaloes records, including career passing yards (9,629), touchdown passes (63) and total offensive yards (10,609). He had three straight seasons with over 2,500 passing yards and he made 36 consecutive starts, a CU record for quarterbacks.
Brown was one of CU's steadiest performers in his two years in Boulder after transferring from Texas Tech. He tied for the team lead in receptions last season (56) for 707 yards and a team-leading five touchdown receptions. He was the only player on the team to catch at least one pass in every game, and he had a two game stretch against Arizona and Arizona State when he hauled in 19 catches for 291 yards and three touchdowns.
Abrams last season tied for the CU lead with seven pass breakups while starting in 11 games. He also finished with 54 tackles, one sack and three third-down stops.
DRAFT TIDBITS: In 2019, CU faced 25 players who were drafted this year … The Buffs tied for third for the most players from Pac-12 schools selected. Utah led with 7, followed by Oregon with 4; Colorado, Cal, Oregon State and UCLA with 3; Arizona State, Stanford, USC and Washington with 2; and Washington State with 1. Arizona had no players chosen.Â
Nationally, LSU led with 14, followed by Alabama and Ohio State with 9 each. Of the other teams on CU's schedule last season, Nebraska had two players selected and Air Force and Colorado State did not have any chosen.
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
