After four years without having a player selected in the NFL draft, Northwestern saw three picked in a two-hour span Saturday morning.
Defensive end Corey Wootton, quarterback Mike Kafka and cornerback Sherrick McManis were drafted by the Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans, respectively.Wootton, who was selected in the fourth round with the 109th overall pick, became the fourth NU player under contract with the Bears, alongside his ex-teammates Brett Basanez, Eric Peterman and Nick Roach.
“Right after I got drafted, they texted me and said ‘Congrats, we can’t wait to play with you,'” Wootton said. “I definitely feel like Chicago was the best fit for me. I wouldn’t have cared if I had went higher, and it wasn’t a better fit.”
The 2009 Playboy All-American was considered by some to be a first-round draft pick before tearing his right ACL, MCL and meniscus in the 2008 Alamo Bowl. Some scouts considered the New Jersey native to be damaged goods after the injury, causing his stock to drop to where he was eventually selected.
“The Bears got a steal,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “I called Corey and said, ‘It’s kind of a neat deal. You get to stay in your apartment, if you’re smart, the same one you’re able to afford on a stipend.'”
Wootton won’t be able to take Fitzgerald up on his suggestion, as he let his lease expire not knowing where he would end up.
“I didn’t really think that I would end up with the Bears,” Wootton said. “They’re a team I’ve always wanted to play for, but it was a 1-in-32 chance that it would be possible. It ended up working out well.”
Kafka, the sixth quarterback taken in the draft, went to Philadelphia in the fourth round with the 122nd pick.
“I’m ecstatic right now,” Kafka said. “I know coach (Andy) Reid has a very good reputation with quarterbacks, so I’m looking forward to going in and just getting better.”
Kafka was being heavily courted by both the Eagles as well as the Cleveland Browns, but the Browns opted to select Colt McCoy from Texas instead, giving his ex-teammates at NU a good indication of when he would get selected. The Cats opted to delay meetings Saturday for a few extra minutes to see Philadelphia’s selection.
“It was the last pick we could watch,” said Dan Persa, Kafka’s successor at quarterback. “We had a feeling it was going to be the Eagles, and everybody was going nuts when he did.”
Kafka had the opposite experience while visiting his brother, a sophomore quarterback at San Jose State.
“I wasn’t that stressed out about it,” Kafka said. “I wasn’t really watching the draft all that much, I was just kind of flipping back and forth between channels.”Kafka will be expected to compete right away for the backup quarterback job in Philadelphia after the departure of Donovan McNabb. His competition for the job consists of Kevin Kolb, a third-year player who has been a career backup thus far, and Michael Vick, a former pro bowler who will be in his second season since returning from a jail sentence in connection with a dogfighting scandal.
McManis’ stock fell as he was unable to work out for scouts due to a quad injury in the runup to the draft. But he was still able to earn a selection in the fifth round, the 144th pick overall.
“I was really nervous for Sherrick,” Fitzgerald said. “Not being able to run a 40, but being able to go in the fifth round, if he’d been able to run a 40, he probably would’ve gone in the third.”
