April 29, 2006
NEW YORK -
The San Francisco 49ers selected University of Maryland tight end Vernon Davis with the sixth pick on Saturday in the 2006 NFL Draft, while Terrapin linebacker D'Qwell Jackson went to the Cleveland Browns with the 34th overall selection.
Davis became the 14th Maryland football player in history to be taken on the first round and the second Terp taken in the top 15 in the last two years as Shawne Merriman -- the 2005 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year -- was the 12th overall pick by San Diego. Prior to Merriman, Maryland had gone eight years without a first rounder.
Davis was widely-regarded as the top tight end in the draft by many NFL experts and is expected to give young 49ers quarterback Alex Smith a tight end with the field-stretching abilities few receivers possess.
Davis' being chosen with the sixth overall pick gives Maryland its highest pick in the draft since Randy White was chosen as the second overall selection by the Dallas Cowboys in 1975.
Jackson was the Defensive Player of the Year in the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2005 and led Maryland in tackles in each of the last two seasons.
He was taken with the second pick of the second round by Cleveland, which selected defensive players with its first two picks of the 2006 draft. The Browns opened the day by taking Florida State defensive end Kamerion Wimbley with the 13th pick of the first round.
"I'm happy for them," said Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen after Saturday's Red-White Spring Football Game. "I think that was a good pick for (D'Qwell) to go in. I'm happy for him. And I'm elated for Vernon. I have nothing but the best wishes for those guys, and I just hope they go out and are successful."
Only eight times in the history of the NFL Draft has Maryland had two players selected in the first two rounds. The most recent came in 2001 when Kris Jenkins went to Carolina and LaMont Jordan went to the New York Jets in the first two rounds.
Draft Update -- McPhearson Third Terp Taken
Cornerback Gerrick McPhearson became the third and final Terrapin taken in the National Football League draft as he was chosen by the New York Giants with pick 232, a seventh-round selection.
McPhearson, whose father played for the New England Patriots, started 10 games a year ago, posting 37 tackles and a half TFL. One of the fastest players in school history, McPhearson finished his career at Maryland with 92 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, one sack and one interception.
