Saturday, the second Texas Tech football alum of the weekend was taken in the NFL Draft when the Baltimore Ravens selected Broderick Washington.
It wasn’t all that odd to see that the Texas Tech football program had a pair of players from the 2019 team selected in this weekend’s NFL Draft. But what is unusual for the Red Raiders is the fact that both were defensive players.
After linebacker Jordyn Brooks heard his name called at pick No. 27 of the first round when the Seattle Seahawks selected him on Thursday night, defensive lineman Broderick Washington had the honor of being drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round on Saturday.
The No. 170 pick in the draft, Washington might be a perfect fit for the Ravens’ 3-4 scheme. That system will ask the 305-pounder to play defensive end, a role similar to the one he played last season after spending his first three years in Lubbock as a defensive tackle.
As a Red Raider, the Longview, Texas native made 134 tackles including 39 as a senior. What’s more, he totaled 14 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks with twelve of his TFLs and 5.5 of his sacks coming in the past two years.
Washington was a two-way player coming out of high school in the class of 2015. Though a number of programs recruited him to be an offensive lineman, he wanted to play defense and he found that opportunity in Lubbock.
A three-year starter, Washington earned honorable-mention All-Big 12 recognition after each of the past three seasons. Along the way, he became one of the most respected voices in the Texas Tech football locker room and he was an essential figure in helping the program transition from the Kliff Kingsbury regime to the Matt Wells regime.
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Remarkably, Washington managed to go his entire career without missing a game due to injury at Tech. He ended his time with 37 career starts making him the foundational piece of the Texas Tech defensive line since the 2017 season.
"“Washington is an intriguing prospect,” writes Matt Miller of Bleacher Report. “But it’ll take some vision for how to best use him in the NFL. He won’t be lining up on the edge as often as he did at Texas Tech, so developing his inside game will be the key to getting him onto the field consistently.”"
Bulking up the defensive line was a priority for Baltimore in this year’s draft. The Ravens also took Texas A&M’s Justin Madubuike with the 71st overall pick. What’s more, they also acquired Pro Bowl defensive end Calais Campbell earlier this year from Jacksonville for a 2020 fifth-round pick. On top of that, the Ravens have added veteran Derek Wolfe as a free agent from the Denver Broncos.
Thus, there will be some big names in Baltimore for Washington to learn from as he begins his NFL journey. Of course, that also means he will have some serious competition for playing time this fall.
A former 3-star signee out of high school, Washington has now reached one of the goals that every college football player dreams of by being drafted. However, as a fifth-round pick, he has nothing guaranteed him and he will have to stand out in a crowded and talented Baltimore defensive line room in order to secure a job with the Ravens. Of course, no Red Raider fan is going to be against one of the hardest-working and more dependable players to come through the program in the last decade.