Two Broncos Selected in NFL Draft
5/1/2021 4:42:00 PM | Football
BOISE, Idaho – Boise State tight end John Bates and cornerback Avery Williams were each selected in the 2021 National Football League Draft, Saturday.
Bates was the Washington Football Team's fourth round pick, 124th overall. He was the sixth tight end selected and the first from a school outside of the Autonomous Five. Williams went to the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round, 183rd overall.
A native of Lebanon, Ore., Bates was All-Mountain West honorable mention in 2019 and 2020 and a three-time Mackey Award Watch List member (2018-20).
Bates averaged over 12 yards per reception in his four years with the Broncos and made 34 catches in 19 games over his final two seasons. He is the first Boise State player taken by the Washington Football Team since defensive back Brandyn Thompson in 2011 and the highest Bronco picked by Washington since defensive end Markus Koch in the second round of the 1986 draft.
Williams was a Consensus All-American in 2020 and set Boise State records with six first-team honors and 10 overall.
A native of Pasadena, Calif., Williams tied an NCAA career record with nine touchdowns on kick returns. In 2020, he was the Jet Award winner as the nation's top return specialist, the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year, an All-Mountain West First-Team honoree at cornerback, punt returner and kick returner and the only player to rank in the top 20 nationally in both punt and kickoff returns.
Williams is the highest Bronco selected by the Falcons and the first since 1983 when Atlanta drafted defensive back Jeff Turk and linebacker John Rade in the seventh and eight rounds, respectively.
Boise State has had a player drafted for 12-straight years, tied for 22nd nationally, and an offensive player selected for eight-consecutive seasons, tied for 13th nationally. Both streaks are best among schools not in a Power 5 conference.
The Broncos have now had a player with collegiate eligibility remaining drafted in eight-consecutive years. Boise State is one of nine schools with such a streak, joining Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Stanford and Washington.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (2014) started the streak, followed by running back Jay Ajayi (2015), linebacker Kamalei Correa (2016), running back Jeremy McNichols (2017), linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (2018), running back Alexander Mattison (2019) and offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland (2020).
Bates was the Washington Football Team's fourth round pick, 124th overall. He was the sixth tight end selected and the first from a school outside of the Autonomous Five. Williams went to the Atlanta Falcons in the fifth round, 183rd overall.
A native of Lebanon, Ore., Bates was All-Mountain West honorable mention in 2019 and 2020 and a three-time Mackey Award Watch List member (2018-20).
Bates averaged over 12 yards per reception in his four years with the Broncos and made 34 catches in 19 games over his final two seasons. He is the first Boise State player taken by the Washington Football Team since defensive back Brandyn Thompson in 2011 and the highest Bronco picked by Washington since defensive end Markus Koch in the second round of the 1986 draft.
Williams was a Consensus All-American in 2020 and set Boise State records with six first-team honors and 10 overall.
A native of Pasadena, Calif., Williams tied an NCAA career record with nine touchdowns on kick returns. In 2020, he was the Jet Award winner as the nation's top return specialist, the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year, an All-Mountain West First-Team honoree at cornerback, punt returner and kick returner and the only player to rank in the top 20 nationally in both punt and kickoff returns.
Williams is the highest Bronco selected by the Falcons and the first since 1983 when Atlanta drafted defensive back Jeff Turk and linebacker John Rade in the seventh and eight rounds, respectively.
Boise State has had a player drafted for 12-straight years, tied for 22nd nationally, and an offensive player selected for eight-consecutive seasons, tied for 13th nationally. Both streaks are best among schools not in a Power 5 conference.
The Broncos have now had a player with collegiate eligibility remaining drafted in eight-consecutive years. Boise State is one of nine schools with such a streak, joining Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Stanford and Washington.
Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (2014) started the streak, followed by running back Jay Ajayi (2015), linebacker Kamalei Correa (2016), running back Jeremy McNichols (2017), linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (2018), running back Alexander Mattison (2019) and offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland (2020).
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