Shaka Toney one of three Penn State players chosen consecutively on third day of NFL draft
Toney was chosen No. 246 by the Washington Football Team, and was followed by center Michal Menet to the Arizona Cardinals and guard Will Fries to the Indianapolis Colts.
The waiting was difficult Saturday for Penn State defensive end Shaka Toney, who watched the NFL draft for more than six hours before finally seeing his name pop up on his TV screen, courtesy of the Washington Football Team.
Toney, who played his high school football at Imhotep Charter, was selected as an edge rusher with the 19th pick in the seventh round by Washington, the 246th player chosen overall out of the 259 players drafted.
“It got a little frustrating,” Toney said of the wait. “I’m not a hater but my numbers, my pro day, what I’ve done in college, I felt like it spoke for itself. I guess all the other teams in the NFL didn’t feel that way except for Washington, and I’m grateful that they gave me the opportunity, and I’ve got to go out and prove it every single day.”
Toney said head coach Ron Rivera contacted him to inform him of his impending selection.
“He was real brief,” he said. “He told me to enjoy the moment with my family.”
After an almost full day of not hearing the name of a single Penn State player during coverage of the draft, three Nittany Lions went in rapid-fire order. Toney was followed by center Michal Menet, who went to the Arizona Cardinals, and guard Will Fries, the pick of the Indianapolis Colts.
Three Penn State players went in the first two rounds. Linebacker Micah Parsons (No. 12 to the Dallas Cowboys and Odafe Oweh (No. 30 to the Baltimore Ravens) were taken in the first round, and tight end Pat Freiermuth (No. 55 to the Pittsburgh Steelers) was selected in the second.
The NFL Network reported Saturday night that safety Lamont Wade has reached an agreement with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent.
The 6-foot-2, 242-pound Toney was a first-team All-Big Ten performer last season after leading the Lions in sacks with five and posting 7½ tackles for losses. He finished his Penn State career with 20½ sacks, good for eighth on the program’s all-time list.
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Toney impressed NFL scouts at his pro day in March, being timed in 4.51 seconds for the 40-yard dash and leaping 39 inches in the vertical jump. He was considered anywhere from a fourth- to sixth-round projection in different mock drafts.
“When you go late as a seventh-round draft pick, automatically the cards are against you, so I’m not patting myself on the back,” he said. “I’ve got a whole lot of work to do to make the 53-man roster and make sure I contribute this year to the team.”
Penn State head coach James Franklin said he was “so proud” to hear Toney’s name called.
“Shaka’s journey from Philadelphia to Happy Valley to Washington is personally gratifying because I know how much he has overcome,” he said in a statement. “Shaka is built for this opportunity. He possesses tremendous football IQ and when you match this with his quickness and athleticism, Washington is getting one heck of a football player.”
The Washington Football Team is known for its young defensive linemen, most notably defensive end Chase Young, who gave the Nittany Lions plenty of headaches when he played for Ohio State. The seven linemen on last season’s depth chart ranged in age from 22 (Young) to 26 (tackle Jonathan Allen).
Other draftees of local interest were Miami edge rusher Quincy Roche (three seasons at Temple before transferring) going in the sixth round, No. 216 overall, to Pittsburgh; Pitt center Jimmy Morrissey (La Salle College High School) in the seventh round, No. 230 overall, to Las Vegas; and Georgia safety Mark Webb (Archbishop Wood), in the seventh round, No. 241, to the Los Angeles Chargers.