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The first round of the 2014 NFL Draft was mighty kind to the Mid-American Conference. Even though the Houston Texans bowed to peer pressure and passed on Buffalo Bulls linebacker Khalil Mack, the Oakland Raiders pounced with the fifth pick. Mack's selection means the MAC has had top-five picks in consecutive years.
A few hours later, the San Francisco 49ers used their first-round choice, 30th overall, to take Northern Illinois Huskies safety Jimmie Ward. When the 49ers made that pick, the MAC earned two first-round selections in the same draft for the first time in 10 years. It last happened in 2004, when Ben Roethlisberger and Jason Babin were drafted.
More 2014 NFL Draft Coverage
More 2014 NFL Draft Coverage
Of course, there are still many MAC players left on our Big Board that could be drafted before Mr. Irrelevant is announced on Saturday evening. Six rounds of the NFL Draft remain, and two of those occur tonight. Beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST, a total of 68 players will be drafted in the second and third rounds. There are 32 picks in round two and 36 picks in round three. The latter includes four compensatory picks from free agency losses.
Clearly, from a MAC perspective, all eyes will be on Dri Archer tonight. Will the fantastically fast (but small in stature) running back of the Kent State Golden Flashes be one of the next 68 picks? We wouldn't bet against it. In fact, one of us predicted that Archer would be selected 86th overall by the Philadelphia Eagles. And in addition, the Eagles now own the 83rd pick.
Be sure to follow us throughout the evening as we follow the draft and prepare for more MAC players to be called to their spot in the NFL. We'll be updating the website as MAC picks are announced, and we'll also have a full complement of coverage via our Twitter account (@HustleBelt) and our Facebook account (make sure to LIKE our page).
We're also going to be live chatting during the whole event, starting right now! Join the fun by hanging out with us as we celebrate more #MACtion heading to the NFL. To join the discussion all you have to do is join Hustle Belt. It's veryy simple. Just scroll down to the comments section and click "Sign Up". We won't sell your email or give your information out to others. Even if you don't want to create an SB Nation account, you can sign in using your Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus accounts. Frankly, there's no excuse to not join the discussion.