Two Hawaii high school graduates, DeForest Buckner and Kamalei Correa, could set a record as first-round NFL Draft picks in April.
Their selections, should projections by ESPN, NFL.com and other media analysts hold true, would mark the first time in 81 years of the NFL Draft that two local high school graduates were taken in the first round in the same draft.
Overall seven Hawaii high school products have been first-round selections, beginning with Herman Wedemeyer (Saint Louis and Saint Mary’s) in 1947 through Marcus Mariota (Saint Louis and Oregon) last year.
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. projected Buckner, a Punahou School graduate and defensive end at the University of Oregon, as the third overall pick in the draft. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com has him sixth.
Correa, a Saint Louis School graduate who played defensive end for Boise State, is projected as the 29th overall pick by both Kiper and Jeremiah.
Kiper sees the 6-foot, 7-inch, 281-pound Buckner going to the San Diego Chargers and Jeremiah sees him with the the Los Angeles Rams.
Pac-12 coaches voted Buckner the conference’s Pat Tillman Defensive Player of the Year. He registered 9.5 sacks, and 16 tackles for loss in the regular season.
Correa, who leaves the Broncos with a year of eligibility remaining, is projected as the pick of the Arizona Cardinals by both analysts.
Correa, who is 6 feet 3 and 248 pounds, led the Mountain West Conference in sacks as a sophomore and was the the outstanding defensive player in 2015 Poinsettia Bowl.
The NFL Draft will be held April 28-30 in Chicago.
Both Buckner and Correa have been invited to the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis Feb. 23-29.
Local first rounders
Player |
Pick |
Team |
Year |
Herman Wedemeyer |
9 |
Los Angeles |
1947 |
Russ Francis |
16 |
New England |
1975 |
Bern Brostek |
23 |
Los Angeles |
1990 |
Chris Naeole |
10 |
New Orleans |
1997 |
Ashley Lelie |
19 |
Denver |
2002 |
Tyson Alualu |
10 |
Jacksonville |
2010 |
Marcus Mariota |
2 |
Tennessee |
2015 |