BATON ROUGE – Chad Jones and Brandon LaFell entered the professional football ranks on Friday as both players were selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.
Jones, a safety from New Orleans, was picked by the New York Giants with the 76th overall selection, while LaFell, a wide receiver from Houston, went two picks later at No. 78 overall to the Carolina Panthers.
Jones and LaFell become the 26th and 27th Tigers picked in the NFL Draft since Les Miles took over the LSU program in 2005.
Jones joins former LSU standout Corey Webster in the Giants secondary. Jones, who also starred as a pitcher on LSU’s national championship baseball team last year, opted to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft. In three years with the Tigers, Jones played in 40 games, starting 19 times. He recorded 158 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for losses, two sacks and five interceptions. He also returned 31 punts for 336 yards, including a 93-yarder for a TD against Mississippi State this year.
LaFell finished his career ranked No. 2 in school history in receiving touchdowns (25), No. 3 in receptions (175) and No. 5 in yards (2,517). LaFell led LSU in receiving for three straight years from 2007 to 2009 joining Ken Kavanaugh (1937-39) and Eric Martin (1982-84) as the only players in school history accomplish that feat.
With LaFell going in the NFL Draft, LSU has now had at least one receiver selected in the draft for five straight years. In addition, the Tigers have had a safety taken in the NFL Draft for four consecutive years.
The final day of the NFL Draft will held on Saturday as rounds four through seven take place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Saturday’s action starts at 9 a.m. CT and can be seen on ESPN and ESPN2.