BATON ROUGE — Odell Beckham Jr. became the highest drafted LSU wide receiver in history on Thursday night, as the junior from New Orleans was selected 12th overall by the New York Giants in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Beckham Jr. is the 13th first-round selection since Les Miles took over the LSU program in January of 2005. Including Beckham Jr., LSU leads the Southeastern Conference with 52 players picked in the past nine drafts — ranking No. 2 nationally in the time span behind Southern Cal.
Beckham Jr. surpassed Michael Clayton as the highest drafted receiver in school history, as Clayton was the 15th overall pick by Tampa Bay in 2004.
Bechham Jr. received the 2013 Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player. He earned first-team All-America honors as a junior in 2013 as both a kick returner (Football Writers Association of America) and return specialist (CBSSports.com) after leading the SEC and ranking No. 2 in the nation in all-purpose yards with a 178.1 average.
In 2013, Beckham Jr. set the school record and finished No. 2 in SEC single-season history with 2,315 all-purpose yards. In three seasons at LSU, he finished with 15 touchdowns and 4,118 all-purpose yards.
As many as a dozen Tigers have the opportunity to be drafted over the next three days (LSU Pro Day Scorecard).
The first round of the three-day NFL Draft concluded Thursday evening, and will be followed by rounds two and three on Friday starting at 6 p.m. CT. Rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday starting at 11 a.m.
ESPN and the NFL Network will televise all seven rounds.
Check back on LSUsports.net on Friday at 6 p.m. CT for updates as Tigers are selected in the second and third rounds.
2014 NFL Draft
Thursday, May 8, 2014
First Round
1. Houston Texas – Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina), DE
2. St. Louis Rams (from Washington) – Greg Robinson (Auburn), OT
3. Jacksonville Jaguars – Blake Bortles (UFC), QB
4. Buffalo Bills (from Cleveland) – Sammy Watkins (Clemson), WR
5. Oakland Raiders – Khalil Mack (Buffalo), OLB
6. Atlanta Falcons – Jake Matthews (Texas A&M), OT
7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Mike Evans (Texas A&M), WR
8. Cleveland Browns (from Minnesota) – Justin Gilbert (Oklahoma St.), CB
9. Minnesota Vikings (from Buffalo through Cleveland) – Anthony Barr (UCLA), OLB
10. Detroit Lions – Eric Ebron (North Carolina), TE
11. Tennessee Titans – Taylor Lewan (Michigan), OL
12. NY Giants – Odell Beckham Jr. (LSU), WR
13. St. Louis Rams – Aaron Donald (Pittsburgh), DT
14. Chicago Bears – Kyle Fuller (Virginia Tech), CB
15. Pittsburgh Steelers – Ryan Shazier (Ohio St.), OLB
16. Dallas Cowboys – Zack Martin (Notre Dame), OT
17. Baltimore Ravens – C.J. Mosley (Alabama), ILB
18. NY Jets – Calvin Pryor (Louisville), FS
19. Miami Dolphins – Ja’Wuan James (Tennessee), OT
20. New Orleans Saints (from Arizona) – Brandin Cooks (Oregon St.), WR
21. Green Bay Packers – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama), S
22. Cleveland Browns (from Philadelphia) – Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M), QB
23. Kansas City Chiefs – Dee Ford (Auburn), DE
24. Cincinnati Bengals – Darqueze Dennard (Michigan St.), CB
25. San Diego Chargers – Jason Verett (TCU), CB
26. Philadelphia Eagles (from Indianapolis through Cleveland) – Marcus Smith (Louisville), DE
27. Arizona Cardinals (from New Orleans) – Deone Bucannon (Washington St.), SS
28. Carolina Panthers – Kelvin Benjamin (Florida St.), WR
29. New England Patriots – Dominique Easley (Florida), DE
30. San Francisco 49ers – Jimmie Ward (Northern Illinois), S
31. Denver Broncos – Bradley Roby (Ohio St), CB
32. Minnesota (from Seattle) – Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville), QB
Here’s Odell Beckham @OBJ_3 getting the call from the @Giants in the Green Room tonight. @LSUfball pic.twitter.com/vPoZCiRwaW
— Michael Bonnette (@LSUBonnette) May 9, 2014
Congrats, @OBJ_3! #LSU #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/9F79Xxtqh4
— LSU Football (@LSUfball) May 9, 2014
Congrats to @OBJ_3 who became the highest drafted WR in @LSUfball history! http://t.co/j1nUfIuXex pic.twitter.com/FXCOoXK2J6
— LSUsports (@LSUsports) May 9, 2014
The Giants have drafted LSU WR Odell Beckham Jr.! Here are five things you need to know about him: http://t.co/Mp6PyKYLs5
— New York Giants (@Giants) May 9, 2014
Blessed beyond measures… Thank you God for everything you’ve done for me
— Odell Beckham Jr (@OBJ_3) May 9, 2014