Two Players With Minnesota Ties Selected In NFL Draft

Two players with connections to Minnesota were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night. The second and third rounds are set for Friday night, while rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday.

The San Francisco 49ers took Marshall, Minnesota native QB Trey Lance with the third overall pick. Mock drafts were varied on their predictions of where Lance would end up, with most guessing he would drop to the middle of the first round.

However, the 49ers decided to gamble on the North Dakota State star early in the draft based on his projectable size (6'3" and 221 lbs) and unique skill set as a dual-threat running/passing quarterback.

Per the 49ers website, Lance says that getting the call that he was going to be drafted by San Francisco was emotional: 

"It was pretty emotional for me right away. Just kind of a surreal feeling and, obviously, not knowing what the situation was going to be going into it. You never really knew until you knew. So, for me, it was emotional. Just super blessed. I felt super thankful for everyone that's helped me get to this point."

In 19 career games with the Bison, Lance threw for 2,947 yards with 30 touchdowns and only one interception while also running for 1,325 yards.

University of Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman was also selected in the first round of the draft (27th overall) by the Baltimore Ravens.

Becker native Dillon Radunz was not selected in the first round of the draft but is expected to be taken early in the second round, which gets underway Friday night at 6 p.m.