Devin Duvernay drafted by Baltimore Ravens in third round

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay became the second Longhorn drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft when he was chosen with the 92^nd overall pick Friday by the Baltimore Ravens. Duvernay heard his name called 22 spots after UT safety Brandon Jones was selected by the Miami Dolphins.

Duvernay becomes the fifth Texas player drafted by Baltimore, joining Cedric Woodard in 2000, Sergio Kindle in 2010, Chykie Brown in 2011 and DeShon Elliott in 2016, and he will join three other Longhorns — Elliott, safety Earl Thomas and kicker Justin Tucker — on the Baltimore roster. Since the NFL shifted in 1994 to a seven-round draft format, Texas now has had [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]nine wide receivers drafted.

“It was surreal,” Duvernay said. “You get a little antsy waiting around and then you get a phone call and it’s so exciting. They tell you the business and it feels like a bunch of weight off your shoulders. I could barely talk and get words out. I was just super-excited.”

Texas head coach Tom Herman said the Ravens are adding a player whose competitiveness and desire match or even exceed his physical tools.

“They’re getting a fierce competitor,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said. “This a guy who I describe as someone that plays angry. He would rather run through you than around you. He’s got elite speed and is a former 100-meter dash state champion in high school, a guy that led the country in the regular season in catches. He has extremely strong hands. I think he had only one drop in his four-year career … which is amazing considering the number of catches that he had. He’s a team captain, a tremendous leader with great work ethic, and he’s extremely versatile.

The Ravens became one of the biggest stories in the NFL last year, thanks in large part to the emergence of quarterback Lamar Jackson, whose passing and heart-stopping running ability earned him NFL Most Valuable Player honors a year ago. Herman also said that Duvernay gives Baltimore another player who offers position flexibility.

“Although he played in the slot his senior year, he played outside the previous three years,” Herman said. “He’s also built like a running back, and we played him in the backfield a little bit, too. He’s a guy that can do it all and certainly did for us this past season.”

Duvernay said his first visit to Baltimore as a Raven will be the first in his life, but he is eager to get to know his new home.

“I haven’t been there, so I don’t know too much about the city, but I’m looking forward to getting to know it a lot better,” Duvernay said. “The Ravens are a great organization and were one of the best teams in the NFL last year. They have a lot of dynamic playmakers including Lamar Jackson, so I can’t wait to get started. I talked to the head coach and the GM. They said they really liked my game and they were holding their breath for 20 picks hoping they could get me. They said they’re really excited about me, like how I play and like what I bring to the table.”

ESPN analyst Louis Riddick said the Ravens, who already have one of the NFL’s fastest receivers in former Oklahoma star Marquise Brown, now have another burner who presents numerous options for Jackson and the Baltimore offense.

“(Duvernay is) a 100-meter track champion,” Riddick said. “He’s a guy who can absolutely fly with a sub 10.5 in the 100 meters. He’s somebody who has that run-after-the-catch skill where he can show off his sub-10.5 100 meters. He worked primarily in the slot. Against Utah, he absolutely tore them up from the slot. He can line up outside and run the double moves, and then he has tremendous ball tracking skills down the field to make the contested catches. It doesn’t matter how much you push on him, he’s someone who can always come up with the big play. He was guy who was a little tight, but I tell you what, he will work on it, and that speed is game-breaking.”

Duvernay earned first-team All-Big 12 honors last season after starting all 13 games for the Longhorns, catching 106 passes for 1,386 yards (both of which were the second-highest totals in program history) and nine receiving touchdowns.He also was a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and was named to the midseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation’s premier college receiver.

He led all Big 12 receivers in catches, catches per game, receiving yards, receiving yards per game and was third in receiving touchdowns last season, and joins Kwame Kavil (1999) and Jordan Shipley (2009) as the only Longhorns to record at least 100 receptions in a single season.

He finished his career with 176 receptions (No. 8 in school history) for 2,468 yards (No. 8) and 16 touchdowns (No. 6). Duvernay also eight 100-yard games in his career, the sixth-most by a Longhorn all time.
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