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Lachlan Edwards will continue Australia’s growing list of NFL punters after the New York Jets grabbed him in the final round of the draft.
The strapping 196cm tall, 24-year-old from Hastings on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula joined Melbourne defensive lineman Adam Gotsis as the Australians selected at the NFL Draft in Chicago.
Gotsis was selected by the reigning Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos on Friday in the second round.
Edwards, who played for Sam Houston State University in Texas, had to endure three nervous days before the Jets snared him in the seventh round on Saturday with the 235th pick.
In a surprise, Australia’s top-rated punter and winner of back-to-back awards for college football’s best punter Tom Hackett, was not drafted.
Edwards was the third punter selected, with the San Diego Chargers using a sixth round pick on American Drew Kaser, who played with Texas A&M.
The Broncos used a seventh round pick on another American punter, Syracuse’s Riley Dixon.
Joining Hackett, who played with the University of Utah, on the unwanted shelf were fellow Australian punters Alex Kinal (Wake Forest) and Jamie Keehn (Louisiana State).
Other hopefuls, Adelaide goal kicker Brad Craddock, who played at the University of Maryland, and Sydney offensive lineman Blake Muir (Baylor), also did not get a call.
The Australians’ NFL dreams are not over, with teams expected to snap up the best leftovers – particularly Hackett – as free agents in the hours after the draft.
The Jets have a history of signing Australians, with former AFL star Ben Graham spending three years with the team.
Australia punters Jordan Berry (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Brad Wing (New York Giants) currently play in the NFL.
Other past Australian punters include trail blazer Darren Bennett, Mat McBriar and Sav Rocca.
Gotsis, from Georgia Tech, spent his first day at the Broncos, enjoying a tour of their Denver facility and fronting local media.
“Watching film on him, he is the type of player we like,” Denver defensive line coach Bill Kollar told reporters.
“He plays hard, runs to the ball, has some pass rush ability that we are happy about.”
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