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For the first time since Darren McFadden and Felix Jones in 2008, Arkansas has a player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, as Frank Ragnow was selected by the Detroit Lions.
With the 20th pick in the 2018 #NFLDraft, the #Lions select C Frank Ragnow! #OnePride pic.twitter.com/TrKTBX2xAO
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 27, 2018
Ragnow has gone through some major ups and downs through his time at Arkansas both on and off the field, so it’s great to see him rewarded with this high of a pick. Ragnow was consistently rated as one of the highest offensive linemen in the SEC despite the struggles of the rest of the offensive line.
The Lions land one of our favorite players in this draft class in Arkansas stand out center Frank Ragnow #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/Y4zxTAljFC
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) April 27, 2018
In most mock drafts, he had made a late charge to the later half of the first round. A lot of outlets predicted he would be picked by the Bengals at 21st, but ultimately went one pick higher. Now after 42 games with 33 consecutive starts, Ragnow is making the move north to replace another former Razorback, Travis Swanson, at the center position in Detroit. This pick couldn’t happen to a better guy or representative of the Arkansas Razorbacks. Congrats to him for his big day and ending the Hogs’ 10 year streak without a first round pick.