North Carolina receiver Dyami Brown’s selection in the NFL Draft on Friday night, with the Washington Football Team using the 82nd overall pick to take the field-stretching wideout, gave the Tar Heels three players in the first three rounds of the draft.
Brown, the deep threat from West Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, had been considered a second-day prospect and projected to come off the board in either the second or third round of the draft, which got under way with Thursday night’s first round.
He went to Washington, under former Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera, four picks after North Carolina teammate Chazz Surratt was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings.
“All the hard work, all the sweat, all the obstacles to overcome have been worth it to get a chance to hear my name called during the NFL Draft,” Brown said Friday night. “This is life changing, not only for me, but for my family, and I’m so happy to be in position to take care of the people that have supported me.”
It had to be something of a long wait for Brown on Friday night, as five receivers were chosen ahead of him during the course of the second round — Mississippi’s Elijah Moore (34th overall pick of the draft to the New York Jets), Purdue’s Rondale Moore (49th pick to the Arizona Cardinals), Western Michigan’s D’Wayne Eskridge (56th pick to the Seattle Seahawks), Louisville’s Tutu Atwell (57th pick to the Los Angeles Rams) and LSU’s Terrace Marshall Jr. (59th pick to the Carolina Panthers).
In the third round, Tennessee receiver Josh Palmer went to the Los Angeles Chargers with the 77th pick, five spots before Washington took Brown.
“Dyami has come a long way in the two years we’ve been with him and I believe his best football is yet to come,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said Friday night. “He can absolutely fly and there wasn’t a defense we saw that could keep him from getting over the top on them. He also increased his technical ability, becoming a better route runner. I expect him to be very productive in the NFL.”
Dyami Brown, 21, whose top-end speed provided the Tar Heels with an explosive weapon to complement strong-armed quarterback Sam Howell, stands alone as the only receiver in North Carolina program history with two 1,000-yard seasons.
Across the last two seasons, Brown’s production down the field on vertical routes — he hauled in 15 catches (tied for first) for 606 yards (first) and eight touchdowns (tied for first) — placed him at the head of the class among all receivers in major college football.
He led the Atlantic Coast Conference with 1,099 receiving yards last year, an output that ranked sixth nationally, and scored eight touchdowns. He emerged as the only unanimous pick on the All-ACC teams last season.
Brown owns two of the top five receiving seasons in Tar Heels history after supplying 1,034 yards in 2019. He compiled 123 catches for 2,306 yards (seventh in school history) and 21 touchdowns (second in school history) in 34 games during his three-year college career.
“I can’t wait to get to work with Washington and look forward to my future in the NFL,” he said.
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
Take advantage of our $1 for 6 months sale on digital subscriptions. For special offers, click here.
