On Saturday afternoon, Jaquelin Roy took a break from the NFL draft to use the bathroom. As he walked back toward the living room TV, the defensive tackle asked whether any of his LSU teammates had been picked yet.
Roy’s family and friends told him LSU defensive back Jay Ward had just gone to the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round.
About 20 minutes later, the Vikings traded up for the No. 141 overall pick. They drafted Roy there in the fifth round, using consecutive selections on LSU players.
Roy cried.
“When I got the call,” he said, “all the stress and everything left my body.”
After only one LSU player was selected on the first two days of the 2023 NFL Draft, five prospects came off the board on the final day. Offensive lineman Anthony Bradford went No. 108 overall. Ward and Roy landed on the Vikings. Wide receiver Kayshon Boutte and defensive back Jarrick Bernard-Converse were drafted in the sixth round.
The first three picks offered reunions. Bradford rejoined former LSU offensive lineman Damien Lewis on the Seattle Seahawks. Ward reconnected with former LSU defensive coordinator Daronte Jones, now the Vikings defensive backs coach. They spent the 2021 season together.
“I love coach Jones,” Ward said. “It was always bigger than on-the-field with him, and we had a close relationship at LSU. We was tight. I’m glad I get to reunite with him, and he can keep molding me to be a better player.”
Minnesota now has selected someone from LSU in three of the last four drafts, starting with wide receiver Justin Jefferson in 2020. It took offensive guard Ed Ingram last year, and former LSU defensive end Danielle Hunter also plays there.
“The players that you meet in the locker room, you’re meeting for the first time,” Vikings assistant director of player personnel Chisom Opara said. “You may not feel as comfortable taking your problems to them or leaning on them for support. Having somebody who you’ve seen before, a familiar face in the hallway, I can’t imagine that it’s anything but a really good thing for these guys.”
The day started with Bradford, the second LSU player taken in this draft after edge rusher BJ Ojulari. After struggling with weight earlier in his career, Bradford (6-foot-4, 337 pounds) broke into the starting lineup as a redshirt sophomore in 2021. He started five times but missed eight games that season, including the last five.
Still away from the team last spring for undisclosed reasons, Bradford returned to start 12 games, mostly at right guard. He also played both tackle spots, but Seattle told him he would play inside like Lewis, a three-year starter at guard.
They talked during Bradford’s visit and hoped they would end up together.
“I’m geeked up to get down there with him,” Bradford said. “We were saying that if it did happen, we would have to go to work. It happened, so it’s time to go to work.”
Ward caught the Vikings’ eye with the No. 134 overall pick because of his versatility. He played cornerback, safety and nickel during his career, sometimes multiple positions in the same game. Minnesota plans on using him in the same role.
As Ward spoke to Vikings staff, he heard someone say the team had taken Roy. The Baton Rouge native and U-High graduate was the second-highest rated recruit in Louisiana three years ago. He turned into a starter as a junior before declaring early for the draft.
“He’s a player we’ve been on for a while, a player who has versatility within our scheme,” Opara said. “He plays with a mentality that we’re trying to build here. This late in the draft, to get somebody with his traits and his upside, we’re really excited.”
Later in the sixth, Bernard-Converse went to the New York Jets at No. 204 overall. The former Oklahoma State transfer had starred at pro day, running the 40-yard dash in 4.40 seconds and jumping 42 inches in the vertical. The performance increased his stock after he wasn’t invited to the combine.
Before him, Boutte’s wait ended when the New England Patriots took him with the No. 184 overall pick.
A potential first-round choice earlier in his career, Boutte’s stock had dropped. He caught 48 passes for 538 yards and two touchdowns last season — his first since suffering a broken right ankle the year before — and underwhelmed in pre-draft tests.
Boutte interviewed with New England at the NFL scouting combine. He met with the team again at LSU’s pro day, where coach Bill Belichick closely watched his on-field workout.
Exactly one month later, the Patriots drafted him.
“I got to focus on myself,” Boutte said. “It’s more about making sure that I’m 100% healthy and putting in the work every day to get back to where I want to be.”
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