UVA’s Reed, Hall each taken in 5th round of NFL Draft

By Jerry Ratcliffe

It surprisingly took until the fifth round, but two Virginia stars were selected in the NFL Draft on Saturday afternoon.

Wide receiver Joe Reed, the top-rated kickoff returner in the draft, was taken with the 151st pick overall by the Los Angeles Chargers. Meanwhile, cornerback Bryce Hall was taken with the 158th overall pick by the New York Jets.

Many draft experts believed Hall was a first- or second-round selection headed into the season, but he missed eight games after suffering a broken leg in the Miami game. Hall is the first cornerback drafted out of UVA since Tim Harris was the 198th pick by San Francisco in the 2019 draft.

Hall is the first Cavalier drafted by the Jets since Oday Aboushi in fifth round. He is the 10th UVA player all-time to be drafted by the Jets, including D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Jeff Lageman.

Meanwhile, Reed is the first Cavalier drafted by the Chargers since 2006 (placekicker Kurt Smith) and is the seventh UVA player to be drafted all-time by the Chargers, who have moved from San Diego to Los Angeles.

There’s more to follow on both players and their draft selection as the day progresses, along with any other news of UVA players drafted or signed as free agents.

An interview with Reed and Chargers media will follow shortly.