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A history of UCF players selected in the first round of the NFL draft
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- A history of UCF players selected in the first round of the NFL draft
Malachi Lawrence became the fifth UCF player selected in the first round of the NFL draft when he was chosen by the Dallas Cowboys with the No. 23 pick on Thursday.
Here is a look at the other four first-round selections and their NFL careers:
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1999 — DAUNTE CULPEPPER, QUARTERBACK
No. 11 pick, Minnesota Vikings
Buzz:Culpepper spent 11 seasons in the NFL, playing for the Vikings (1999-2005), Miami Dolphins (2006), Oakland Raiders (2007) and Detroit Lions (2008-09). He finished with 24,153 passing yards with 149 touchdowns and 106 interceptions in 105 games, including 100 starts.
2014 — BLAKE BORTLES , QUARTERBACK
No. 3 pick, Jacksonville Jaguars
Buzz:Bortles became the highest-drafted UCF player in program history when he was selected by the Jaguars. He only spent six seasons in the NFL, mostly in Jacksonville (2014-18), before finishing his career with the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. Bortles completed nearly 60% of his passes for 17,649 yards with 103 touchdowns and 75 interceptions.
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2015 — BRESHAD PERRIMAN , WIDE RECEIVER
No. 26 pick, Baltimore Ravens
Buzz:Perriman spent seven seasons in the NFL, playing for the Ravens (2016-17), Cleveland Browns (2018), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2019, 2021-22) and the New Jersey Jets (2020). He finished his career with 2,343 receiving yards on 145 receptions with 16 touchdowns in 80 career games.
2018 — MIKE HUGHES, SAFETY
No. 30 pick, Minnesota Vikings
Buzz:Hughes has played seven seasons in the NFL for the Vikings (2018-20), Kansas City Chiefs (2021), Detroit Lions (2022) and Atlanta Falcons (2023-25). He's accounted for 316 tackles, four interceptions, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com
