Penn State’s leading receiver from the 2023 season is officially off to the NFL. [autotag]Parker Washington[/autotag] had to wait until the third day of the 2023 NFL draft, but Washington was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the eighth pick in the sixth round of the draft on Saturday afternoon.
Washington spent three seasons in Happy Valley playing as a great alternative alongside Jahan Dotson, a first-round draft pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Washington emerged as Penn State’s top wide receiver in 2023 despite a slower start to the season than anticipated. Washington caught 46 passes for 611 yards in 10 games after seeing his season come to a premature ending due to an injury. Washington missed out on the Rose Bowl as a result and did not participate in the NFL combine as he continued his recovery.
All of that could make Washington a nice sleeper pick on Day 3 of the draft.
Washington will see a familiar face in Jacksonville, of course. Earlier in the draft, the Jaguars drafted Penn State tight end Brenton Strange in the second round. Is Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence about to develop some chemistry with two of Penn State’s top receiving leaders?
After four Penn State players were drafted on the second day of the draft with three in the second round and one more in the third, Washington came into the final day of the draft viewed as the best Penn State player still available.
Washington was a four-star recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2020, a recruiting class that also included Ji’Ayir Brown, who was drafted in the third round by the San Francisco 49ers and Olu Fashanu, who is already viewed as a potential first-round draft pick in the 2024 NFL draft after opting to return to the Nittany Lions for another season.
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