NFL Draft: Jake Butt taken by Broncos in fifth round

Jake Butt #88 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts after catching a pass for a first down during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2016 in Columbus, Ohio. Credit: Getty Images / Gregory Shamus
Michigan tight end Jake Butt, who is well aware his last name makes him the . . . well . . . butt of many jokes, finally heard his name called at the NFL Draft.
Butt might have been taken in the first three rounds had he not suffered torn knee ligaments in the Orange Bowl. Instead, he lasted until the first pick of the fifth round before the Broncos drafted him.
Butt has been teased most of his life about his last name, yet has had plenty of fun with it nonetheless. Last week, he even posed for a picture beside a Charmin dump truck that deposited several rolls of toilet paper next to him. It’s uncertain whether he has agreed to a commercial endorsement with Proctor and Gamble, which manufactures Charmin.
“I love it so much,” Butt said in an interview with ESPN regarding the jokes made about his name. “I think that’s one of my greatest traits. It has really allowed me to grow my platform and build my brand.”
Butt is serious about his game, though. He’s more anxious to make a name for himself with his play in the NFL than in the world of double entendre. The 6-6, 250-pound tight end finished his four-year career at Michigan with 138 catches for 1,646 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“We were holding our breath these last few picks hoping to get Michigan TE Jake Butt. A top-notch TE, we’re fortunate to select him in the 5th,” Broncos general manager John Elway wrote on Twitter.
Butt actually made money by falling in the draft. He took out an insurance policy that paid him $10,000 for each pick he dropped below the middle of the third round. According to ESPN, Butt will receive $543,000 tax free because of his draft-day tumble. The policy would have paid a maximum of $2 million based on how far he slipped.
Butt may have dropped to the fifth round in part because of a run on tailbacks in the fourth round. There were seven runners taken in the fourth, including Clemson’s Wayne Gallman, who went to the Giants at No. 140 overall. Other fourth-round running backs included Utah’s Joe Williams (49ers), San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey (Eagles) Samaje Perine of Oklahoma (Redskins), South Florida’s Marlon Mack (Colts), North Carolina A&T’s Tarik Cohen (Bears) and Jamaal Williams of BYU (Packers).
Four quarterbacks were selected on the final day of the draft, including Pitt’s Nathan Peterman, who had been rumored to go as high as the second round, but instead went to the Bills in the fifth round. Tennessee’s Joshua Dobson went in the fourth round to the Steelers, who need a backup for Ben Roethlisberger. Miami’s Brad Kaaya, who had also been considered a potential mid-round pick, slipped to the sixth round to Detroit. Mississippi’s Chad Kelly went to the Broncos in the seventh round.
Kelly is the nephew of former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. As the final pick of the draft, he is dubbed “Mr. Irrelevant,” the title given to the final pick of each year’s draft. The custom was started in 1976.
Jim Kelly and Elway were both selected in the first round of the 1983 draft and played in a combined nine Super Bowls.
Chad Kelly is recovering from a wrist injury and isn’t expected to throw for two months. Off-field concerns prompted him to be uninvited to the Scouting Combine in February. Kelly played two seasons at Mississippi after being kicked off Clemson’s team in 2014 for conduct detrimental to the team.
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