Germaine Pratt goes to Cincinnati in the third round
The second NC State football player to go off the board in the 2019 NFL Draft was linebacker Germaine Pratt, who was picked in the third round by the CIncinnati Bengals with the 72nd overall pick.
"He plays with some thump," NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said. "He’s an outstanding blitzer, needs to work in coverage, but inside tackle-to-tackle he’s really good."
Jeremiah added that Pratt's style should work well against some of the divisional rivals in the AFC North who like to run the football.
"He’s going to be able to match up with that physical style inside," Jeremiah noted.
Pratt finished the season fifth in the ACC in total tackles with 104, three behind Syracuse's Ryan Guthrie. Had he played in the bowl game he could have been the first NC State player to lead the league in tackles since Levar Fisher in 2000. Fisher remains the only Wolfpacker to top the conference in that category.
Pratt also had a team-high 10.5 tackles for loss and seven quarterback hurries and shared the team lead with six sacks and two forced fumbles, despite also missing the game at Chapel Hill with an injury. He was NC State’s first linebacker since Nate Irving in 2010 to be named first-team All-ACC. The last linebacker to make any all-conference squads was Terrell Manning in 2011.
He is the first linebacker since Manning and Audie Cole in 2012 to be drafted and the highest selection at his position since Irving went in the third round in 2011.
Pratt came to NC State as a four-star recruit in the 2013 class from High Point (N.C.) Central High. He played two seasons at safety before redshirting and then moving to linebacker.
NC State center Garrett Bradbury was drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings Thursday evening.
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