Chris Draft
Encyclopedia
Christopher Michael Draft (born February 26, 1976 in Anaheim, California
) is an American football
linebacker
who is currently a free agent
. He previously played for the Chicago Bears
, San Francisco 49ers
, Atlanta Falcons
, Carolina Panthers
, St. Louis Rams
, and Buffalo Bills
. Draft played college football
at Stanford University
.
n in football and baseball
at Kraemer Middle School and Valencia High School
in Placentia, California
. He played running back
and linebacker during his prep career. He was an honors student and a member of the school's ASB Leadership organization.
selection, he totaled 316 career tackle
s, six sacks and two interceptions. As a senior in 1997, he earned Second-team All-Pac 10 honors and led the Cardinal with 81 tackles and contributed two sacks and two interceptions. He graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics.
by the Chicago Bears
and appeared in one game, was inactive for three contests and spent 12 games on the Bears practice squad, He was waived by Chicago prior to the start of the regular season 8/30/1998 and signed to practice squad by the Bears 9/1/1998 before being promoted to the active roster 12/2.
on 2/11/2000 after being waved by San Francisco 2/10/2000. He played in 13 games with eight starts with the Falcons and registered 67 tackles, one sack and one special teams tackle. In 2001 Draft played in 13 games with 10 starts at weakside linebacker and made 73 tackles, one pass deflection and three special teams stops. The next season, 2002, he played 15 games with five starts and had 66 tackles and a then career-high 3.5 sacks. In 2003 he started all 16 games for the first time of career and established a career-high in tackles with 124. In 2004 Draft moved to middle linebacker from weakside linebacker as Atlanta switched to a 4-3 defense from a 3-4. He played in 14 games with 13 starts and posted 56 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and three passes deflected.
. In 2008 he made 38 tackles and 2 pass deflections.
He was released from the Rams on September 10, 2009.
placed starting linebacker Kawika Mitchell
on the IR with a knee injury, Buffalo signed Draft to a one-year contract. With Buffalo, the linebacker played in 11 games with three starts. He registered 43 tackles and 1 interception on defense and added 5 stops on special teams. He was a free agent after that season.
signed Draft to a one-year contract. On August 23, 2010, Draft was released.
2007 NFL Alumni "Spirit Award"
2006 Man of the Year – Carolina Panthers
2004 Byron “Whizzer” White Award Finalist
Career best 178 tackles (110 solo) in 2003
Host of his own Atlanta Metro Area television show "The Draft Report"
2002 Ed Block Courage Award
2001 Rankin Smith Award
National Service Projects
2007 Spokesperson: Climb California
2006 spokesperson: American Lung Association – Southeast region
2004 Hosted youth clinic for 50 children in Germany
2004 Visit with war veterans in Palo Alto, CA
Stanford University Athletic Department mentor
Orangewood (CA) Children’s Home Black History Awareness
Sun Coast Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Fundraiser participant
Community Sports Activities
2004 Boys and Girls Club football clinic
2004 Host of Project Fit America
2004 Prison Ministries of Atlanta football camp
2005/04 Flacons Fitness Challenge
2003/04 Co-host of Falcons “Thank the Fans” event
2003/04 Falcons Draft Day Fan Fest
Community Service Projects
2006 American Lung Association Asthma Walk and Camp Breathe Easy
2006 Founder of The Christ Draft Family Foundation
2005 Sponsor of the Zap Asthma summer camp
2004 Center for Disease Control “Steps for a Healthier U.S. Initiative”
2004 Atlanta Business Women’s dinner
2004 Falcons Football Academy
2004 Atlanta Braves Ball Boy Mentoring Program
2004 NFL Yet Center Extra Yard partnership
2003/04 NFL Yet Center spokesperson
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
) is an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He previously played for the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
, and Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Draft played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
High School/Middle School History
Draft was an All-AmericaAll-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
n in football and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
at Kraemer Middle School and Valencia High School
Valencia High School
Valencia High School may refer to:*Valencia High School , a public high school in Placentia, California*Valencia High School , a public high school in Santa Clarita, California...
in Placentia, California
Placentia, California
-Local: Placentia is a Charter city with an elected city council and professional city manager. Placentia City Council*Mayor- Scott W. Nelson*Mayor Pro Tem- Jeremy Yamaguchi*Council Member- Joe Aquirre*Council Member- Constance Underhill...
. He played running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
and linebacker during his prep career. He was an honors student and a member of the school's ASB Leadership organization.
College career
He was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter at inside linebacker for Stanford. He started his Stanford career as a true freshman playing strong safety. As a two-time Second-team All-Pacific Ten ConferencePacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
selection, he totaled 316 career tackle
Tackle (football move)
Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
s, six sacks and two interceptions. As a senior in 1997, he earned Second-team All-Pac 10 honors and led the Cardinal with 81 tackles and contributed two sacks and two interceptions. He graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics.
Chicago Bears
Draft was drafted in the sixth round (157th overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18-19, 1998...
by the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and appeared in one game, was inactive for three contests and spent 12 games on the Bears practice squad, He was waived by Chicago prior to the start of the regular season 8/30/1998 and signed to practice squad by the Bears 9/1/1998 before being promoted to the active roster 12/2.
San Francisco 49ers
In 1999 Draft was signed to practice squad by the 49ers 9/29/1999, where he spent six contests before being signed to the active roster on 11/20/1999. He saw action in seven games, mainly on special teams, for the San Francisco 49ers and notched seven special teams stops.Atlanta Falcons
Claimed off waivers by the Atlanta FalconsAtlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
on 2/11/2000 after being waved by San Francisco 2/10/2000. He played in 13 games with eight starts with the Falcons and registered 67 tackles, one sack and one special teams tackle. In 2001 Draft played in 13 games with 10 starts at weakside linebacker and made 73 tackles, one pass deflection and three special teams stops. The next season, 2002, he played 15 games with five starts and had 66 tackles and a then career-high 3.5 sacks. In 2003 he started all 16 games for the first time of career and established a career-high in tackles with 124. In 2004 Draft moved to middle linebacker from weakside linebacker as Atlanta switched to a 4-3 defense from a 3-4. He played in 14 games with 13 starts and posted 56 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and three passes deflected.
Carolina Panthers
Draft was signed by Carolina in early 2005. Played in all 16 games in first season in Carolina, also seeing action in all three postseason contests. In 2006 he started all 16 games for the second time of his career and he made 107 tackles and had 5.5 sacks.St. Louis Rams
On March 19, 2007 he signed a three-year contract with the Rams. He played in all 16 games with six starts in his first season with the Rams and registered 50 tackles (40 solo) including 1.0 sack. His 14 special teams tackles ranked fourth on team. Seven of his starts came in place of an injured Pisa TinoisamoaPisa Tinoisamoa
-St. Louis Rams:Tinoisamoa was drafted out of the University of Hawaii by the St. Louis Rams in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft. On July 24, 2003, Tinoisamoa signed a four-year $2.90 million contract with the Rams....
. In 2008 he made 38 tackles and 2 pass deflections.
He was released from the Rams on September 10, 2009.
Buffalo Bills
On October 13, 2009, the day that the Buffalo BillsBuffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
placed starting linebacker Kawika Mitchell
Kawika Mitchell
Kawika Uilani Mitchell is an American football linebacker who currently is a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round in the 2003 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the New York Giants, Buffalo Bills, and New Orleans Saints...
on the IR with a knee injury, Buffalo signed Draft to a one-year contract. With Buffalo, the linebacker played in 11 games with three starts. He registered 43 tackles and 1 interception on defense and added 5 stops on special teams. He was a free agent after that season.
Washington Redskins
On May 7, 2010, the Washington RedskinsWashington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
signed Draft to a one-year contract. On August 23, 2010, Draft was released.
Career highlights
2008 Byron “Whizzer” White Award Finalist2007 NFL Alumni "Spirit Award"
2006 Man of the Year – Carolina Panthers
2004 Byron “Whizzer” White Award Finalist
Career best 178 tackles (110 solo) in 2003
Host of his own Atlanta Metro Area television show "The Draft Report"
2002 Ed Block Courage Award
Ed Block Courage Award
The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to selected players in the National Football League , who are voted by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a well-liked humanitarian and trainer for the Baltimore Colts, the...
2001 Rankin Smith Award
National Service Projects
2007 Spokesperson: Climb California
2006 spokesperson: American Lung Association – Southeast region
2004 Hosted youth clinic for 50 children in Germany
2004 Visit with war veterans in Palo Alto, CA
Stanford University Athletic Department mentor
Orangewood (CA) Children’s Home Black History Awareness
Sun Coast Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Fundraiser participant
Community Sports Activities
2004 Boys and Girls Club football clinic
2004 Host of Project Fit America
2004 Prison Ministries of Atlanta football camp
2005/04 Flacons Fitness Challenge
2003/04 Co-host of Falcons “Thank the Fans” event
2003/04 Falcons Draft Day Fan Fest
Community Service Projects
2006 American Lung Association Asthma Walk and Camp Breathe Easy
2006 Founder of The Christ Draft Family Foundation
2005 Sponsor of the Zap Asthma summer camp
2004 Center for Disease Control “Steps for a Healthier U.S. Initiative”
2004 Atlanta Business Women’s dinner
2004 Falcons Football Academy
2004 Atlanta Braves Ball Boy Mentoring Program
2004 NFL Yet Center Extra Yard partnership
2003/04 NFL Yet Center spokesperson