Douglas selected by Patriots in sixth round of 2023 NFL Draft

Former Liberty Flames standout wide receiver Demario Douglas became the 10^th player in program history to be selected in the NFL Draft when the New England Patriots picked him in the sixth round, earlier today.

Douglas was the 210^th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He is the third Flame selected in the NFL Draft in the last four years, joining wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden (2020) and quarterback Malik Willis (2022).

Liberty’s other previous NFL Draft picks include Fred Banks (1985/Round 8/Cleveland Browns), Kelvin Edwards (1986/Round 4/New Orleans Saints), Richard Shelton (1989/Round 10/Denver Broncos), Eric Green (1990/Round 1/Pittsburgh Steelers), Donald Smith (1990/Round 10/Minnesota Vikings), Rashad Jennings (2009/Round 7/Jacksonville Jaguars), Walt Aikens (2014/Round 4/Miami Dolphins), Antonio Gandy-Golden (2020/Round 4/Washington Redskins) and Malik Willis (2022/Round 3/Tennessee Titans).

Douglas was the 10^th player selected in this year’s NFL Draft by the Patriots, including Christian Gonzalez (DB/Round 1/Oregon), Keion White (DE/Round 2/Georgia Tech), Marte Mapu (ILB/Round 3/Sacramento State), Jake Andrews (C/Round 4/Troy), Chad Ryland (PK/Round 4/Maryland), Sidy Sow (OG/Round 4/Eastern Michigan), Atonio Mafi (OG/Round 5/UCLA), Kayston Boutte (WR/Round 6/LSU) and Bryce Baringer (P/Round 6/Michigan State).

The wide receiver finished his days in a Liberty uniform with 172 career receptions for 2,193 yards and 16 touchdowns. During his final season at Liberty, Douglas missed posting 1,000 yards by seven, ending the 2022 campaign with 79 receptions for 993 yards.

The native of Jacksonville, Fla., finished his career with a program record 54 career punt returns, including a pair of punt returns for a touchdown.

In 2022, Douglas ranked No. 22 in the country in receptions per game (6.1), No. 32 in receiving yards (993) and No. 38 in all-purpose yards (112.54 per game).

He was named a 2020 FWAA Freshman All-American as a punt returner and was named to the Paul Hornung Award watch list in 2021 and 2022 (most versatile player in college football).

Following the draft, former Liberty Flames defensive end and linebacker Durrell Johnson signed with the Dallas Cowboys. Johnson finished the 2022 campaign with 27.5 tackles for a loss, which was good enough for No. 1 in the country and set a new program record.

Liberty’s NFL Draft History

Year Player   Round                                          Team

1985 Fred Banks                                               8^th Round                       Cleveland Browns

1986 Kelvin Edwards                                        4^th Round                       New Orleans Saints

1989 Richard Shelton                                     10^th Round                      Denver Broncos

1990 Eric Green                                                 1^st Round                       Pittsburgh Steelers

1990 Donald Smith                                         10^th Round                       Minnesota Vikings

2009 Rashad Jennings                                    7^th Round                       Jacksonville Jaguars

2014 Walt Aikens                                              4^th Round                       Miami Dolphins

2020 Antonio Gandy-Golden                           4^th Round                       Washington Redskins

2022 Malik Willis                                               3^rd Round                       Tennessee Titans

2023 Demario Douglas                                    6^th Round                       New England Patriots

– LibertyFlames.com –