Mathis, Palmer Selected in NFL Draft

Football
4/29/2023 12:25:00 PM

NU Athletic Communications

Ochaun Mathis and Trey Palmer were both selected in the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday. Both players were taken in the sixth round, as Mathis was selected by the Los Angeles Rams with the No. 189 overall selection and Palmer by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 191st overall pick in the draft.

This marks the fourth straight year Nebraska has had two or more NFL Draft picks, and the 57th time in the past 60 seasons the Nebraska program has had multiple draft selections.

A native of Manor, Texas, Mathis had a career-high 50 tackles in his first and only season at Nebraska in 2022. He was second on the team with 3.5 sacks and added 5.0 tackles for loss with a pair of pass breakups and six quarterback hurries. Mathis had three games with seven or more tackles from his edge rusher position in 2022. A transfer from TCU, Mathis recorded 185 tackles in his collegiate career with 35.5 TFLs and 19.0 sacks.

  

Palmer put up record-breaking numbers in his lone season as a Husker in 2022. A second-team All-Big Ten selection, Palmer caught 71 passes for 1,043 yards and nine touchdowns last fall. His 1,043 receiving yards were a school record, and Palmer’s 71 receptions were the most by a Husker wide receiver and ranked second overall in NU history. Palmer also ranked fifth in school history with his nine touchdown receptions.

 

Against Purdue, Palmer set a school record with 237 receiving yards while finishing with 297 all-purpose yards on only eight offensive touches. Palmer led the nation with three catches of 70 yards or longer in 2022 and ranked second with four catches covering 60 yards or more. He finished the season ranked among the top 25 players nationally in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and was 28th in receptions per game.

 

Palmer began his collegiate career at LSU where he played in 28 games over three seasons and totaled 41 receptions for 458 yards and three touchdowns.

 

This marks the second consecutive season Nebraska has had a receiver selected in the NFL Draft. Samori Toure was taken in the seventh round of last year’s Draft by the Green Bay Packers.