During the 2022 NFL draft, several University of Cincinnati players had their names called on the Las Vegas stage.
The New York Giants ended up taking one, although it wasn’t the one player many anticipated they might — Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Instead, it was linebacker Darrian Beavers, who was selected by Big Blue with the No. 182 overall pick in the sixth round.
But Beavers will likely be seeing a lot of Gardner around the area since his former Bearcat teammate was selected with the No. 4 overall pick by the New York Jets. Now both players will be calling MetLife Stadium home in 2022 and beyond.
After Beavers was able to realize a dream, he expressed an excitement over sharing New York City with his friend.
“I’m excited to come to New York. I’ve been there two or three times. New York City is a blessing. It will be nice to compete against [Gardner] and here in New York, we’ll have something that we will have to catch up sometime,” Beavers told reporters on Saturday.
Other Bearcats who were taken along with Beavers and Gardner were Desmond Ridder, Myjai Sanders, Alec Pierce and Bryan Cook — several of whom were taken in the first three rounds of the draft.
Beavers was one of two linebackers that Giants general manager Joe Schoen selected in the 2022 NFL draft. Micah McFadden was the other.
Of the 11 players the Giants selected over the weekend, six of them were on the defensive side of ball.
