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Miami Selects Patrick McMorris In Sixth Round

by calbears.com
Apr 27, 2024
Patrick McMorris became the first Cal player to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft when he was taken in the sixth round by the Dolphins on Saturday.

Former California safety Patrick McMorris was selected Saturday in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins with the 198th pick overall.

Cal has had six current NFL safeties selected in the last five NFL Drafts with McMorris joining Ashtyn Davis (2020 – New York Jets, 3rd round, 68th overall), Jaylinn Hawkins (2020 – Atlanta Falcons, 4th round, 134th overall), Camryn Bynum (2021 – Minnesota Vikings, 4th round, 125th overall), Elijah Hicks (2022 – Chicago Bears, 7th round, 254th overall) and Daniel Scott (2023 – Indianapolis Colts, 5th round, 158th overall). All of the safeties are currently on the rosters of the NFL teams they were drafted by other than Hawkins, who was traded from Atlanta to the Los Angeles Chargers during the 2023 season before signing with the New England Patriots as a free agent on March 21.

"Cal has a great system and has brought out a decent amount of safeties, I believe five or six, in the past four years," McMorris said during a Dolphins' Zoom call with reporters about his transfer to Cal from San Diego State prior to the 2023 campaign. "I knew I was going to go to a good program that had good coaches, and with Justin Wilcox and how he runs his defense, I knew I was going to go to a place I was going to play and be wanted."

Cal has now had at least one player taken in the NFL Draft in 36 of the last 38 years and 81 of 89 overall since the first NFL Draft in 1936. McMorris becomes the 246th Cal player selected in the history of the NFL Draft and the Golden Bears' 254th pick in either the NFL or AFL Draft, with eight players taken in the latter that ran from 1960-69.

McMorris is the sixth Cal player to have been drafted by Miami and the second in the last three years following the Dolphins' 2022 pick of outside linebacker Cameron Goode in the seventh round (No. 224 overall pick) of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The 2024 NFL Draft being held around Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit began on Thursday and concludes today.

Below are notes on McMorris and Cal football in the NFL Draft. An extended bio on McMorris is available by clicking on his name.
 
Patrick McMorris, S, 6-0, 210 (Santa Ana, CA/California/Santa Ana HS/Godinez Fundamental HS)
After Cal
– Selected by the Miami Dolphins in the sixth round (198th pick overall) of the 2024 NFL Draft
– Participated in the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine and Hula Bowl
– Posted up a 4.29 20-yard shuttle at Cal's 2024 Pro Day that would have been second among defensive backs at the combine
 
Collegiate Career (San Diego State, 2019-22; California, 2023)
– Played in 55 games with 40 starts spanning five campaigns over four seasons at San Diego State (2019-22) and one at Cal (2023)
– Recorded 252 tackles, 11.0 tackles for loss (-30 yards), six interceptions that he returned 61 yards, 23 pass breakups, two forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries that he returned 54 yards including one that he returned 30 yards for his lone career touchdown, and 115 all-purpose yards
– One of three defensive players and one of only seven overall to start all 13 games in his lone season at Cal in 2023 and contributed 90 tackles, a career-high 4 5 tackles for loss (-16 yards), his lone 1.0 career sack (-10 yards), one interception, a team-high eight pass breakups, his lone two career forced fumbles and a career-high two fumble recoveries that he returned nine yards
– Played in 42 games with 27 starts over four campaigns at San Diego State and contributed 162 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss (-14 yards), five interceptions that he returned for 61 yards, 15 pass breakups, 20 passes defended and two fumble recoveries that he returned 45 yards including one that he returned 30 yards for his lone career touchdown
– Earned first-team All-Mountain West Conference honors as both a 2021 sophomore and 2022 junior to become just the second San Diego State safety to pick up spots on two All-MWC first-team squads
– Played in and started 12 games as a 2022 junior, contributing 61 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss (-7 yards), one interception, five pass breakups, six passes defended, one fumble recovery that he returned a career-high 30 yards for his lone career touchdown, and one quarterback hurry, while ranking second in the MWC in pass coverage (88.2) according to Pro Football Focus
– A team captain as a 2022 junior who was named the preseason Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year and also was a member of preseason first-team All-MWC teams by four publications, as well as on watch lists for the Senior Bowl as well as the Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Award given to the nation's top defensive player
– Played in and started a career-high all 14 games as a 2021 sophomore, registering a career-high-tying 90 tackles, as well as career highs in interceptions (4), interception return yards (61), pass breakups (9) and passes defended (13), while adding 2.5 tackles for loss (-5 yards) and one fumble recovery that he returned 15 yards
 
Cal Football NFL Draft Notes
– Cal has had 254 selections all-time in the NFL (246) and AFL (8) Drafts, including at least one player in 81 of the 89 years since the NFL Draft began in 1936.
– Cal has had five safeties selected in the last four NFL Drafts in Ashtyn Davis (2020 – New York Jets, 3rd round, 68th overall), Jaylinn Hawkins (2020 – Atlanta Falcons, 4th round, 134th overall), Camryn Bynum (2021 – Minnesota Vikings, 4th round, 125th overall), Elijah Hicks (2022 – Chicago Bears, 7th round, 254th overall) and Daniel Scott (2023 – Indianapolis Colts, 5th round, 158th overall). All of the safeties are currently on the rosters of the NFL teams they were drafted by other than Hawkins, who was traded from Atlanta to the Los Angeles Chargers during the 2023 season before signing with the New England Patriots as a free agent on March 21.
– Cal has had 27 first-round NFL Draft selections, including two No. 1 overall picks in quarterbacks Jared Goff (Los Angeles Rams, 2016) and Steve Bartkowski (Atlanta Falcons, 1975). Cal has four first-round picks – defensive tackle Tyson Alualu (2010 – No. 10, Jacksonville Jaquars), Goff, quarterback Aaron Rodgers (2005 – No. 24, Green Bay Packers) and defensive end Cameron Jordan (2011 – No. 24, New Orleans Saints) – currently on active NFL rosters. Alualu played in the final two regular-season games of the 2023 season and the most recent NFL playoffs with his current Detroit squad after playing his first seven seasons with the Jaguars and his next six in Pittsburgh. Goff has played the last three campaigns with Detroit after spending his first five with the Rams. Jordan has spent his entire 13-year career with New Orleans. Rodgers played for Green Bay for the first 18 seasons of his career before being traded to his current New York Jets squad prior to the 2023 campaign.
– Cal's six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL Draft is tied for the third most by any college football program behind only Notre Dame (9) and USC (7), while equaling Alabama and Stanford's six. In addition to Bartkowski, Rodgers and Goff, Cal's other first-round quarterbacks include Craig Morton (1965 – No. 5, Dallas Cowboys), Rich Campbell (1981 – No. 6, Green Bay Packers) and Kyle Boller (2003 – No. 19, Baltimore Ravens).
– Punter Bryan Anger was selected in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the 70th overall pick. His selection was the highest of a punter since West Virginia's Todd Sauerbrun was taken by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft with the 56th overall pick. No punter has been selected as high as Anger since.
– 12 of Cal's 16 former players currently on NFL rosters were selected in the NFL Draft. In addition to Anger, Bynum, Davis, Goff, Hawkins, Hicks, Jordan, McMorris, Rogers and Scott, others are wide receiver Keenan Allen (2013 – San Diego Chargers, 3rd round, 76th overall) and outside linebacker Cameron Goode (2022 – Miami Dolphins, 7th round, 224th overall). After playing his first 11 NFL seasons with the Chargers, Allen was traded to Chicago on March 14 while Goode remains on the Miami roster.
– Cal's first NFL Draft selection was tackle Larry Lutz (Boston Redskins, 6th round, 47th overall pick) in the first year of the NFL Draft in 1936.
 

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