NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Kiran Amegadjie will begin his professional football career with his hometown team. Amegadjie of Hinsdale, Ill., was selected by the Chicago Bears with the 75th overall pick in the third round of the 2024 National Football League Draft on Friday night.
It is the highest a Bulldog has been selected in the draft since Jeff Rohrer was taken in the second round, pick No. 53, by the Dallas Cowboys in 1982, and the highest an Ivy Leaguer has been selected since Penn's Mitch Marrow was the 73rd pick in 1998.
"We are so proud of Kiran and incredibly excited for him and his family," said
Tony Reno, The Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of the Bulldogs. "Kiran has worked relentlessly in the weight room, meeting room and on the field to achieve this amazing accomplishment. The sky is the limit for him as a player, and we are so excited for what's ahead for him as a Chicago Bear."
Amegadjie, 6-foot-5, 326 pounds, is one of the most decorated offensive linemen in Yale's long history. He helped the Bulldogs win a pair of Ivy League championships. As a senior, he earned third team All-America honors from Stats Perform, was a first team All-Ivy selection for the second straight season and was named the Ivy League's offensive lineman of the year by analyst Phil Steele, all despite missing more than half of the season with an injury. In addition, he was the recipient of the team's Ted Turner Award, presented to the Yale interior lineman who displays tough, hardworking, aggressive play while demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship.
In his junior season, Amegadjie was a first team All-Ivy selection after starting all 10 games and helping the Bulldogs lead the league in rushing and total offense en route to winning an Ivy title. In 2021, he earned honorable mention All-Ivy recognition and received the team's Charles Loftus Award as the most valuable rookie.
He came to Yale from Hinsdale Central High School where he helped the team to 25 wins over his last three seasons.
"I can't even put it into words," Amegadjie told media Friday night on the
Bears YouTube page. "I grew up a Bears fan, watching Devon Hester, playing Madden '08 and '09 with Devon Hester in kickoff mode. This is everything I've ever wanted since I was a little kid. I get to stay home with the team I love."
Several of Amegadjie's Yale teammates joined him in Hinsdale to watch the draft.
Amegadjie is the third Bulldog to be drafted during Reno's tenure, joining Foyesade Oluokun (sixth round, Atlanta Falcons, 2017) and Rodney Thomas II (seventh round, Indianapolis Colts, 2022).
Two more Bulldogs –
Nick Gargiulo, the captain of the 2022 team, and
Mason Tipton, a first team All-Ivy wide receiver last fall – could hear their names called in the draft on Saturday.
