Christopher Michael Draft (born February 26, 1976) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...

. Draft played in the NFL for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

, and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Early life

Draft was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in football and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

at Kraemer Middle School and Valencia High School in

Placentia, California Placentia () is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States. Its population was 51,233 during the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 46,488 in the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. This includes the community ...

. He played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

and linebacker during his prep career. He was an honors student and a member of the school's ASB Leadership organization.

College career

He was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter at inside linebacker at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. He started his

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

career as a true freshman playing strong safety. As a two-time Second-team All-

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

selection, he totaled 316 career

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, six sacks and two

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s. As a senior in 1997, he earned Second-team All-Pac-10 honors and led the Cardinal with 81 tackles and contributed two sacks and two interceptions. He graduated from Stanford with a degree in economics.

Professional career

Chicago Bears

Draft was selected in the sixth round (157th overall) of the

1998 NFL draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

by the

and appeared in one game, was inactive for three contests and spent 12 games on the Bears practice squad. On 30 August 1998 he was waived by Chicago prior to the start of the regular season and signed to practice squad by the Bears on 1 September 1998 before being promoted to the active roster on 2 December.

San Francisco 49ers

On 29 September 1999 Draft was signed to practice squad by the 49ers, where he spent six contests before being signed to the active roster on 20 November 1999. He saw action in seven games, mainly on special teams, for the San Francisco 49ers and notched seven special teams stops.

Atlanta Falcons

Claimed off waivers by the

on 11 February 2000 after being waved by San Francisco on 10 February 2000. He played in 13 games with eight starts with the Falcons and registered 67 tackles, one sack and one special teams tackle. In 2001 Draft played in 13 games with 10 starts at weakside linebacker and made 73 tackles, one pass deflection and three special teams stops. The next season, 2002, he played 15 games with five starts and had 66 tackles and a then career-high 3.5 sacks. In 2003, he started all 16 games for the first time of career and established a career-high in tackles with 124. In 2004 Draft moved to middle linebacker from weakside linebacker as Atlanta switched to a 4-3 defense from a 3–4. He played in 14 games with 13 starts and posted 56 tackles, one forced fumble, one interception and three passes deflected.

Carolina Panthers

Draft was signed by Carolina in early 2005. Played in all 16 games in first season in Carolina, also seeing action in all three postseason contests. In 2006, he started all 16 games for the second time of his career and he made 107 tackles and had 5.5 sacks.

St. Louis Rams

On March 19, 2007, he signed a three-year contract with the Rams. He played in all 16 games with six starts in his first season with the Rams and registered 50 tackles (40 solo) including 1.0 sack. His 14 special teams tackles ranked fourth on team. Seven of his starts came in place of an injured Pisa Tinoisamoa. In 2008, he made 38 tackles and 2 pass deflections. He was released from the Rams on September 10, 2009.

Buffalo Bills

On October 13, 2009, the day that the

placed starting linebacker

Kawika Mitchell Kawika Uilani Mitchell (born October 10, 1979) is an American former professional American football, football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at South Florida Bulls football, University of South Flor ...

on the IR with a knee injury, Buffalo signed Draft to a one-year contract. With Buffalo, the linebacker played in 11 games with three starts. He registered 43 tackles and 1 interception on defense and added 5 stops on special teams. He was a free agent after that season.

Washington Redskins

On May 7, 2010, the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

signed Draft to a one-year contract. On August 23, 2010, Draft was released.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Career highlights

2008 Byron “Whizzer” White Award Finalist
2007 NFL Alumni "Spirit Award" 2006 Man of the Year – Carolina Panthers
2004 Byron “Whizzer” White Award Finalist
Career best 178 tackles (110 solo) in 2003
Host of his own Atlanta Metro Area television show "The Draft Report"
2002

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

2001 Rankin Smith Award

National Service Projects
2007 Spokesperson: Climb California
2006 spokesperson:

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History 1904–1918: Founding The organization was ...

– Southeast region
2004 Hosted youth clinic for 50 children in Germany
2004 Visit with war veterans in Palo Alto, CA
Stanford University Athletic Department mentor
Orangewood (CA) Children's Home Black History Awareness
Sun Coast Big Brothers Big Sisters Annual Fundraiser participant

Community Sports Activities
2004 Boys and Girls Club football clinic
2004 Host of Project Fit America
2004 Prison Ministries of Atlanta football camp
2005/04 Flacons Fitness Challenge
2003/04 Co-host of Falcons “Thank the Fans” event
2003/04 Falcons Draft Day Fan Fest

Community Service Projects
2006 American Lung Association Asthma Walk and Camp Breathe Easy
2006 Founder of The Chris Draft Family Foundation
2005 Sponsor of the Zap Asthma summer camp
2004 Center for Disease Control “Steps for a Healthier U.S. Initiative”
2004 Atlanta Business Women's dinner
2004 Falcons Football Academy
2004 Atlanta Braves Ball Boy Mentoring Program
2004 NFL Yet Center Extra Yard partnership
2003/04 NFL Yet Center spokesperson

Personal life

Draft met Keasha Rutledge in 2006. They were married 5 years later, on November 27, 2011. She died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on December 27, 2011.

References

External links

Rams Player Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Draft, Chris 1976 births Living people Players of American football from Anaheim, California American football linebackers Chicago Bears players Atlanta Falcons players Buffalo Bills players Carolina Panthers players San Francisco 49ers players Stanford Cardinal football players St. Louis Rams players Washington Redskins players