Jon Michael McGraw (born April 2, 1979) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
. He was selected by the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
with a second-round pick in the
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
out of
Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
. He has most recently played with the Kansas City Chiefs and also played with the Detroit Lions.
College career
McGraw played collegiately as a walk-on under head coach
Bill Snyder
William D. Snyder (born October 7, 1939) is a retired college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1989 to 2005 and again from 2009 to 2018. Snyder initially retired from the p ...
at
Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...
from 1997 to 2001. He was a non-scholarship redshirt his freshman year of 1997. McGraw became a starter in 2000 after getting action as a back-up in 1999. In 2000 as a junior, he was a
Big 12 Honorable Mention by the AP and coaches. He led the Wildcats to a
Cotton Bowl victory over the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...
. 2001 would be McGraw's final season, a season that Wildcats struggled to a 6–5 record, after a loss to the
Syracuse Orangemen
The Syracuse Orange are the athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East Conference.
The school's mascot is ...
in the
2001 Insight.com Bowl
The 2001 Insight.com Bowl was the 13th edition of the Insight.com Bowl. It featured the 2001 Syracuse Orangemen football team, Syracuse Orangemen, and the 2001 Kansas State Wildcats football team, Kansas State Wildcats, and it was a rematch of the ...
.
Professional career
McGraw was drafted in the second round, 57th overall by the New York Jets in the
2002 NFL Draft
The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...
.
Prior to the start of the
2005 season, McGraw was traded by the Jets to the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
for a 7th round draft choice in the
2006 NFL Draft
The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...
.
Kansas City Chiefs
On March 29, 2007, McGraw signed a two-year contract with the
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The tea ...
. On September 13, 2009, McGraw scored his first touchdown after blocking a punt against the
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
. McGraw also had an interception when the ball was tipped in the air and he caught in the endzone for a touchback. This would also lead to a 39-yard Hail Mary touchdown from Tyler Palko to
Dexter McCluster. In 2011, his final year in the NFL, McGraw was awarded the Chief's
Ed Block Courage Award, an award voted by his teammates for role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage.
NFL statistics
References
External links
Official Website of Jon McGrawKansas City Chiefs bio
1979 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Manhattan, Kansas
American football safeties
Kansas State Wildcats football players
New York Jets players
Detroit Lions players
Kansas City Chiefs players
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