Inside The Huskies

Day Later Than Planned, Kyler Gordon Finds NFL Home

The former UW cornerback goes to the Chicago Bears in the second round.

Dan Raley

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He had no guarantees, but Kyler Gordon put on a smart-looking sport coat, some glitzy jewelry and attended Thursday's NFL draft in Las Vegas accompanied by family members, looking ever the part of an NFL first-rounder.

Unfortunately for him, Gordon had to wait another day. He went seven picks later. He'll take it.

On Friday, the former University of Washington cornerback finally was rewarded for his football skill set and self-confidence when he went to the Chicago Bears in the second round, with the 39th overall pick.

The 5-foot-11, 194-pound Gordon was taken 18 slots behind Trent McDuffie, his UW secondary running mate and fellow first-team All-Pac-12 selection.

Four cornerbacks were drafted in the first round and another in the second before Gordon's name was called.

From Mukilteo, Washington, Gordon was first pegged for football greatness when he chose the UW over Notre Dame during his recruitment.

As a redshirt freshman, he became a cornerback starter for the Huskies for four games in 2019 before giving way ... to McDuffie, then a true freshman.

By the following year, with the pandemic disrupting everything and limiting the Huskies to four games, Gordon and McDuffie ended up playing side by side for the first before the short season was over, and they continued this secondary partnership throughout last fall. 

Gordon finished his UW career with 98 tackles, including 3 for lost yardage, and 14 pass break-ups, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. 

Gordon and linebacker Jackson Sirmon were the only Huskies on the defense to start all 12 games last season, with McDuffie missing one outing because of injury.

While the Huskies imploded to a 4-8 season, Gordon and McDuffie continued to play at a high level, both earning first-team all-conference honors.

The reward for each UW corner is an NFL career worth millions. They'll be pro football opponents going forward, well-compensated and highly recognized, both playing in the Midwest. 

Cornerbacks Taken Before Gordon

Derek Stingley Jr., LSU, 1st round, 3rd pick, Houston Texans

Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati, 1st round, 4th pick, New York Jets

Trent McDuffie, Washington, 1st round, 21st pick, Kansas City Chiefs

Kaiir Elam, Florida, 1st round, 23rd pick, Buffalo Bills

Roger McCreary, Auburn, 2nd round, 35th pick, Tennessee Titans

Kyler Gordon, Washington, 2nd round, 39th pick, Chicago Bears

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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