Gophers’ Daniel Faalele taken by Baltimore Ravens in 4th round of NFL Draft
Offensive lineman Daniel Faalele #78 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers reacts after scoring on a two-yard rushing touchdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the first half of the Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field on December 28, 2021 in ((Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - University of Minnesota offensive lineman Daniel Faalele was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft Saturday morning, and he’ll be reunited with a former teammate in the process.
Faalele, a 6-9, 380-pound offensive tackle, was taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 110 overall pick. The Australia native becomes the first Gophers’ offensive lineman to be selected in the NFL Draft since Mark Setterstrom and Greg Eslinger in 2006. He’ll be reunited with former Gophers’ star receiver Rashod Bateman, who was taken No. 21 overall by the Ravens last season and made 46 catches for 515 yards and had one touchdown as a rookie.
Faalele was a First Team All-Big pick by the coaches in 2021 after the Gophers finished as the No. 3 rushing offense in the Big Ten, despite losing Mo Ibrahim, Trey Potts and Bryce Williams to season-ending injuries. The Gophers still got 13 100-yard games on the season.
Faalele started 31 of his 34 career games at right tackle for the Gophers. Minnesota went 23-11 in games he played in. Faalele’s offensive highlights included scoring a rushing touchdown in Minnesota’s Spring Game two years ago, throwing a touchdown pass in last year’s Spring Game and getting a short yardage rushing touchdown against West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.
Faalele has only been playing football since 2017. Friday night, teammate Boye Mafe was taken No. 40 overall in the second round by the Seattle Seahawks.