Becker Native Projected as High NFL Draft Pick

Former Becker football player Dillon Radunz is projected to be selected as early as the first of the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday night. Radunz is an offensive lineman who played left tackle in high school for the Bulldogs and collegiately at North Dakota State.

Radunz, who played under legendary coach Dwight Lundeen from 2012-2015, won back-to-back state titles with the Bulldogs in 2014 and 2015. Becker was 25-1 during those two seasons with Radunz starting at left tackle.

The 6'6", 298 lb Radunz also starred on defense for Becker, posting 99 career tackles and 14 quarterback sacks. He was a finalist for Mr. Football in Minnesota in 2015.

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Radunz played collegiately for North Dakota State from 2016-2020 before graduating with a degree in industrial engineering and management in December of 2020. He chose to forgo the spring FCS season to focus on the upcoming draft.

After suffering a knee injury during his redshirt freshman year in 2017, Radunz was named to the All-Missouri Valley Football Conference second team as a sophomore before being named a consensus All-American in 2019.

Radunz also helped the Bison to three NCAA Division I football national championships and four Missouri Valley Football Conference Championships in his NDSU career.

Predictions for where Radunz might be selected in this week's draft are varied, with some predicting a first round selection and some guessing he will be picked in the second round (which will be held Friday).

CBS Sports projects Radunz to be selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the 21st pick in the first round, NFL.com predicts the Packers will take him with the 29th pick in the opening round, Pro Football Focus prognosticates the Jaguars using the first pick of the second round (33rd overall) on Radunz, and Sports Illustrated has him going to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round (55th overall).

One other Becker native has appeared in an NFL game. Tight End Matt Veldman (who also played at NDSU) appeared in one game for the Detroit Lions in 2013.

Round one of the 2021 NFL Draft will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN. Rounds two and three are set for Friday and rounds 4-7 on Saturday.