Nehemiah Pritchett becomes the first Auburn Tiger of the 2024 NFL Draft
By Sam Fariss
On the fourth day, in the fifth round, as the 136th overall pick, Nehemiah Pritchett was the first Auburn Tiger selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Seattle Seahawks selected the former Tiger cornerback to beef up their rather slim secondary and after five years at Auburn, Pritchett has all of the experience necessary to succeed at the professional level.
Over five seasons, Pritchett amassed 3 interceptions, 26 pass deflections, and 115 total tackles.
Pritchett was also utilized as a kickoff returner for the Tigers in 2021 and he excelled in the role. On 11 return attempts, Pritchett collected 313 yards, including an astonishing 72-yard return.
The former Auburn player was the fourth cornerback selected on Day 4 of the draft, including Oregon’s Khyree Jackson, Mississippi State’s Decamerion Richardson, and Iowa State’s T.J. Tampa.
Last season, Pritchett had a 33-yard interception, 22 total tackles, and 3 pass deflections. Just a season earlier, he had similar stats but also earned 1 sack and 1 forced fumble for the Tigers.
Auburn had yet to have a played drafted in 2024 until Pritchett’s name was called despite the Tigers defeating Mississippi State and Arkansas last season as well as playing close games against top-teams Georgia and Alabama.
Pritchett was a defensive highly for the Tigers in a year that was filled with devastating defeats.
In Seattle, Pritchett will be joining Lance Boykin, Tre Brown, Coby Bryant, Artie Burns, Michael Jackson, Andrew Whitaker, Devon Witherspoon, and Riq Woolen in the cornerback room.
While there are a lot of players who specialize in the same position as Pritchett, he should easily be able to make a name for himself and hopefully become a starter for the Seahawks sooner rather than later.