Ten players from Virginia schools were selected in the 2009 NFL draft. Only half were Hoos or Hokies. From colleges other than Virginia and Virginia Tech, the NFL’s 256-player harvest included: a third-rounder from William and Mary (CB Derek Cox); a fourth-rounder from the University of Richmond (DE Lawrence Sidbury); a fourth-rounder from Saint Paul’s (CB Greg Toler); a sixth-rounder from Norfolk State (CB Don Carey); and a seventh-rounder from Liberty (RB Rashad Jennings).

He never made first-team all-Colonial Athletic Association, but William and Mary cornerback Derek Cox was selected in the NFL draft’s third round yesterday. Cox, from Winterville, N.C., went to the Jacksonville Jaguars with the ninth pick of the third round. Most analysts didn’t project Cox as a draft choice. The 6-1 182-pounder was not invited to February’s NFL combine.

FOXBORO, Mass. - The New England Patriots traded veteran cornerback Ellis Hobbs to the Philadelphia Eagles for two draft picks. Hobbs, who started for the Patriots last season, will rejoin former teammate Asante Samuel in the Philadelphia secondary. New England received a pair of fifth-round picks in yesterday’s NFL draft, the 137th and 141st overall picks.

The NFL draft resumed yesterday at 10 a.m., about 12 hours after the second round had ended the night before. A run on cornerbacks followed. Corners from nine schools, including William and Mary, Nicholls State and San Jose State, were selected in the third round, and four more were taken at that position in the fourth. In the fifth, three more cornerbacks came off the board before Victor “Macho” Harris’ name finally was called, some five hours into the final day of the seven-round draft.

Despite the great hullabaloo of the weekend’s draft, the NFL has a money problem. Too much goes to the players selected in the first round. Way too much goes to the first player selected. Congratulations to Matthew Stafford on the $41.7 million in guaranteed money he earned when the Detroit Lions selected him with the first choice Saturday.

D EREK COX, CB, WILLIAM AND MARY
  Team: Jacksonville
  Round: 3 (73rd overall)
  L AWRENCE SIDBURY, DE, RICHMOND
  Team: Atlanta Round: 4 (125)  GREG TOLER, CB, SAINT PAUL’S
  Team: Arizona Round: 4 (131)  V ICTOR HARRIS, CB, VIRGINIA TECH

ASHBURN - The Washington Redskins went defensive in this year’s NFL draft, using their first four picks on a defensive lineman, a cornerback and a pair of linebackers. A draft that began with thoughts of drafting quarterback Mark Sanchez instead focused on the other side of the ball. Even though the Redskins ranked fourth in the NFL in defense last year, there were many holes to fill.

Lawrence Sidbury went to the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft Sunday.

William and Mary cornerback Derek Cox was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the ninth pick of the third round Sunday.

33. Detroit, Louis Delmas, db, Western Michigan 34. New England (from Kansas City), Patrick Chung, db, Oregon 35. St. Louis, James Laurinaitis, lb, Ohio State 36. Cleveland, Brian Robiskie, wr, Ohio State 37. Denver (from Seattle), Alphonso Smith, db, Wake Forest 38. Cincinnati, Rey Maualuga, lb, Southern Cal

When he arrived at the University of Virginia in 2005, Eugene Monroe was touted as a future first-rounder. It was not hyperbole. The Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday selected Monroe, a 6-5, 309-pound offensive tackle, with the eighth pick of the NFL draft. The Plainfield, N.J., resident was among the players who accepted invitations to attend the proceedings at Radio City Music Hall in New York. He waited little more than an hour before Jacksonville’s pick was announced.

PITTSBURGH - Wide receiver Hines Ward apparently will get his wish to finish his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ward, about to enter the final season of his contract, agreed yesterday to a contract extension that will pay him a lower salary than the $5.8 million he was to make this season but will make up the money in a signing bonus.

ASHBURN—The Mark Sanchez Sweepstakes was won by someone else, leaving the Washington Redskins to take the conventional approach—filling one of their most pressing needs with their first pick in the NFL draft. Surprised to find him still available, the Redskins chose defensive end Brian Orakpo of Texas with the No. 13 overall selection yesterday, bolstering a pass rush that had the fewest sacks in the NFC in 2008.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have upgraded their offensive line by selecting left tackle Eugene Monroe with the eighth pick in the NFL draft.

Having alienated starter Jason Campbell with their ongoing efforts to replace him this offseason, the Washington Redskins could pay an even steeper price for the chance to select Southern California quarterback Mark Sanchez in today’s NFL draft, league sources said yesterdaay. The Redskins’ recent pursuit of former Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, who was traded to the Chicago Bears, and their high interest in Sanchez, the charismatic underclassman, has damaged their relationship with Campbell, whose agent, Joel Segal, will request a trade if the team picks Sanchez, according to NFL sources.