Lawrence Daniel Warford III (born June 18, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2013 NFL draft. He made the Pro Bowl in all three of his seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
 Warford at the 2020 Pro Bowl | |||||||
| No. 67, 75 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Guard | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | June 18, 1991 San Diego, California, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 317 lb (144 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Madison Central (Richmond, Kentucky) | ||||||
| College: | Kentucky (2009–2012) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2013 / round: 3 / pick: 65 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Early life
editBorn in San Diego, California to an African American father and a Samoan mother,[1] Warford attended Oceanside High School during his freshman and sophomore year.[1][2] By his sophomore year, he had earned a starting job as offensive tackle, protecting quarterback Jordan Wynn. One of his teammates on the offensive line was Brian Schwenke. After Warford's father retired from the United States Navy, his family moved to Richmond, Kentucky,[1] where he attended Madison Central High School and became a two-year all-state honoree. In his senior year, he was named a first-team all-state selection by the Associated Press and Louisville Courier-Journal.
Regarded as a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Warford was listed as the No. 30 guard prospect in his class, behind Chance Warmack (No. 20) and Alvin Bailey (No. 27).[3] Warford chose Kentucky over Auburn and Louisville.
College career
editWarford attended the University of Kentucky, where he played for the Kentucky Wildcats football team from 2009 to 2012. He started his career mostly as a reserve at right guard, appearing in 10 games, before earning a starting spot his sophomore year. He would go on to start 37 consecutive games for the Wildcats, and earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors in three consecutive seasons.
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | Wonderlic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
332 lb (151 kg) |
33+3⁄8 in (0.85 m) |
9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) |
5.58 s | 1.85 s | 3.14 s | 5.10 s | 7.78 s | 22+1⁄2 in (0.57 m) |
8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) |
28 reps | 27 |
| All values from NFL Combine[4][5] | ||||||||||||
Detroit Lions
editWarford was selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round, with the 65th overall pick, of the 2013 NFL draft.[6] He signed his rookie contract with the Lions on May 9, 2013; financial terms were not disclosed.[7]
In his rookie season, Warford became an immediate starter at right guard for the Lions,[8] and he did not give up a sack the entire 2013 season. He was named Pro Football Focus's Rookie of the Year.[9][10] He was named the 2013 recipient of the Detroit Lions/Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association Rookie of the Year Award. Warford started all 16 regular-season games as a rookie. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[11]
New Orleans Saints
editOn March 9, 2017, Warford signed a four-year, $34 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.[12] In his first season in New Orleans, he started 14 games at right guard, missing two games due to an abdomen injury, on his way to his first Pro Bowl.[13]
In 2018, Warford started 15 games and made his second straight Pro Bowl appearance.
In 2019, Warford was selected to his third straight Pro Bowl.
On May 8, 2020, Warford was released by the Saints after three seasons.[14] He decided to opt out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic on July 28, 2020.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c Tipton, Jerry (August 29, 2011). "UK offensive lineman Warford has NFL talent". KentuckySports.com.
- ^ "Front and Center: Brian Schwenke's control of his domain". The Daily Californian. October 4, 2012.
- ^ Rivals.com offensive guards 2009
- ^ "Larry Warford Stats, News and Video - OG". NFL.com.
- ^ "NFL Draft Scout".
- ^ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
- ^ Dave Birkett, "Lions agree to terms with draft pick Larry Warford," Detroit Free Press (May 9, 2013). Retrieved May 19, 2013.
- ^ "Larry Warford has been an atypical rookie thus far". Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
- ^ "PFF News & Analysis".
- ^ "PFF News & Analysis".
- ^ "2013 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ^ Wesseling, Chris (March 9, 2017). "Saints signing former Lions guard Larry Warford". NFL.com. Archived from the original on March 11, 2017.
- ^ Alper, Josh (January 22, 2018). "Larry Warford will join Saints coaches at the Pro Bowl". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
- ^ Maya, Adam (May 8, 2020). "Saints cut Pro Bowl OL Larry Warford for cap relief". NFL.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2020.
- ^ Triplett, Mike (July 28, 2020). "Source: Free-agent guard Larry Warford opts out of 2020 season". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.