Chargers select Huskers OL Brenden Jaimes in 5th round

A fixture as Nebraska’s left tackle for nearly his entire college career, Brenden Jaimes officially took his game to the next level on Saturday.

Jaimes, who started 40 consecutive games for the Huskers, was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers with the 159th overall pick in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

He was the first NU player to be selected this year and the third over the last two drafts. Nebraska had just two players taken from 2017-19.

Jaimes is the highest Husker to be taken since 2016, when Maliek Collins and Vincent Valentine both went in the third round. Nathan Gerry was also selected in the fifth round in 2017 at 184th overall.

The Texas native started the first eight games last season before opting out prior to the season finale at Rutgers in Week 9 in order to get a jump on the NFL Draft process.

At Nebraska’s Pro Day event in March, Jaimes said NFL teams told him he could play left tackle, swing tackle, guard/tackle, or even center at the next level.

They told him his strengths were his ability to play fast and move defenders off the ball.