National Football League

Madden cover boy Hillis announces Browns pick

Published Apr. 29, 2011 5:36 a.m. ET

foxsports

Peyton Hillis was a seventh-round draft pick by the Denver Broncos in 2007 after playing in the shadow of star running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones at Arkansas.

After two years in Denver, showing flashes of being a big-time player, Hillis has become a star with the Cleveland Browns.

How big a star? Well, he's the new cover boy for the Madden NFL video game, and these days stardom in the NFL doesn't get all that much bigger.

Previous Madden cover players include Marshall Faulk, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

Hillis, who ran for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, won an online tournament that included one player from each team, decided by fan voting.

Hillis didn't think he had much of a chance when the brackets first came out. He didn't even pay much attention to the voting.

But then he beat Baltimore running back Ray Rice, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan and Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles.

''Once I started seeing myself winning a couple rounds, I said, 'This may get kind of serious,''' he said Thursday.

In the semifinals he faced Green Bay quarterback and Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers.

''The final four came around and I was like, 'I'll probably get beat. No big deal. It was a good run.' I ended up winning and great things happened,'' Hillis said.

The final pairing was Hillis and Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, and Hillis received 66 percent of the million votes cast - and the opportunity to break the so-called Madden jinx. Several players, including Brady, have had poor seasons or been injured after making the cover.

''I want to show the world that the curse doesn't exist,'' Hillis said.

Hillis capped a day that included a photo shoot in Times Square by announcing the Browns' first pick. After trading down, Cleveland took Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor at No. 21.

----

NOT SO COSTLY: It was thought that Washington quarterback Jake Locker might have cost himself millions of dollars by returning to school for his senior season.

Locker was considered a possible first overall pick in the 2010 draft, but he wanted to lead the Huskies to a bowl game and play another season in coach Steve Sarkisian's pro-style offense.

Locker helped the Huskies get to the postseason, but his play was inconsistent. It seemed that instead of being a top-10 pick, Locker was no lock to even go in the first round.

Then the Tennessee Titans picked him eighth overall, the first player selected who was not in attendance.

Locker has no regrets now that he is the quarterback of the future for the Titans, who plan to trade or release Vince Young.

---

CHEERS FOR PRINCE: There were far more boos than cheers during the first round of the draft, what with Commissioner Roger Goodell getting jeered almost every time he stepped on stage.

The New England Patriots drew maybe the loudest boos when they picked at No. 17 from a New York crowd filled with Jets fans.

Not until the Giants chose Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara did the crowd let loose with a boisterous cheer.

---

HAIR TODAY: Washington Redskins draft pick Ryan Kerrigan sported a new look when he joined Commissioner Roger Goodell on stage.

What happened to the trademark mop of hair?

''It was just time,'' Kerrigan said. ''There comes a time when you've got to part with some things, and the hair was that for me. It was too long. It was nice to not have something hanging in your face all day long. I love the long hair, but I'm glad it's gone.''

---

BOWERS WAITS: Defensive end Da'Quan Bowers of Clemson, once considered a top-five pick, was not chosen after recent knee surgery.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound junior had an uninspiring pro day earlier this month, though he was behind because of the recent operation on his meniscus.

In 2010, he led the country with 15 1/2 sacks and won the Nagurski and Ted Hendricks awards. The week after Clemson's bowl game, though, he had surgery, which may have scared teams off.

----

QUICK PICKS: Five of the first six players drafted were from the SEC. ... Out of the top 10 picks, eight were underclassmen. Only Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller and Washington's Jake Locker were seniors. ... The four quarterbacks taken in the first round tied for third most - with 1987, 2003 and '04. ... How important is protecting - and getting to - the quarterback? Seven offensive linemen were taken in the first round, along with 11 defensive linemen.