Brad Kaaya Selected by Lions: Twitter Reacts to End of Miami QB's Fall in Draft

The long wait for quarterback Brad Kaaya to find a home ended when the Detroit Lions selected with the 215th pick in the 2017 NFL draft. 

The reaction to Kaaya's draft fall on social media offered hope and encouragement as he begins his professional career:

There's also this fantastic nugget of trivia about Kaaya's bloodlines that should have made him a much higher draftee:

Kaaya declared for the draft in January after a successful three-year run at the University of Miami. The 21-year-old threw for a career-high 3,532 passing yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior in 2016. 

Despite leaving school early, Kaaya was considered a project for NFL teams. NFL.com's Bucky Brooks noted last October one NFL personnel executive said the Miami standout was "slow-footed, non-athletic" and said he was an "average quarterback who needs a clean pocket to throw from."

At Miami's pro day in March, Kaaya did earn strong reviews for his performance, per Rob Rang of CBS Sports:

"

The 6-foot-4, 214-pound Kaaya looked smooth in the passing drills, just as he had a month ago at the NFL Scouting Combine. Kaaya, currently seventh on NFLDraftScout.com's board among quarterbacks, showed off his experience working in a pro-style offense, displaying smooth footwork in his drops and an efficient delivery of the ball while reportedly completing approximately 51 of 57 passes with a few drops. 

"

When the draft began Thursday with three quarterbacks—Mitchell Trubisky, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson—going in the top 12, it seemed likely Kaaya could hear his name called at some point on Day 2. 

It didn't happen for Kaaya, and the agonizing wait to start his career continued. It's not as if teams were ignoring the quarterback position. The San Francisco 49ers drafted C.J. Beathard in the third round. Joshua Dobbs went to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round and Nathan Peterman was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round. 

Kaaya isn't going to a situation that will allow him to compete for a starting job because the Lions have Matthew Stafford entrenched as their quarterback. 

But based on how long his wait was and the scouting evaluation for him, Kaaya was always going to have to learn for at least one year before getting any sort of playing time anyway. 

This situation takes all the pressure off Kaaya and lets him study behind one of the NFL's best quarterbacks. It wasn't the way he wanted this draft to play out, but now that he knows where his home is, this is a chance to make the best of it.