While the 2020 NFL Draft winds into its third day today, Central College football fans can look back fondly on a draft day memory from nearly 50 years ago.

In late January of 1971, less than two weeks after the conclusion of Super Bowl V, teams gathered at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City.  The Boston Patriots, renamed the New England Patriots less than two months later, kicked off the festivities by picking Stanford quarterback Jim Plunkett number one overall.

Then, 229 picks later, the Miami Dolphins were on the clock late in the 9th round.  The pick came in, and it was Dutch defensive end Vern Den Herder, a four-time all-Iowa Conference defensive end, and the 1970 league MVP and an NAIA All-American.

On a recent trip to Pella, Den Herder told KRLS sports that he wasn’t sure that he was going to get drafted, but knew it was a possibility.

“We had teams coming around with their scouts my junior year, then more my senior year, so I felt somewhat confident that I was going to get drafted”, Den Herder said. “But there was no spectacle with it.  There was no all-out party and no ESPN to show the draft.  The draft was over before I even knew I was drafted.  I just received a simple phone call telling me I’d been drafted by Miami in the ninth round.”

The NFL draft was 17 rounds in 1971, compared to just seven rounds in 2020.

Den Herder went on to have a 12 year NFL career, all with the Dolphins.  He was an all-AFC selection in 1972 when the Dolphins put together the only undefeated Super Bowl championship season in league history.

While sacks didn’t become an official statistic until his final pro season, Den Herder unofficially registered 64 ½ sacks for his career, fourth most in team history.

His last game was Super Bowl XVII, following the 1982 season. Den Herder then retired to work in farming in northwest Iowa.