It took until Day 3, but the first Arkansas player is finally off the board at the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville, Tenn.

Offensive guard Hjalte Froholdt was taken in the fourth round by the New England Patriots with the 118th overall pick Saturday afternoon. His selection extends the Razorbacks’ streak of having at least one player drafted to 24 years.

He is the sixth player New England has picked from Arkansas since 2011 and he’ll be reunited with former head coach Bret Bielema, who is a consultant for Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

A four-year letterman at Arkansas, Froholdt began his career as a four-star defensive tackle before converting to the offensive line as a sophomore.

Although he struggled as a pass blocker, he earned an impressive 87.5 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus in 2016. By the time he was a senior, he improved his pass-blocking grade to 88.6.

In fact, Froholdt didn’t allow a sack and gave up just three quarterback hits and two quarterback hurries last season. That gave him a 99.4 pass blocking efficiency rating from Pro Football Focus, which was tied for second nationally and first in the SEC among guards with at least 400 pass-blocking snaps.

Those numbers helped him earn second-team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press. He was also a first-team All-SEC selection by Pro Football Focus and third-team pick by Phil Steele in 2017.

One reason Froholdt was so appealing to professional teams is his versatility. Although primarily a left guard, he played some at center as a senior.

He has also not played the game for very long. A native of Denmark, Froholdt didn’t play football until his sophomore year of high school when he was a foreign exchange student in Ohio.

Upon returning to the U.S., he completed his high school career at the IMG Academy in Florida, where he earned scholarship offers from schools like Alabama, Florida State, Michigan and Ohio State.

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