Where Are They Now: Pierre Desir

The list of Lindenwood University football players chosen in an NFL Draft starts and ends with Pierre Desir.

Picked in the fourth round by Cleveland in 2014, the cornerback spent two seasons with the Browns, one with the Chargers, and three with the Colts, before signing as a free agent with the Jets in 2020.

“Talking with the coaches and talking with the staff, I felt like the type of defense that they were implementing would be going towards my strength,” Desir said. “And it was kind of a market that I wanted to go in just to showcase what I could do. I felt like it was the best fit for me at the time.”

In his second game as a Jet, Desir, who had collected five career interceptions before arriving in New York, notched his first for the Green & White when he picked-off San Francisco’s quarterback Nick Mullens and had a 23-yard return in a 31-13 loss to the 49ers.

The Jets came up on the short side of the scoreboard again two games later in the spectator-less Thursday Night Football game at MetLife Stadium against Denver.

It was an evening when Desir felt the disappointment of being beaten by Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on a 48-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. And then got some revenge by intercepting Broncos quarterback Brett Rypien on the next defensive series.

Desir felt retribution again in the fourth quarter when he returned a 35-yard interception for a touchdown. It wasn’t enough, though, as New York lost, 37-28.

“On a Thursday night, usually it’s bright lights and everything. But because of the situation with COVID, we didn’t have fans. So it was a weird experience,” Desir said. “And being able to bounce back from a bad play that I had previously, and then being able to score to help my team try to come up with a victory, it was just a quick turn of events.

“It basically shows what it is like as a defensive back. You can have some bad plays, turn around, and then…