The top picks of last week’s NFL Draft were all taken for their immeasurable talents on the football field.

One by one, many of those young men showed what’s carried them off the field, expressing their faith on center stage and giving thanks to Christ.

Here’s a small sample from the first round draft picks sharing their faith:

Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick of the Raiders: “These last few months have been such a blessing by God and I can’t thank Him enough.”

Jordyn Tyson, taken at No. 8 by the Saints: “I was so lost in the things of the world and living life trying to make it through. But Jesus had his hand on me the whole time ... I didn’t give all the credit to Him at first, but now I do.”

Caleb Downs, taken at No. 11 by the Cowboys: “I want to say thank you God. Without that, none of us would be here. At the end of the day, His glory isn’t about anything that we can do, but we know Jesus is real and we know that if you believe in Him, you will be saved.”

Ty Simpson, drafted at No. 13 by the Rams: “I just want to give all the glory to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The fact that I’m here on the NFL stage of the draft, I wouldn’t be here.”

Makai Lemon, taken at No. 20 by the Eagles: “I ain’t gonna lie, I’m just so blessed right now. I just praise the Lord for every moment, really.”

And Taylen Green, the Browns sixth-round pick, who lists Philippians 4:13 in his X profile, said: All praise to Jesus because I wouldn’t be here standing today without Him."

As a man of faith, it was refreshing to see these young men make these bold testimonies.

If you listen closely at big league ballparks, you can also hear MLB players express their faith with their “walk-up” songs.

As I’m writing this, I’m listening to Pirates rookie hotshot Kane Griffin walk up to “Nobody” by Casting Crowns-Matthew West.

When I was in St. Louis last week, a familiar gospel tune played as Cardinals rookie Nathan Church, who has chosen “Graves into Gardens” by Elevation Worship came to bat. I was hoping to ask Nathan about it, but didn’t get the opportunity in the clubhouse.

Caleb Downs, who was one of many Ohio State players to be baptized last fall, picked Cece Winans “King of Glory” for his walk-out music at the draft.

I’ve always admired athletes like Tim Tebow, Kurt Warner, Clayton Kershaw and Allyson Felix for boldly expressing their faith over the years. At the local high school level, I appreciated how Princeton senior basketball standout Camryn Driscoll used her faith this year to witness to others when she sustained a season-ending knee injury.

Many years ago, I asked former St. Louis Cardinals star second baseman Tommy Herr for a story for the Redbird Review, the original Cardinals magazine, about why he added the well-known John 3:16 scripture to his autograph. He told me, if just one person looks that verse up that’s all that mattered.

These athletes all have a platform and boldly use it.

Kevin Hieronymus has been the BCR Sports Editor since 1986. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com