With the 26th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Falcons selected pass rusher Takkarist McKinley out of UCLA on Thursday.
McKinley registered 61 total tackles, 10 sacks, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his junior season at UCLA.
After his name was called on Thursday night, McKinley brought a framed photo of his late-grandmother Myrtle Collins who raised him on stage as he met NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. McKinley gave a passionate speech about the promise he made to Collins on her deathbed to become a professional football player and to get out of the rough neighborhood in Richmond, Calif. the two lived in.
McKinley ended up yelling an expletive during an interview with former Atlanta Falcon Deion Sanders. After using an expletive on live television, McKinley said, "Fine me later, man."
Here's what the internet and Falcons fans had to say about the drafting of McKinley:
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