Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons

Grady Jarrett: From ash to hellfire

Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett stomps his feet after making a big third down stop.

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett stomps his feet after making a big third down stop.
By Max E. Marcovitch
Aug 10, 2018

Grady Jarrett was used to rejection.

He had been told “no” more than most in a short lifetime, been overlooked at every level, learned to fend for himself. And yet, his slip in the 2015 NFL draft was still a shock.

“I kinda prepared him for that,” Jarrett’s college coach, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, told the AJC last week. “I said, ‘Grady, you’re not going to get drafted high.’ ”

Jarrett didn’t listen. No, this time was going to be different, he thought.

After a draft-night fire reduced his home to ash, his career path in fumes, Jarrett’s soul burned with the rage of hellfire.

And story of the Falcons' fifth-round pick proved to be just beginning. Read Jarrett's harrowing tale in the AJC Special Report:

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Max E. Marcovitch
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