Remember what I was just saying about how you have to do something different to get noticed at the NFL draft? Toting a baby for your Roger photo opp will work. Even better? Turning your stage time in Philly into a tribute that feels like the third act of a major motion picture.
This was riveting television and almost certainly the moment people will remember most about this draft. Takkarist McKinley -- selected with the 26th overall pick by the Atlanta Falcons -- entered the stage holding a poster-sized photograph of his late grandmother, Myrtle Collins, then proceeded to talk directly to the camera in the cadence of a professional wrestler. And this makes sense: McKinley spent his formative years watching countless WWE telecasts with Myrtle, who helped keep McKinley off the streets with her love and devotion.
McKinley promised his grandmother on her deathbed that he would play Division I football. He fulfilled that promise when he became a star at UCLA. Now he's taken that promise to another level. Armed with the backstory, McKinley's emotional state on Thursday night makes a lot more sense.
You knew something was coming, by the way. McKinley was getting more and more fired up, and it wasn't clear what exactly was going to happen, but something was going to happen. What we got was an f-bomb, an f-bomb that came from a very emotional, very real place. This was an excellent f-bomb.
