Falcons To Honor Fallen Soldier With Draft Pick

Atlanta will be one of three teams with a representative joining Commissioner Roger Goodell on the stage Friday Night.

Each year, special guests are invited on stage to join NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and announce NFL Draft picks. 

This year, the Atlanta Falcons will be one of the teams represented, this time by the family of fallen Second Lieutenant Clifford Gadsden.

2nd Lieutenant Clifford Gadsden

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Family of 2nd Lieutenant Clifford Gadsden

The NFL announced the news on Monday in an official release.

"The NFL's Salute to Service initiative looks to honor, empower and connect service members and military families. For this year's Draft, the NFL will highlight its partnership with TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), which offers compassionate care to all those grieving the loss of a military loved one. This year, the Gadsden's, a Gold Star family, will join Commissioner Goodell on stage in Round 2 to help make the team's selection. The night of the Draft Pick, April 29, is the same date that Second Lieutenant Gadsden was killed in Iraq.”

Gadsden died in 2005, leaving behind children aged 17-months and five years. He was honored last October with a memorial garden in front of his family’s home in Fort Walton Beach.

The Gadsden family will be one of only three honorees announcing selections on day two of the 2022 NFL Draft. This is not the family’s first time working with the Falcons - in 2017, in honor of Salute to Service month, Atlanta invited the Gadsden family to a practice, in which they met then-Falcon DE Takkarist McKinley.

2nd Lieutenant Clifford Gadsden's Memorial Garden

Then-Falcons DE Takk McKinley with Gadsden's Family

Then-Falcons DE Takk McKinley with Gadsden's Family

Organizations involved in announcing picks are Make-A-Wish and the National Gay Flag Football League, among others. There will be picks announced in four international locations - Brazil, Germany, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.

There will also be a five-minute U.S. Military enlistment ceremony before the start of day three, which takes place on April 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.