As expected, LSU All-American strong safety Jamal Adams heard his name called quickly in tonight’s 2017 NFL Draft order, with the New York Jets, as many expected, taking him sixth overall. The same city his father was drafted in back in the 1980s, albeit for the Giants.
Adams joins the likes of Patrick Peterson, Mo Claiborne, LaRon Landry and Eric Reid as No. 1 picks out of the Tiger defensive backfield in recent years. He arrived at LSU as one of the crown jewels of the star-studded 2014 recruiting class and in three years started 26 of 37 games and finished his career with 209 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions and two sacks. He was All-American and All-SEC as a junior this past season.
He also joins another unique fraternity with his father George Adams, as just the sixth father-son combo to both be drafted in the NFL’s first round. George was the 19th pick of the 1985 draft. The Adams’ join the Mannings (Archie, Peyton and Eli), the Winslows (Kellen and Kellen II), two sets of Matthews (Clay Sr. and Jr. and Bruce and Jake), the Ingrams (Mark Sr. and Jr.) and the Heywards (Craig and Cameron) as the only families to pull off the feat.