Before the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the league welcomed three University of Virginia football players slain in a Nov. 13 shooting as honorary draft picks.
D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis Jr., and Devin Chandler were killed after former UVA football player Christopher Jones Jr. allegedly opened fire on a charter bus returning to campus from a field trip to Washington, D.C.
D’Brickashaw Ferguson, a three-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle with the New York Jets who played at Virginia before being taken in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft, spoke about each player before commissioner Roger Goodell announced the first round picks.
“To make it official, with the first picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, we welcome to the NFL family D’Sean Perry, Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler of the University of Virginia,” Ferguson said.
The families of each player were on stage to accept jerseys.
Perry’s family received a Miami Dolphins jersey since he grew up in Miami. Davis Jr. was from Dorchester, S.C., but his family received a Baltimore Ravens jersey.
The family of Chandler, who was from Huntersville, North Carolina, received a Jacksonville Jaguars jersey.
.@UVAFootball players D'Sean Perry, Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis Jr. are remembered and welcomed into the NFL family at the #NFLDraft. pic.twitter.com/CtxsxxSKbV
— NFL (@NFL) April 27, 2023
Chandler and Davis were wide receivers for the Cavaliers.
Chandler spent two seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers before moving to Virginia for his junior season.
He never got to play for Virginia last season.
Davis played in eight games as a senior last season, hauling in 16 receptions for 371 yards with two touchdowns.
Perry was a linebacker for the Cavaliers for three seasons, accumulating nine tackles and one sack with a pick-six in eight games.
Following the shooting, the NFL was quick to pay tribute to the victims. The Washington Commanders adorned their helmets with decals bearing each player’s number — 1, 15, and 41.
source:nsemwokrom.com