GREEN BAY – Montravius Adams has more than one reason to remember April, 28, 2017.
The Packers' new defensive tackle not only was drafted into the NFL on Friday, but he and his girlfriend also welcomed their first child, Montravius Jr., into the world earlier in the day.
The Auburn senior was actually at the hospital in Warner Robins, Ga., with his family when he received the call from the Packers, who drafted him with their third-round pick (93rd overall).
"There's no words I can say. A lot of blessings," Adams said. "Just coming from me getting my son and the Packers calling me – I'm just thankful for the blessing."
Adams said the couple had been at the hospital since roughly 4 a.m. ET on Thursday. Montravius Jr., who weighed in at 8 pounds, 7.4 ounces, was finally born at 2:32 p.m. Friday, just in time to be on-hand for his father's selection.
The Packers drafted Adams with their third and final draft pick Friday, extending Ted Thompson's streak of taking at least one defensive lineman in each of his 13 drafts as general manager.
Take a look at Packers third round draft pick DT Montravius Adams at Auburn. Photos by AP.
The 6-foot-4, 304-pound defensive tackle was a three-year starter for the Tigers, recording 151 tackles with 11 sacks and three forced fumbles in 52 games with 26 starts.
Adams caught the attention of the Packers and scouts across the league after running a 4.87-second time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. His quick-twitch tendencies were evident during a senior season in which Adams tallied 44 tackles (8½ for a loss) and a career-best 4½ sacks, earning second-team All-SEC for his efforts.
"He has good size but he's also tremendously quick and explosive at the line of scrimmage," Thompson said. "He has natural hand-use that's hard to teach. He's been a good player, very much recommended by the staff there. We were surprised and elated that he was available at the time we picked him."
Along with the signing of veteran Ricky Jean Francois, the Packers are scheduled to return all of their defensive linemen from last year's unit that help the defense finish eighth in run defense.
The Packers stressed the importance of speed and versatility in the three defensive selections they made Friday, with second-round picks Kevin King and Josh Jones possessing terrific size and measurables for their positions.
Thompson sees Adams as no different on the defensive line with enough versatility to play all across the Packers' front. That's a trait that continues to grow in importance with how often Green Bay plays in its nickel package.
On both a personal and professional level, Adams won't soon forget everything that occurred over the past 48 hours.
Asked which was the bigger deal – becoming a father or getting drafted – Adams didn't hesitate in his response. "Becoming a father," Adams said. "There's nothing like family. My love for the game is extremely high, but it's second when it comes to family."
