FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons traded up in the second round to draft Penn State pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie on Friday.
The Falcons gave up the 43rd and 114th picks to pick 38th overall. Ebiketie is 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds.
The Falcons are hoping that he can help boost their pass rush. The Falcons were last in the league with 18 sacks last season. Ebiketie led Penn State with 18 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks and 62 tackles.
Ebiketie is a native of Cameroon and did not start playing football until his sophomore year in high school.
He played soccer and basketball before turning to football.
He started his career at Temple before transferring to Penn State.
In the second round of the NFL draft Friday, the Falcons will help the league honor the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) as part of the league’s Salute to Service initiative.
The Gadsden family, lifelong Falcons fans from Fort Walton Beach, Fla., joined Commissioner Roger Goodell on stage in the second round to help make the Falcons’ pick.
The night of the pick, April 29, is the same date that 2nd Lt. Clifford Gadsden Jr. was killed in Iraq. Through the TAPS partnership the NFL seeks to offer care to people grieving the loss of a military loved one.
The family was honored by the Falcons during their annual TAPS weekend in 2017 and again in 2020.
