JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Devin Lloyd wasn’t planning on lifting NFL commissioner Roger Goodell off his feet when he hugged him after getting his name called as a first-round pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday night.
But he wasn’t going to disobey his mom.
“I just told Devin to make sure he picked up Roger Goodell off the floor,” Ronyta Johnson said. “I didn’t know he was going to pick him up like that.”
Lloyd did go above and beyond his mom’s intention. He wrapped Goodell in a bear hug, leaning back, and hauling him off the floor by several feet.
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Lloyd said his mom made her request shortly after the Jags selected the former Utah linebacker with the 27th overall pick. So he had only a few quick moments to figure out what he was going to do.
“I had no plans on picking him until right after I got the call [from the Jaguars],” he said. “It just came up.”
The most important question in all of this, though, is: Why did Lloyd’s mom want him to pick up Goodell? The reason is, surprisingly, pretty simple.
“I just wanted to see if he could,” Johnson said.
Draft hug form on point ?@DevinLloyd_ | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/7XcmBjdOFi
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) April 29, 2022
“Make sure you pick up Roger Goodell.”@DevinLloyd_‘s mom prepped him well for Draft Night ?@Dream_Finders | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/mjHs5xPntG
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) April 30, 2022