Look: Falcons' McKinley brings photo of grandma onto plane

Takkarist McKinley's promise to his late grandmother that he would make it to the NFL was fulfilled Thursday night when the Atlanta Falcons drafted him at No. 26 overall.

Although she couldn't be there in person, she was there in spirit, as McKinley brought a photo of her onto the stage after his name was called. He still had the photo in his hands Friday morning as he boarded a plane for Atlanta.

"My grandma, she was somebody I could talk to, somebody I could express myself to, somebody who understood me. She was my everything," McKinley told Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times in November. "I know she's up there watching me, proud of me."