WATCH: NFL honors Virginia football players killed in shooting with honorary selections at 2023 NFL Draft

Shortly before the 2023 NFL Draft began on Thursday, the league took a moment to pay tribute to the three Virginia football players who were killed in a campus shooting last November. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was joined on stage by the families of D’Sean Perry, Devin Chandler and Lavel Davis so that each player could be an honorary draft pick for an NFL team, forever enshrining them as part of the NFL family. 

Perry, a Miami native, was a pick for the Miami Dolphins, while Davis was a selection for the Baltimore Ravens and Chandler was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The NFL provided all three families with jerseys to commemorate the honor, and all three teams shared in the celebration of the lives of these three players. 

Virginia football recently paid tribute to the lives of Perry, Chandler and Davis during the team’s spring practice, which was the first live public action for the program since the tragic shooting. Among the highlights from that day included a highlight moment for Mike Hollins, who was injured in the shooting. Not only has Hollins returned to action, but he scored a touchdown in the Blue-White spring game.