Patriots' first-round pick pays tribute to former LSU teammate Kyren Lacy at NFL Draft: 'Special human being'

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It was an emotional night for Will Campbell, the fourth overall selection in the NFL Draft Thursday.

The New England Patriots nabbed the LSU offensive lineman to protect Drake Maye, and Campbell couldn't help but hold back tears.

"It means everything to me," Campbell said. "I'm gonna fight and die to protect them with everything I got."

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But something else was on his mind on draft night. His former LSU teammate, Kyren Lacy, died last week from a self-inflicted gunshot.

At the draft, Campbell wore a pin with Lacy's No. 2 on his lapel.

"Kyren is a special human being. I feel for his family. They've been through a lot lately. He's got such a great family. He was not only a good football player. He was such a good teammate, a good son, a good older brother and just a good dude in general," Campbell said.

"It's just terrible, everything that's happened. I'm sending many prayers to his family because he was gonna get his name called this weekend. … Even though his name won't be called, he's going to walk across that stage. He's here with us in spirit, and it was an honor to be a part of his journey."

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The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said deputies received a call about a man, identified as Lacy, who was arguing with a family member when he shot a gun into the ground, according to FOX 26 Houston. Officials learned Lacy had fled and launched a search after him.

Officials said deputies tried to pull over Lacy, but he led them on a car chase that went on for miles. Lacy then crashed his vehicle in Spring, according to authorities.

Responding deputies removed Lacy from the vehicle to take him into custody, but he was found with a "self-inflicted gunshot wound" and pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.

The wide receiver was under investigation in Louisiana for a crash in December that left a 78-year-old man dead, officials said in January. 

Lacy transferred to LSU in 2022. He had his best season in 2024, when he had 58 catches for 866 yards and nine touchdowns.

Fox News' Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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