Falcons draft pick Grady Jarrett loses portion of home in fire

The Atlanta Falcons have come through for Clemson defensive tackle Grady Jarrett not once, but twice.

Less than 24 hours after a portion of his home in Conyers, Georgia, caught fire, Jarrett was drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the Falcons on Saturday. Then the Falcons quickly went into help mode, as owner Arthur Blank ordered the team's staff to help Jarrett purchase some clothes, a source told ESPN NFL Insider Chris Mortensen.

"When I talked to them, they said whatever I need, they'll help me out," Jarrett said of the Falcons' assistance. "It's just a blessing."

Said Falcons coach Dan Quinn: "We couldn't be more thrilled that Grady's with us. And now that we're able to be so close to go and help him and his family, we couldn't wait to get up there and be around them and offer our support and help."

Jarrett, who said 30 to 40 people were in the house, said nobody was hurt when the fire broke out upstairs while people were watching the second round of the draft on Friday night. He said the game room, which is located over the garage, suffered the most damage.

"It was just a really unfortunate situation," Jarrett said. "... We were just watching the draft and smelled something a little funny. We went to the kitchen and nothing was going on in there. And some people came running down from upstairs. The fire had already started, man, on the wall; too much for water to put out, the fire extinguisher to put out.

"We just couldn't do nothing but get everybody out the house and pray for the best. That section of the house is just really, really messed up. The key things lost were just a lot of my trophies and accolades, stuff like that. ... The most important thing was having everybody out. We have good insurance. We should be OK."

The house is owned by his mother, Elisha Jarrett.

Jarrett said an investigation into how the fire started was still pending. As of Saturday afternoon, he said he was at his cousin's house but that he and his mother had yet to figure out where they would stay in the interim.

Jarrett is the son of former Falcon star Jessie Tuggle, a five-time Pro Bowl linebacker. Tuggle held up a card and announced his son's drafting during a Falcons draft party at the College Football Hall of Fame.

The Falcons swapped fifth-round picks with the Minnesota Vikings and also gave up their sixth-round pick to move up and select Jarrett, who will be joining Clemson teammate Vic Beasleywith the Falcons.

Beasley was Atlanta's first-round selection.