Gaines Adams dead at 26: 2007 NFL Draft star called "fine young man"

Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears Defensive End Gaines Adams is dead at 26 years old. According to ESPN, Gaines Adams died of cardiac arrest. The Greenville, South Carolina native and Clemson Football standout, was a star at the 2007 NFL Draft.

Gaines Adams at the NFL Combine

The NFL flew Gaines Adams to New York City as part of a select group of NFL Draft-bound college stars including LSU and now Oakland Raiders Quarterback JaMarcus Russell, Notre Dame and now Cleveland Browns Quarterback Brady Quinn, Georgia Tech and now Detroit Lions Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson, and Oklahoma and now Minnesota Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson. The videos below capture the sprit of Gaines Adams at the 2007 NFL Draft:

At the Chelsea Piers Luncheon:



At Radio City Music Hall, outside:



Gaines Adams was the 4th pick of the 2007 NFL Draft by the then-Jon Gruden-coached Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He led all defensive rookies with six sacks in 2007. He would go on to become one of the most effective defensive players in the NFL, with a promising future that's now cut short.

Marcia Kelley-Clark, Chief Deputy Coroner for Greenwood County, said that no one in Gaines Adams Family was aware of a medical condition.

"I remember him at the 2007 Draft as a fine young man," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "Our condolences to Gaines' family, his teammates on the Bears and Buccaneers, and their organizations on their loss."