Here are 2 pro football draft stories worth reading.

They will make you feel good about the power of sports in our country.

The natural

All of us knew Trevor Lawrence would be drafted high – probably #1.

Several losing NFL teams were salivating at the idea of getting the Clemson star.

Lawrence is an exceptionally gifted athlete who modestly knows where his talent comes from.

His Clemson Tigers tore into Alabama 44-16 in the national championship 2 years ago. It was the most lopsided loss for Nick Saban’s teams and by a 19-year-old quarterback who made it look easy.

Since 2019, Lawrence has been the expected #1 pick of the NFL draft in 2021.

National sports writers say no prospect has had a pedigree equal to Lawrence’s.

In the beginning

He won the starting quarterback job at Cartersville High as a 14-year-old freshman, 2 state championships and broke Georgia passing and touchdown records.

He won the starting quarterback job at Clemson as a freshman and helped win the national championship later that year.

Clemson lost only 3 games in his 3 seasons and he didn’t play in 1 of them due to a covid quarantine.

Lawrence is a rarity who has surpassed the high expectations placed on him.

Now that he’s going to Jacksonville, I‘m going to pull for the Jaguars.

Rags to riches

Here’s the other inspiring NFL draft story:

Hours before he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Alabama running back Najee Harris had a draft party with food for everyone at the homeless shelter where he once lived in Richmond, Calif.

“I wanted to make sure that I could give back to the community and show them if y’all still need anything I’m never too big or too whatever to help you out,” Harris told reporters.

In 2010, he lived with his mother and 4 siblings in a tiny room at the Richmond Interfaith shelter.

Shelter manager Kathleen Sullivan said, “His mother was instrumental in getting him and all those children through what would normally be the most horrific experience of their lives.”

The Steelers picked him in the 1st round.

Harris helped Alabama win national titles in 2017 and 2020. Last year, he won the Doak Walker Award as college football’s best running back. He’s Alabama’s all-time leader in total touchdowns with 57.

Harris is forming a nonprofit in Richmond to give back to the shelter.

“There was a time I needed a helping hand,” he said. “They gave us an opportunity to get back on our feet. So it is my job to give back.”

Got an inspiring sports story to share? Email the Sports Grouch at ChronicleSports@yahoo.com .