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Breaking Down the Draft: Atlanta Falcons

Day two takes us inside the draft of the Atlanta Falcons . Check back again today for a look at the Baltimore Ravens draft.

Pick 3: QB Matt Ryan, Boston College (Scouting Report)
Scout It: Ryan will be called upon to fill the role of franchise quarterback early in his career. Mike Smith and Mike Mularkey have not let it be known what their offense will look like, but judging from past team's they will rely heavily on the run and a timing-based passing attack. I would expect to see Ryan play primarily under center in Ace back sets with two tight ends. Ryan does not have an overly strong arm, so expect a lot of crossing routes and intermediate passes as he becomes used to the speed of the NFL.

Pick 21: OT Sam Baker, USC (Scouting Report )
Scout It: Baker will be thrown in early on as the team's left tackle. Baker is a more accomplished pass blocker at this point in his development, which will fit what the young Falcons will need to do in order to win football games. Baker has a very quick out-step, but short arms. He must rely heavily on his footwork to position himself correctly.

Pick 37: LB Curtis Lofton, Oklahoma (Scouting Report )
Scout It: Mike Smith will use an aggressive defense which is based around pressuring the quarterback. Lofton will fit in nicely in the Cover 2 defense employed by Smith. He has experience playing the MIKE and WILL linebacker in Oklahoma's scheme, with the athleticism to get deep into coverage. Lofton looks like the eventual replacement for Keith Brooking at inside linebacker.

Pick 68: CB Chevis Jackson, LSU
Scout It: Another Cover 2 style player. Jackson was introduced to the scheme by Nick Saban, a person many consider one of the foremost experts on the defense. Jackson is big enough to pressure receivers off the line of scrimmage and has the vision to excel in a zone. Jackson is also a good tackler, which will serve him well on special teams as a rookie.

Pick 84: WR Harry Douglas, Louisville (Scouting Report )
Scout It: Atlanta badly needed a slot receiver to come in an take pressure off Roddy White and the aging Joe Horn. Douglas is a small receiver, but works best coming in and out of cuts. He's a solid possession guy who will benefit from the intermediate routes used by Mularkey and co.

Pick 98: S Thomas DeCoud, California (Scouting Report )
Scout It: DeCoud is a true centerfielder, a player who will do well getting depth in a two-deep defense. He's not overly fast or strong, but makes his money coming up to support the run and by showing great instincts in coverage. He has a chance to play early in his career with the talent ahead of him in Atlanta being marginal.

Pick 138: LB Robert James, Arizona State
Scout It: James could move back to strong safety, his natural position before going to ASU. He's undersized to play anything other than weakside linebacker on passing downs at this point. Think Cato June without the toughness.

Pick 154: LB Kroy Bierman, Montana
Scout It: A former linebacker who will move to defensive end for Atlanta. The Falcons should become a traditional 4-3 team under Mike Smith, with their weakside end in a six-technique. Bierman will slide out to a wide end in third-down situations as a pass rusher. He also will be a hard-nosed special teams player.

Pick 172: RB Thomas Brown, Georgia
Scout It: A scat back who will likely fill a third-down role. We saw Mularkey bring in Lorenzo Booker while with Miami, and this is a similar pick. Brown has been injured a lot, but he will not be asked to carry the load in Atlanta. He's a dependable receiver and a surprisingly good red-zone runner.

Pick 212: CB Wilrey Fontenot, Arizona
Scout It: Undersized, but fundamentally strong. Very smooth back pedal and fluid hips. Will be able to turn and run with receivers, most likely a nickel or dime player.

Pick 232: TE Keith Zinger, LSU
Scout It: Offensive cooradinator Mike Mularkey has much experience as a tight ends coach and will lean heavily on the position in his offense. The team will use a conventional set frequently, but also likes the two-tight end set.

Poll
Grade It! How do you score Atlanta's draft? Let us know in the comments.
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • F

  46 votes | Results

0 recs | Comment 3 comments | Add your comment

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Comments

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I’ll be honest, I thought the Falcons did a great job in this year’s draft. It sucks that Matt Ryan will forever be compared to the man they passed up, Glenn Dorsey, because Dorsey could have been an absolute monster in Atlanta. I like Ryan, though.

I even liked their “questionable” move to go get Sam Baker. Maybe it’s just me, but when I’m looking for a blind-side protector, I prefer a technician with good footwork. I think Baker has a lot of potential in those two areas. I thought that was a really strong pick.

The Lofton, Jackson and Douglas picks will work out well too. I’m not a Falcons fan, but I thought they did a nice job this past weekend.

by Brian Galliford on Apr 29, 2008 4:54 PM EDT reply reply   0 recs

I think Ryan is put in a bad spot here...

he has to be both the face of the franchise and an NFL QB… neither of which are an easy thing to accomplish on their own, much less together. Ryan will not only get compared with Dorsey, but all the other QBs. Best case scenario for Ryan is that they all bust.

I’m not big on Baker, but I like the trade whole lot (the Falcons panic to get an OT helped out my Skins.) I think Baker will be a solid NFL player, but not great. It was a reach to take him in the first round, but they filled an obvious need and, in doing so, made sure Ryan won’t suffer the same fate as David Carr… playing QB from his backside.

Lofton and Jackson are nice pickups. And Douglas could be a steal… just keep Cris Carter from saying he’s more productive coming out than Wes Welker was. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me on the ESPN coverage, but that’s a topic for another day.

I voted C, but I think it was a C+/B- type of thing. They had a questionable first round and a very strong draft after that. I hope for Ryan’s sake he proves me wrong.

by TexSkins on Apr 29, 2008 5:07 PM EDT reply reply   0 recs

Good analysis

I graded our draft with a C for now, just because I wasn’t happy with the lack of offensive linemen and defensive tackles. I hope that once they start playing, I’ll be very happily wrong. Ryan in particular will have to overcome the fan base grumbling (myself included) after the Falcons passed up on a game changing defensive tackle like Dorsey.

Douglas, I think, has a real chance to succeed in the slot during his rookie campaign. You note that he could help take pressure off Joe Horn, but I don’t think Horn’s even going to see the field this year with Roddy White, Mike Jenkins, Laurent Robinson and Douglas all clearly better options at this point.

I’m also a huge fan of Lofton, who I think is going to be something special. The Falcons may stink up the joint over the next year or two, but at least we have a real chance to have the league’s strongest linebacking corps.

Football is not a contact sport. It's a collision sport. Dancing is a good example of a contact sport. ~Duffy Daugherty

by Dave the Falconer on Apr 29, 2008 7:08 PM EDT reply reply   0 recs


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