Falcons' Draft

The NFL draft took place on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. The Atlanta Falcons, coming off a dreadful second half of the season and a disappinting 7-9 year overall, had a lot of holes to fill, especially with a new coaching staff taking over in Atlanta whom has a completely different philosophy than the previous one.

It's been a busy off-season already for the Falcons. They let go of middle linebacker Ed Hartwell. Defensive end Patrick Kerney signed with Seattle. Fullback Justin Griffith signed elsewhere. Guard Matt Lehr was let go. Back-up quarterback Matt Schaub was traded to Houston for some draft picks. They then signed former Baltimore fullback Ovie Mughelli, ex New Orleans receiver Joe Horn, guard Tonui Fonoti, and back-up quarterback Joey Harrington.

With new head coach Bobby Petrino's new philosophy of doing away with the smaller offensive line and the zone-blocking scheme, the Falcons were in desperate need of some size on the line in the draft. Cornerback Jason Webster and free safey Chris Crocker have been anything but effective at their positions, so Atlanta needed some help at safety, in particular. They seemed pretty set at linebacker with veteran Keith Brooking in the middle and the quick and talented Michael Boley and DeMorrio Williams on the outside. John Abraham and Rod Coleman are set at DE and DT along the line. But, it's uncertain on Grady Jackson's future at the other tackle spot and with the loss of Kerney, the Falcons needed some help at the end position. Receiver is always a need position for the Falcons. Depth at tight end and fullback wouldn't hurt and Atlanta is in need of a kicker.

Well, the Falcons addressed many key needs in the draft. With their first selection, they drafted Jamaal Anderson, defensive end out of Arkansas. With he and Chauncey Davis, the Falcons have some young, solid players for the future at the DE spot. With their two second round selections, they drafted Justin Blalock, guard out of Texas and Chris Houston, a cornerback out of Arkansas. They also drafted Stephen Nicholas, a linebacker out of South Florida, Lauverant Robinson, a receiver out of Western Illinois, Martrez Milner, a tight end out of Georgia, along with another corner, a safety, a center, a defensive tackle, and a fullback.

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with Petrino and his crew's first draft. They drafted six defensive and five offensive players. Milner should provide some depth behind Crumpler at the tight end position, as Crumpler was the only Falcon tight end that was any threat with the football. The Virginia fullback, Snelling, will add some depth behind the recently acquired Mughelli. Robinson will add some depth and hopefully push some of the underachieving receivers to new heights. Blalock and Daisel will add some much needed size to the line and Blalock should be able to start in his first season. The most interesting selection, I thought, was Chris Houston. With the Falcons drafting a corner in that spot and not a safety, it seems pretty obvious to me that Petrino and company are going to move Jimmy Williams over to free safety. This will provide a very quick, athletic, and dangerous secondary for the Falcons, with DeAngelo Hall and Chris Houston at the corners and Laywer Milloy and Jimmy Williams at safety. The biggest disappointment was the Falcons neglecting to select Mason Crosby in the 5th round to take over their kicking duties. It was made painfully clear that Michael Koenen could not take on all three kicking responsibilities last year, so he should stick with kickoffs and punting. Morten Andersen, the Falcons' kicker last year, is a free agent, so at this point, I have no idea who will be kicking for the Falcons this upcoming season. Crosby had the strongest college leg that I've ever seen. The guy consistently made 50-59 yard field goals, either at home in Colorado (with the altitude) or away from Boulder.

Offensively, I like how the Falcons are set up. The biggest concern I have is on the line. While the Falcons addressed some concerns by signing guard Fonoti and drafting guard Blalock and center Daisel, but with a completely different philosophy up front, I'm pessimistic on how well the veterans and rookies can come together this season. I'm also curious on how much the Falcon linemen from last year bulked up into the type of linemen Petrino wants.

Defensively, I see a lot of quick and young talent, but a lot is going to depend on injuries, maturation, and cohesiveness. Abraham, Coleman, Brooking, Hall, and Milloy are all veterans. Jamaal Anderson or Chauncey Davis could start at the end opposite Abraham. Justin Babineux could start next to Coleman. Boley and Williams (when he's healthy again) will start at outside linebacker. Second-year player, Jimmy Williams, may move to free safety and rookie Chris Houston could start at corner. They're quick and talented all over, but extremely young, which will many times, result in errors and through those, big plays. The defense will be exciting at times and college-like at others, it seems.

I'm uncertain on their special teams. Allen Rossum has been hampered by injuries off and on the past couple seasons and it remains a mystery on if that will continue throughout this season. Koenen wasn't as consistent or solid a punter last year as he was his rookie season. I'm curious on if he will regain his rookie-season form. The position I'm most concerned about is place kicker. From what I know, I have as much a chance to kick for the Falcons as the next guy and trust me, that's not a good thing.

Overall, I'd give the Falcons a B+ grade in the draft. Hopefully, Arthur Blank, Rich McKay and company make a few more off-season moves to help mature the lines and hopefully, coach Petrino and his crew can help mature the young defense quicker than anticipated.