2009 NFL Draft Retrospective: Cornerback William Middleton
by Dave Choate on Feb 9, 2010 8:00 AM EST
in Falcons News
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PrintThis is the fifth entry in a series of articles examining players from the 2009 NFL Draft. The Falcoholic will also be putting together a retrospective on the 2009 season when the collective brain trust has sorted out just what happened this season. The brain trust is drunk. Next on our list, fifth-round cornerback William Middleton.
William Middleton was supposed to be a project. It wasn't supposed to be for the Jacksonville Jaguars, though.
Middleton was a head-scratching pick in the fifth round, considering the relative depth we have at cornerback (relatively unknown at the time) and the fact that the Falcons had just drafted Chris Owens (probably known). I reasoned that the team would cut someone who they didn't believe would perform up to their lofty standards and bury Middleton on the depth chart, or maybe give him a spot on the practice squad and hold onto him for the season. Instead, he was claimed by the hated Tampa Bay Bucs and eventually ended up on the Jags, where he played in parts of twelve games and accumulated 20 tackles. Ho-hum.
Obviously, Middleton could be a quality cornerback in the NFL someday, so it's tough to criticize this pick completely because it was in the fifth round, and the Comrade was dreaming of his days in Soviet Russia, and the sun was at an odd angle, and William Middleton was a vision in blue. So you can understand that. Still, it underscores the one real criticism I've had of the Falcons' drafting strategy, which is that the team seems to love to blow their low round picks on corners they have no real intention of doing anything with. This year it was Middleton, last year it was Wilrey Fontenot, and who knows who it might be this year. When you build through the draft, every pick matters.
So obviously, the Middleton pick didn't do us crap for good. I am a man who forgives, and I still like the rest of the 2009 draft, but I'm going to grade harsh on this one. Sorry folks.
Final Draft Grade: F
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I agree
however, word from a Jags fan says hes in their squad and playing OK, but they do have one of the worst CB roster in the league.
go hard or go home
No by the #'s we did.
"at least your roof only leaks when it rains."
by Ball Hawk on Feb 9, 2010 1:31 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Actually ...
The Birds were ranked 28/32 (Detroit was ranked last). The Jags were 27/32, one slot below us. 6 passing yds/game difference between us and the Jags.
Founder and Proud Member of the "JASON SNELLING AIN'T ALL THAT AND A BAG O' CHIPS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA"
Put it this way
Would Middleton have found significant playing time with the Falcons? I doubt it. Did he with the Jaguars? Yup. The numbers were very similar, but outside of Rashean Mathis I’m not sure the Jags have anybody in the secondary worth writing home about.
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I don't know ...
To me, if the two secondaries are numerically similar, and he played a Tye Hillesque role for them, then maybe (1) the coaching staff jumped the gun by cutting him or (2) he turned a corner at some point this season (to where he could contribute marginally).
Put differently, I wouldn’t give the pick itself an F.
Founder and Proud Member of the "JASON SNELLING AIN'T ALL THAT AND A BAG O' CHIPS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA"
Well, I like Middleton
So the F was entirely based on what he contributed to the Falcons, which was nothing. I really don’t understand the logic behind investing in a corner that you know is a project and then not giving him a chance to prove himself.
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Yeah, they liked him enough to draft him in the 5th (a round or 2 ahead of most projections), but then tried to sneak him on the practice squad, where any team could snatch him away. Just didn’t make much sense.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
gotcha ...
I thought you were rating how he played in his rookie campaign. My bad. I think he could have contributed, but it’s all speculation at this point (but heck, what is the off-season for?) …
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How to get an A on your exam(Secondary)
He'd be an awesome fit
But I agree, we’d have to give up a lot to move up for him.
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Maybe he could play all the positions in the secondary
Including weak safety, which I just now made up.
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No were not
Coleman’s heading for the door, if not today then next. If you cant see Berry as an upgrade on Coleman watch some tape.
Secondly, most scouts see Berry as a CB convert in the pros.
go hard or go home
As a CB, he'd make sense
I still believe Coleman’s spot will be taken by William Moore.
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Nobody has seen Moore play
And a lot of people are expecting Berry to move to CB. Not to mention a few people have mentioned Moore can play OLB
go hard or go home
My initial draft grade was ???!
I just thought Dimitroff forgot to mark Cornerback off the shopping list after he selected Owens. I’m just hoping it doesn’t end up happening again this year. If they pick another CB in the draft it probably means:
A) They aren’t re-signing Brian Williams and they’re cutting Tye Hill
OR
B) They wasted another draft pick
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
Brian Williams
Whats the chance Brian Williams returns? He looked like a better than average cb before his injury to me.
Falcon Fans UNITE!
by Blue Falcon on Feb 9, 2010 12:48 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I would be surprised...
to see Williams back. I think we go into training camp with Owens and Grimes as our 1 and 2 with Houston and Chevis right behind them. I still think Houston can be a good corner if he would learn to turn his damn head around. I see Williams and Hill both out of the picture.
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You have to look
at the QB’s Owens faced properly. None of them were any good when he was starting. Hes not usurped Houston just yet.
go hard or go home
Owens
He was starting opposite Houston starting Week 12 (TB), and Grimes didn’t get back into the line-up until Week 14 (NO) after Houston got hurt. That’s why I think we go into training camp with Houston and Owens as starters, with Grimes as a backup.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
If we are gonna waste a pick
We should do it on a kicker.
"at least your roof only leaks when it rains."
by Ball Hawk on Feb 9, 2010 1:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
hill and williams
i still dont think we’re COMPLETELY set at CB. Grimes should be number 2 and we still need that number 1. theres not really any stand out corners entering the draft beside joe haden, but there’s no way he’s gonna fall to 19. FA also has no standouts. Leigh Bodden is the only name that i can think of. hill will not return and williams is a head scratcher.
HOW MUCH MONEY DID THE SAINTS GIVE THE REFS?!?!?!?!
If Dunta would get his head out of his rear
he’d be a good pick up. I think he’s a UFA regardless of bargains and such. I know he had a bad season, and that would definitely hurt his stock, but if he comes at a reduced price, it’s a possibility.
Leigh Bodden was just average for the Pats, I think. I don’t have numbers in front of me, but I think the Pats picked him up out of the dumps from somewhere and he had a decent season with them (though I thought he got benched partway through the season for some reason)
I just don’t think we’ll make a splash in the DB pool in the offseason. The only big move I could see us making would be for Peppers.
A new venue may be all Peppers needs to be motivated. That and Coach Smith won’t let him take any plays off else he’ll breathe fire into Peppers’ helmet.
"Ryan, under center. Single receiver set, time on his side. Ryan, gonna throw. First professional pass.....CAUGHT!! Jenkins! 30! 25! 20! 15! 10! 5! He lives in Atlanta!!!" -Wes Durham
Bodden
The numbers I’ve seen show he was one of the top 10 CB’s last season. And according to PFF, he only played 20% of the snaps in Week 6, didn’t play at all in Week 17, but started all the other games. He was great in Cleveland, awful for one year in Detroit, and great his one year in New England. If the team is targeting one fairly “big name” UFA this offseason, he would probably be my pick.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
Peppers scares me
because of the hefty price tag that is going to come with him. Don’t get me wrong, his upside is incredible but, financially, he could handicap the team. You have to figure his price tag is going to be in the $15 million range. I know the uncapped year wouldn’t matter but if they sign him to a 3+ year deal, and a new CBA gets done, we could be cap strapped in year 2 and 3 of the deal. Unless, of course, his contract was heavily front end loaded.
Check my band out on iTunes. The band name is Legend Has It and the album is titled "Driven." Let me know what you think.
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