The Falcoholic Delivers The 2011 Falcons NFL Draft Grades

You didn’t ignore the Julio trade, but you didn’t kill us for the trade either.

I admit I feel a lot better about the trade after seeing who we drafted. The Falcons got extremely lucky with some of these guys falling. Had the back end of our draft been filled with reaches and unknowns, I would have been bummed.

We’ll lose our top pick in 2012, but we still have our 2nd and 3rd available. Since some feel that TD would have landed gems with our 2nd and 4th this season, why can’t he do that next year?

I would give Dent a C-. Most people believe he would have been available later in the draft (fifth round, I don’t know) but for a guy with so many question marks, third round seemed high. I hope he proves me wrong and can play all three positions. But with all of these question marks and a definite need, he deserves a lower grade.
I would give an A- to Rodgers. I admit to not being the biggest fan of the pick, but I can accept that I am in the minority as he does fill a huge need. My biggest problem is giving up a pick to move up and get him in the fifth. Were we really that terrified that he would be gone before we picked when he had fallen to the fifth already? Was he and that seventh round pick worth more than some of the other guys like Devine or Locke? Was the opportunity cost worth losing a pick that could be used on a guy like Devlin, Herzlich, or Lefeged? I’m not sure they were, so I have to knock the pick a bit.
Bosher I give a B-. Yes he is a punter/kicker. But obviously we are going to need one of them this year, and with the shroud surrounding FA, it was a smart move. Could we have picked him up in the seventh? Probably. Does it address a need? Yes. He is one of the top players in the country at his position, and we have the rights to him. Hard to complain about that. And plus, it’s not like we used a first or second round pick on him.

Everyday I’m thinking about how Julio differs from AJ Green for our team and the differences I come up with do nod towards JJ being a more useful pick. The big edge is his physical approach to the game (blocking included here) and intelligence, I firmly believe he’s smarter then AJ (AJ always seemed very nice but kind of dumb to me and yes I’ve met him several times). I gave our draft a B on NFL.com’s fan survey and still stand by that grade.

The other picks all make fantastic sense when you factor in the organizations drafting protocols (a solid mix of character, intelligence, leadership, and skill set) Again we didn’t sacrifice principles to get that rare athlete that fell b/c of character concerns.

I was thinking Derrick Locke/Quizz Rodgers. There was no doubt they needed speed out of the backfield. Julio Jones trade I have to admit, I was rather blown away disgusted at first. The more I swallow the deal and understand what the team is thriving for, it makes more sense and that’s simple….win now! Every player drafted this year will make the final roster.

As much as not having big-play capability killed us against the Packers, I can’t stress enough that we had a 5th-ranked offense and a 16th-ranked defense. Not enough was done in this draft to address needs on D, needs that we’ve had for several seasons now.

John Abraham isn’t getting any younger, and I don’t think Cliff Matthews will make a massive difference on the pass rush. Akeem Dent helps the run defense, but I still have huge questions for the secondary, which was torched regularly by Rodgers. Part of the Pack’s success was the defense’s decision not to leave a spy on Rodgers, allowing him to break a few key runs, but he systematically picked apart the secondary and that will happen again if we don’t address it.

Julio Jones should vastly improve the quick-strike capability of the offense, but I don’t want another season of nail-biting 3-point victories because the defense can’t get a stop. I don’t think we’re any closer to fixing that now than we were before the draft.

I’ve come around to believe that the Julio Jones move was a necessary when, even with the price involved. Last year the Falcons were one of the least explosive teams in the NFL. One of the ways we were beaten, by the Saints and Packers especially, was when teams began to focus their secondary on Roddy White. With an explosive receiver in JJ they can no longer do that. 4.39 speed is a hell of an incentive to keep secondaries honest.
Let us be clear, Dent would not have been available in the fifth round, and most likely would have been gone by the end of the third round. His signing will definitely herald the end of the Mike Peterson era. Dent is versatile, able to play inside and outside, and will prove to be a valuable rotational linebacker and a possible future starter in a year or two. If he pans out he could provide the Falcons with a dangerous linebacker trifecta with Lofton and Weatherspoon.
Rodgers was a brilliant pick, and will prove to be our most valuable of the draft. We needed a complimentary pack to pair with Michael Turner and Rodgers should prove adept in that role. He is very similar to Darren Sproles and, lest we forget, the Chargers were quite lethal when they were able to offer the double punch of LT and Sproles.
Bosher could be important being that we are most likely to have an opening at either the P or K positions. Jackson and Matthews offer valuable depth.
We just have to wait to see what we achieve in FA. I’ve heard rumors that we are going to target DE Ray Edwards which would immediately solve our pass rushing issues and offer great aid to our often beleaguered secondary.
On potential this draft deserves a B+.

Here’s what I think is going to happen with Akeem Dent. I think the Falcons will use him as the starting middle lineback this year. This will allow them the flexability to move Curtis Lofton to weakside linebacker and improve that area of the team. Lofton makes sense if we don’t try to go after Peterson or Nicholas. I’m sure this isn’t the primary plan for the Falcons but Lofton has worked hard on improving his coverage skills and he is intelligent enough to make the switch. Plus, Lofton can still make all the defensive calls but Dent has experience in the same system.
I have no reason for believing any of this, no evidence, no nothing but it does make sense.

A-, IMO

A- is perfect, and only because of the cost. I didn’t really like Akeem Dent’s pick at first. I would have rather had a DE, but there was no one with good value at that spot. Dent is the best we could have got.

Dent is a MONSTER on special teams, so hopefully this year, we won’t see Moore, Spurlock, or Hightower run back kicks against us.