FanPost

Combine & Pro Day Standouts the Falcons Have Shown Interest In

A couple of days back mseward1 posted an article on the standout performers from the NFL Combine and Pro Days. I saw several names among those mentioned that I think would be great fits for the Atlanta Falcons but more importantly I noticed several names that appear on my list of players that have met with Falcons coaches and staff. I thought it might be interesting to point out the overlap between our two lists. I'll order them by position and the draft projections as they appear in mseward1's post.

First Round:

OT - Greg Robinson - Auburn
OT - Taylor Lewan - Michigan
DE - Jadeveon Clowney - South Carolina
OLB - Khalil Mack - Buffalo
OLB - Anthony Barr - UCLA

Borderline First/Second Round:

DE - Dee Ford - Auburn
DE - Scott Crichton - Oregon State
OLB - Carl Bradford - Arizona State
CB - Jason Verrett - TCU
DT - RaShede Hageman - Minnesota
TE - Jace Amaro - Texas Tech

Borderline Second/Third Round:

DE - Marcus Smith - Louisville
DE - Jackson Jeffcoat - Texas

Borderline Third/Fourth Round:

OLB - Jordan Tripp - Montana
TE - CJ Fiedorowicz - Iowa

Borderline Fourth/Fifth:

OLB - Prince Shembo - Notre Dame
RB - Jerick McKinnon - Georgia Southern

Borderline Fifth/Sixth:

OLB - Kevin Pierre-Louis - Boston College
ILB - Preston Brown - Louisville

Late Round/Undrafted:

OLB - Marquis Flowers - Arizona
WR - Gerald Ford - Valdosta State
WR - Ryan Culbreath - Furman
SS - Greg Worthy - Furman

It's no surprise that the Falcons have taken a good, long look at almost every top performer at pass rusher and offensive tackle as they are their two most glaring needs. It is worth noting that the Falcons have focused heavily on pass rushers through all rounds of the draft whereas they have not spent nearly as much time bringing in offensive tackles. If you take a look at all the players the Falcons have met with their focus on pass rushers from the 2-4 round range is obvious. Is that a sign they are counting on Matthews or Robinson to fall to them at #6?

On a side note many of you may be familiar with my series of posts on late round gems and Ryan Culbreath may be potential UDFA worth taking a second look at. I have not had the opportunity to dig up film on him but he's a big target (6'4) with good speed (4.58 40) and a 36" vertical.

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>