Welcome to Day Two, which will hopefully feature picks designed to give the Falcons the depth they need. Commenter Brick Cheney made an excellent point in the previous thread about my disdain for the Houston and Robinson picks; namely, that the team might move Jimmy Williams to safety. If he shows enough physicality to get it done, then I'm fully behind that move. Even if it does leave us with Webster and Rossum again.
So click Read more a little later on and get my thoughts on the later rounds. I should be here most of today, so show me some love in the comments.
11:54 Atlanta chooses Stephen Nicholas, OLB out of South Florida. Considering our current strength at linebacker in my mind, this again makes about zero sense. Can we please pick someone at a position we're lacking in? That'd be great. Thanks.
11:56 I'm scrambling to catch up a bit here, but Oakland also took Bush. They got an absolute steal on him, in my mind, and hopefully we're still looking for a heavy hitter to pair with Norwood and Dunn. Probably won't be until the 7th round, at this rate.
12:00Two punters in this round, to Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. I'm looking for them to make a real impact as only tiny white men who are on the field for five plays a game truly can.
12:03 Titans pick up C Leroy Harris, who I thought the Falcons might take a flier on with their next pick. Looks like that won't be happening now.
12:06 OG Manuel Ramirez is also off the board. Another guy I thought we might take, but the need has been neutralized by Blalock, who I really think is going to be something great.
12:10 Looks like Green Bay might actually pick someone. That's a shocker. They're wheeling and dealing more than a 10 year old kid with a bunch of crappy baseball cards.
12:11 Looking over some of the available players, I think the Falcons ought to try to pick up DT Ryan McBean. We could use some more depth at tackle, and McBean's a gamer. He's not a lane clogging piece of Grady Jackson, but he'll do well in a more athletic scheme.
12:17 I think Denver should just say the hell with it and draft all defensive ends. They can put an entire defense on the field composed of ends, and with it rule the world!
12:19 So the Raiders are trading Randy Moss to New England. At this point in his career, Moss has Corey Dillon potential in Belicheck-land, but I'm curious to see how people with the attitudes of Meriweather and Moss are going to survive under him. Brady will probably have to spoon feed them the team philosophy or something.
12:21 Denver slightly disappoints me by going with DT Marcus Thomas. There's still time to put an enormous, 11 man defensive line on the field. I won't take no for an answer.
12:27 I might have to name my child Mansfield Wrotto. That's a truly magnificent name.
12:34 Between Wrotto, Dashon Goldson and Jermon Bushrod, this is a great 4th round for names.
12:41 Some more thoughts on Stephen Nicholas: seems like a talented enough kid to spell Demorrio, and he has a good all around game. He might be groomed as a starter after Demorrio's contract comes up, in which case I can get behind this pick. Still nothing I'm exceptionally excited about, but it's pretty clear he's got enough talent so he's not just a throwaway pick.
12:46 And Pittsburgh takes Ryan McBean right in front of us. Up yours, you burghian bastards.
12:49 The Falcons pick up Martrez Milner, TE out of Georgia. Once again I am left to wonder what the hell this team is doing. I would have thought tight end was one of the last things we needed, but hey, what do I know. I just have common sense. The only reason for that would be if...Alge...was really hurt.
Oh my god.
12:59 I know this doesn't really belong here, but I have no other place to say it. I'm a St. Louis Cardinals fan, a big one, and Josh Hancock's death today is like a punch in the stomach. My heart goes out to his family and friends, and I'll miss him. Rest in peace.
1:56 And the Packers grab David Clowney, who I thought might've been an option for us. With no picks in the 5th round, the Falcons are basically sitting on their thumbs and seeing what drops to them. Hopefully something good.
2:25 The Eagles continue to confound me with their crappy drafting. Kolb was an incredible reach in the second round, and now Brent Celek is an incredible reach in the 5th round. The Eagles could've easily spent a 7th or just picked him out of free agency after the draft, most likely. Astounding.
2:40 I recall asking why one of my SBNation batterymates had selected Rufus Alexander so high in our mock draft. Apparently, the NFL agreed with me, because Alexander goes in the sixth round to Denver.
3:05 Falcons pick up DT Trey Lewis out of Washburn with their first pick in the 6th round. They finally moved on a DT, and while he's certainly not the size of Grady Jackson, he should provide some good depth at the position. Is he a starter? Not real likely, at least not this year. But with the uncertainty at the position with Jackson and Babineaux's issues, it's a relief to get somebody ready to go.
3:18 After the unholy trinity of Green Bay picks, the Falcons are back up and have three more chances to add depth. If I'm the Falcons, I'm looking to get a safety, an offensive tackle, and a running back. Because I'm not the Falcons, look for them to get none of those. But a kicker (Mason Crosby, perhaps?) would be nice there, too.
3:28 The Falcons select CB David Irons from Auburn, a player I think could be a very nice nickel back for them. I'm extremely puzzled by the Falcons' selections of two corners, but I see it as a sign that Webster and/or Rossum won't be coming back next year, and that perhaps J-Williams is moving to safety after all. If that's the case, Irons is a very good value pick here.
3:41 I love this pick. Doug Datish, C out of Ohio State is heading to Atlanta. An absolute steal for a guy who's versatility could either make him a backup along several positions or our starting center within two years. I can't stress enough what a great value this was for us, even though you could argue tackle was the more urgent need. Excellent.
3:54 And the Falcons finish up a surprisingly successful 6th round by grabbing S Daren Stone from Maine. Not terribly often you see guys from my home state's university go in the 6th round, but I can tell you from seeing him play that Stone's extremely solid. We'll have to see how that translates into the NFL, but he's above average against the pass and could see some time in dime packages as early as this year.
5:40 The final pick of the 2007 draft for the Falcons: Jason Snelling, FB out of Virginia. Considering Ovie Mughelli's massive deal, the need for a running back, and the fact that Snelling really doesn't project to be a tailback once he reaches the NFL. Maybe we'll use him a power back regardless, but I could think of picks I would've rather have seen there. And that's that! Enjoyed the whole process, and let me know what you think of the draft in the comments.