At last, the 2009 NFL Draft class is complete.
With the signing of first round draft pick Peria Jerry, the Falcons' front office scores another coup, becoming one of the first few teams to lock up their entire class. That was made somewhat easier by the fact that there's not a single offensive position player in that group, but it's still quite the accomplishment.
This leaves the team in excellent position coming into training camp. With all their picks signed, rookies can get to work immediately at trying to unseat veterans, and chances are very good that we'll see at least two or three of the new guys on the field Week 1. Jerry's virtually a lock given his pass-rushing ability, William "C4" Moore seems like a likely choice given his physical skill set and Chris Owens or William Middleton could surprise in the secondary. Even if it's just one or two, that'd be a great showing for guys who will have only had about a month of intensive training in a uniform.
I'd like to take this opportunity to reiterate how much I like this draft class, too. The team didn't go flash and ended up filling almost every major defensive need, and are now free to target offense against in the off-season. There's a lot of talent here on the side of the ball that needed it the most, so I can't wait to see what this ends up doing for us.
And a big congratulations to Jerry, who has a chance to bring back the halycon days of Rod Coleman for this defensive line. We need a pass rush and he's by far the most likely rookie to bolster that in year one, so I welcome him with open arms.
Weigh in!