The Falcons have been working out a ton of top defensive players in the 2010 NFL Draft, and Saturday was no exception.
The team was scheduled to bring in Everson Griffen and Brian Price, two talented players who are locks to go between the middle of the first round and early second round. We all know the Falcons are at least considering defensive ends in the draft, so it's no surprise they'd bring in Griffen. Price, however, is a little bit different.
Here's why. Price is a defensive tackle by trade, and at 6-2, 300 pounds, he's certainly built to play the position. Whether this is just the Falcons taking a closer look at an intriguing player—as DOL notes, he's clearly got talent but conditioning has been raised as an issue—or if they have real interest in another defensive tackle. If there's a legitimate interest there, it raises some serious questions about either Jon Babineaux's future with the team, Peria Jerry's recovery time/talent or the depth of the position as a whole. Those aren't terribly palatable questions, but for now I'll just assume the team sees some talent in Price that would justify a first-round price tag.
Given that we don't have a second round pick, I don't really see it.
Griffen, on the other hand, is a more sensible option. Acknowledging the possibility that the "top" defensive ends—including guys like Carlos Dunlap that I don't imagine the Falcons will be that interested in in the first place—maybe be off the board, the Falcons are staying in the consensus top five by looking at Griffen. He does reasonably well against both the run and the pass, but I honestly would prefer Brandon Graham if those two were the options on the table by the time the Falcons picked at 19. I doubt those will be the only two.
And a quick third note, for those who only typically read half of any article on the AJC, is that the Falcons apparently worked out Arizona linebacker Vuna Tuihalamaka, who has an awesome name. He's a middle linebacker by trade, but as a potential late round pick he could provide great value as he appears to be a very complete player, and the Falcons love them same late round defensive players. He's one to keep an eye on.
And oh, happy Monday. How's everyone doing?