A Falcons Draft Review

PFF has been examining recent draft classes from each NFL team, and now they've made their way to the Falcons. Today we'll take a look at the grades they handed out, and I'll let you guys be the judge of how accurate they are.

The draft picks from 2008-2010 were the only ones looked at. Atlanta has definitely hit on several players in prior years, but of course we've had to endure a fair share of guys who haven't worked out as well.

As far as rankings go, PFF's scale ranges from +2.0 to -2.0. A +2.0 basically means you win, you literally could not have made a better pick. A -2.0 is a grade is the ultimate embarrassment, as the likes of Ryan Leaf are mentioned along these lines.

Now that you know the details, take a jump and have a look.

No players from the Falcons 2008-2010 drafts received a +2.0. PFF says this grade means, "You've just found Tom Brady in the 6th Round." We've had some solid selections, but I suppose I'll agree with them here.

+1.5: Matt Ryan is the only one who received this grade. For a No. 3 overall pick you better get the most out of that player. Ryan has helped bring about a new era in Atlanta, so I'd say he most certainly deserves this grade.

+1.0: Spoon, The Police and Kroy Biermann all fell in here. Spoon and Lofton are obviously two of the best, but Biermann was a bit of a surprise. They have him listed with 126 combined sacks, hits and hurries total for his career, which is a solid contribution from pick No. 154 overall.

+0.5: Thomas DeCoud, William Moore, Vance Walker, Corey Peters and Dominique Franks all received this grade. I think Moore doesn't get enough credit. Yes, he's been hurt a little, but when he's on the field he can really play. Peters I think could be bumped up a grade as well. I've never been big on DeCoud, but he does his job better than I give him credit for. These guys all fall somewhere around this ranking. No one is a Pro Bowl caliber player yet, but they provide strong performances the majority of the time. Walker deserves a higher grade solely because of his tweeting ability. Seriously, if you guys don't follow him on Twitter, you should. Dude's hilarious.

0.0: This grade pretty much screams "meh". Nothing special, nothing awful either. HD, Robert James, Keith Zinger, Lawrence Sidbury, William Middleton, Spencer Adkins, Joe Hawley, Kerry Meier and Shann Schillinger all fell into this category.

A lot of these guys have dealt with major injury issues. HD can play when he's healthy/involved in the gameplan. The Saints found that out last season. Hawley wasn't anything spectacular when they threw him out there, but he's shown signs of being able to make an impact on the line. There's a lot of potential here, but that's basically all it is at this point.

-0.5: Here's where it gets rough. Guys ranked here included Chevis Jackson (great start), Wilrey Fontenot, Peria Jerry, Chris Owens, Garrett Reynolds and Mike Johnson.

Injuries have been at play here as well. Jerry had a rough start to his pro career, going down early in 2009 with a major knee injury. But, the fact that he was drafted so high and still hasn't managed to get things going sends him packing with a poor grade. Johnson has dealt with injuries as well. Owens made some huge plays in 2011, and he's at least showing some promise.

-1.0: Sam Baker sits alone at this spot. The majority of you have informed us of your hatred for this guy, so I expect most to be on board here. He's been injured as well, I'll at least make that case for him. No one would really be too upset if he was cut from the team, which basically sums it up.

No players received a grade of -1.5 or -2.0, so the Falcons have that going for them. Obviously the franchise has swung and missed on a few occasions, but Comrade Dimitroff has brought in quality talent since he's been in Atlanta.

How do you feel about these rankings?