Falcons Select Offensive Tackle Lamar Holmes in the 3rd Round

3rd round trickery! The Falcons traded down in the third round, netting a 5th round pick from Baltimore. With the 91st selection, they drafted another OL.

Holmes is a beast. He's 6'6 and after a week-long fast, he'd probably come in around 325 pounds. He played prep basketball, so the athleticism and footwork are there. He has a ridiculous 83 inch wingspan.

Here are his positives:

• He looks like an offensive tackle - all the size-related qualifications are there
• He's strong; apparently he kills it in the weight room
  
• He cut blocks like Harvey Dahl on angry pills
  
• He run blocks like whoa
  
• He's still improving; after logging two years at a community college, he transferred to Southern Miss and has continually improved - he even lost 30 lbs!

Here are his negatives:

• He looks stiff from time to time, and his form needs work
• He relies on cut blocks - stay off the ground young man!
  
• His footwork drops off if he moves around too much
• The Panthers worked him out; they didn't want him, at least not this early
  
• His motor occasionally stops on contact

I'm a little thrown by this pick. I believe in our scouting department, but we avoided the best player available like Dave avoids clinical strength deodorant. We chose him based on need, not based on his value. To be frank, I hope he proves me wrong. I hope he's our LT of the future and causes Sam Baker to lose his job. But I also hope to win a lifetime supply of rainbow sherbert, and we all know how unlikely that is.

Discuss!