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Trying to suss out exactly what the Falcons plan to do in this draft is virtually impossible. We know they'll sink quite a few picks into the defense and that there are positions of need they'll almost have to invest in, but beyond that we have relatively few clues about where the team will be going in the first round, much less the seventh.
Still, we can look at historical trends and try to understand where the Falcons have invested their picks in the past. One recent Tweet helps us understand the Falcons' history at various schools, which is valuable enough insight even if it's not particularly predictive.
Here's the first:
The Falcons have selected more players from Oklahoma & USC (11 each) than any other school. Ohio State & Wisconsin are tied for second w/ 10
— Matt Haley (@FalconsMHaley) April 16, 2013
The Falcons have invested more picks in the SEC since Thomas Dimitroff took over, as many have noted, but the trend still holds. The team has drafted two Sooners (Curtis Lofton and Dominique Franks), one Trojan (Sam Baker) and two Badgers (Bradie Ewing and Peter Konz) in the last five seasons, with only Ohio State winding up blanked over that span. While the SEC has been popular, no particular school has stood out in recent years, likely because the Falcons love to do their digging across the nation.
There are clear advantages to having a pipeline from a football factory school to your NFL team, but the disadvantage is that you may not be exploring the full breadth of talent available at schools big and small, south and north. The Falcons haven't fallen prey to that particular trap, but as long as they wind up with quality players, I don't really give a damn where they come from.
Do you think any of the leading four schools will make an appearance on the team's drafted list in 2013?