NFL Draft Grades: The Falcoholic Staff's Marks For The Falcons' 2014 Class

Even so, there is still a lot to like about this draft. Jake Matthews will be an immediate starter at either of the tackle spots and will help give Matt Ryan the protection he deserves.  Ra'Shede Hageman has some questions but possesses huge upside, as does Prince Shembo. And, of course, the linebacking corps received a much-needed dose of depth with the selections of Marquise Spruill, Tyler Starr and Yawin Smallwood. Smallwood in the seventh round, especially, seems a huge steal to me.

This class might not look perfect. But with the exception of the Southward and Devonta Freeman picks, I'm still an honest fan of the overall body of work. Atlanta picked up players at just about every position of need, and the future of the front seven looks brighter.

Grade: B

To get the most accurate "grade", I think we need to examine the team's needs and how they were addressed.

The biggest complaints about our team were, in no particular order, OL, DL, and DeCoud. As I said on the podcast, Jake Matthews is a pick that will look better when football starts. Instant starter, purebred horse. Can't go wrong here.

I don't get the complaints with Hageman. That is a Smitty pick. Remember when he was the DC in Jacksonville and he had Henderson and Stroud? 11 of the Falcons' 37 sacks came from the DT position. 10 of them were split evenly between Peria Jerry and Corey Peters. Think about that for a moment. Pass rush from the DTs is important in our defense. We signed a guy who WILL improve that. That leaves DeCoud.

Quick, name the biggest complaint you have about DeCoud. Bad angles, fail tackling. Well, it just so happens that the guy we picked in round 3 is the literal opposite of bad angles and fail tackling. I don't care who you liked more, if the guy TD got is the opposite of DeCoud, that's an A+ from me.

Devonta Freeman? Brilliant pick, given how many RBs went on Day 2. He's gonna be awesome. Past him, it's all about depth. I'm not going to argue who's better than who, but we addressed multiple positions where we need depth. We nabbed several versatile LBs, an Asante-like CB, and many more players as UDFAs.

It can't be anything other than an A for me. We needed to nail this draft, and in my opinion, we did.

Grade: A

Dave Choate

What do you want from your draft class? The easy answers are "talent" and "filling needs," but what kind of talent are we talking about? Are we speaking of future or current needs? What leaves fans satisfied or dissatisfied after those exhausting three days wind up, besides knowing and already being predisposed toward the players selected?

The answers are always complex, but these are my guidelines. A good draft should inject youth and upside into positions of weakness, not be so wedded to those needs that it ignores best players available and

By those standards, this is a good draft, albeit not one that's particularly likely to go down as an all-timer. Jake Matthews is the potential standout here, Ra'Shede Hageman has a chance to make the class by himself if he reaches his full potential and Dezmen Southward has a box full of wrenches and hammers, even if he's not 100% sure why he's using them to fillet a catfish. The story is the same throughout the draft—the team filled positions of need for this year and in the years to come, and they did so with players who have upside but may not realize that upside.

On balance, then, I have to say I like the incoming class. Because of the uncertainty surrounding several of the players within it and the lack of an edge rusher or meaningful offensive weapon outside of Devonta Freeman, you wind up with a B-.

Grade: B-

Jeanna Thomas

I think the team managed to address needs pretty efficiently. I was firmly in the "trade up for an edge rusher" camp, but Jake Matthews provides an instant upgrade to an offensive line unit that was shaky at best last season, and that is fundamentally important. I have a lot of confidence in the decision to draft Ra’Shede Hageman considering Bryan Cox’s up close and personal experience coaching Hageman at the Senior Bowl.

Dezmen Southward’s measurables are great even though it’s very unclear whether he’ll be at all prepared to start at free safety, so while I don’t dislike the pick, I certainly understand why some people do. Devonte Freeman will be a solid addition to the offensive backfield and the locker room. While I recognize Prince Shembo’s appeal as a potential situational pass rusher, and I fully support some deviation from the character standards the team has adhered to in the Dimitroff era, I’m not a big fan of this pick purely due to the off-the-field concerns.

The Ricardo Allen pick was a little confusing mainly because of his size, but he’s a decent player and a decent value. Marquis Spruill has the potential develop into a contributor. I loved the Yawin Smallwood pick—what a value to grab him in the late seventh round—and I also like Tyler Starr. He’s a project, but he’s got a solid work ethic and incredible athleticism.