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Your Falcons will have the opportunity to improve their team with a pick that puts them right in the middle of the first round.
Top 20 picks in the NFL Draft are set: https://t.co/62BQaEbUis
— Dan Kadar (@MockingTheDraft) January 4, 2016
Last 6 17th overall selections: 2015-Arik Armstead 2014-CJ Mosley 2013-Jarvis Jones 2012-Dre Kirkpatrick 2011-Nate Solder 2010-Mike Iupati
— Aaron Freeman (@falcfans) January 4, 2016
It's not the ideal place to be selecting in the first, especially when the best you could manage was an 8-8 season, but it gives the Falcons a shot at a legitimately good player, as Aaron Freeman's Tweet above illustrates. Many, including our own Charles McDonald, have linked the Falcons to a first round linebacker, and they should have a legitimate shot at a player like UCLA's Myles Jack or Alabama's Reggie Ragland with the 17th pick.
As you'll no doubt recall, Atlanta does not have their fifth and sixth round selections in this upcoming draft, making it even more critical than usual that they nail their remaining picks. Dan Quinn and company are obviously aware that the Falcons lack talent at key spots like the interior of the offensive line, edge rusher, linebacker, and safety, and they'll have a combination of about $30 million in cap space and their five draft selections to patch those holes. After another largely disappointing season, I hope they're aggressive, and I hope that 17th pick turns into a special player.