NFL Draft: Who the Falcons have landed in the middle of the first round over 50 years

The Falcons haven't found themselves in the middle of the first round all that often over the years, but with the #17 pick looming in this April's draft, I thought it might be entertaining to look back at the times they did and see who they wound up with.

These are all the Falcons' picks from 12-20, which I would define as the middle of the draft. If your mileage varies and you want to dig through the archives for, say, picks 10-11 and 21-23, please be my guest.

2010: Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri
2002: Running back T.J. Duckett, Michigan State
1998: Linebacker Keith Brooking, Georgia Tech
1992: Running back Tony Smith, Southern Mississippi
1991: Wide receiver Mike Pritchard, Colorado
1990: Running back Steve Broussard, Washington State
1987: Quarterback Chris Miller, Oregon
1986: Linebacker Tim Green, Syracuse
1983: Defensive tackle Mike Pitts, Alabama
1979: Nose tackle Don Smith, Miami
1978: Tackle Mike Kenn, Michigan
1977: Defensive tackle Wilson Faumuina, San Jose State
1972: Defensive back Clarence Ellis, Notre Dame
1970: Defensive tackle John Small, The Citadel
1966: Quarterback Randy Johnson, Texas A&M-Kingsville

Historically, the Falcons have picked between 12 and 20 just 15 times, because they're either a playoff team (rarely) or have earned themselves a top ten selection (sadly often). What does stand out is that the Falcons have landed some very good players in this range over the years, from multi-year starters like 'Spoon, Brooking and Pritchard to the legendary Mike Kenn. There are plenty of busts on this list, of course, but a surprising number of very good players, considering this team's sordid draft history.

We'll see who the Falcons add to this list at #17 in April, but I'm personally hoping it will be a player who rivals Kenn. A man can dream, can't he?