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We're just a few weeks away from the draft. All of the tape has been watched, pre draft visits are taking place, and teams are settling in for the big day on April 27th. Based on the players the Falcons have drafted in the Dan Quinn era, we can start to whittle down who they might be targeting in the 2017 NFL Draft.
Almost every Atlanta draftee has hit the 70th percentile for their position in either the broad jump or the three cone drill. The only two that didn't were Tevin Coleman and De'Vondre Campbell, but they both ran blazing forty yard dashes for their size.
Using those parameters as the baseline, let's take a look at some of the players Atlanta might be targeting. There are going to be players that the Falcons won't be in a position to draft listed, but it's still fun to see the entire scope. The athletic thresholds will be controlled by the Falcons' draft history, but the rankings will be in the order that I've graded them using the film. Each positional group will my top five players, except for defensive linemen where I'll list ten.
(Note: I haven't watched every player in this year's draft class so there will be some names missing.)
Defensive Linemen
Left column is true defensive ends, right column is defensive tackles and hybrid players run through Mockdraftable's defensive tackle numbers.
| Name | School | Name | School |
| Myles Garrett | Texas A&M | Malik McDowell | Michigan State |
| Derek Rivers | Youngstown State | Jon Allen | Alabama |
| Solomon Thomas | Stanford | Chris Wormley | Michigan |
| Jordan Willis | Kansas State | Charles Walker | Oklahoma |
| Tim Williams | Alabama | Dalvin Tomlinson | Alabama |
| Derek Barnett | Tennessee | Eddie Vanderdoes | UCLA |
| Tanoh Kpassagnon | Villanova | Larry Ogunjobi | Charlotte |
| Tarell Basham | Ohio | Tanzel Smart | Tulane |
| T.J. Watt | Wisconsin | Montravius Adams | Auburn |
| Takk McKinley | UCLA | D.J. Jones | Ole Miss |
The Falcons have already had private workouts with Derek Rivers and Tanoh Kpassagnon this offseason.
Based on the tests here are a few more defensive linemen to keep an eye on:
Ifeadi Odenigbo, Northwestern
Trey Hendrickson, FAU
Vincent Taylor, Oklahoma State
Offensive Linemen
* = Could play guard or tackle.
| Name | School | Name | School |
| Cam Robinson* | Alabama | Forrest Lamp | Western Kentucky |
| Taylor Moton* | Western Michigan | Dan Feeney | Indiana |
| Garrett Bolles* | Utah | Chase Roullier | Wyoming |
| Will Holden | Vanderbilt | Nico Siragusa | San Diego State |
| Antonio Garcia | Troy | Dion Dawkins* | Temple |
Other names:
Ben Braden, Michigan
Conor McDermott, UCLA
Jessamen Dunker, Tennessee State
Off Ball Linebackers
| Name | School |
| Reuben Foster | Alabama |
| Raekwon McMillan | Ohio State |
| Haason Reddick | Temple |
| Zach Cunningham | Vanderbilt |
| Jarrad Davis | Florida |
Tight Ends
| Name | School |
| David Njoku | Miami |
| O.J. Howard | Alabama |
| Evan Engram | Ole Miss |
| Bucky Hodges | Virginia Tech |
| George Kittle | Iowa |
Cornerbacks
| Name | School |
| Marshon Lattimore | Ohio State |
| Gareon Conley | Ohio State |
| Marlon Humphrey | Alabama |
| Fabian Moreau (Injured) | UCLA |
| Kevin King | Washington |
Safeties
| Name | School |
| Malik Hooker | Ohio State |
| Budda Baker | Washington |
| Obi Meliwonfu | UConn |
| Marcus Williams | Utah |
| Xavier Woods | Louisiana Tech |
Running Backs
| Name | School |
| Leonard Fournette | LSU |
| Christian McCaffrey | Stanford |
| Alvin Kamara | Tennessee |
| Marlon Mack | USF |
| Jamaal Williams | BYU |
Wide Receivers
| Name | School |
| John Ross | Washington |
| Taywan Taylor | Western Kentucky |
| Zay Jones | ECU |
| Chris Godwin | Penn State |
| Carlos Henderson | Louisiana Tech |
It'll be fun to see how many of the listed players the Falcons draft. If they follow the same trends that they have in the past two drafts, expect their early round selections to be on this list.