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It’s polling season here at The Falcoholic, and we’re moving right along to survey the team’s history of fourth-round picks.
It’s gets a little dicier as you continue on with the draft rounds, as there are less and less good players to choose from just by the quality of players you can typically find in the fourth round.
The Falcons haven’t been half bad here at all recently, with the most notable fourth-round selection Pro Bowl running back Devonta Freeman out of Florida State. While he missed most of 2018 with injury, he’s been an electrifying talent throughout his career here and is one of the top-paid running backs in the NFL for good reason.
De’Vondre Campbell is another fourth rounder who found instant success on the field and solidified himself as a pretty great strongside linebacker for the team. Rookie Ito Smith flashed moments of brilliance in his rookie season, and recently re-signed wideout Justin Hardy had performed admirably in a reserve role throughout his career.
The team also found guys like Levine Toilolo and Joe Hawley in the fourth round over time, and don’t forget Stephen Nicholas, who was a prominent member of the Mike Smith years.
We’ve compiled some older names as well (Roberto Garza stings considering his career with the Bears). Ken Reaves is a special one, since he’s one of the franchise’s first legitimately good drafted players. He made a Pro Bowl in his time here.
Poll
Who was the best fourth-round pick in Atlanta Falcons’ history?
This poll is closed
-
11%
De’Vondre Campbell
(98 votes) -
61%
Devonta Freeman
(532 votes) -
4%
Joe Hawley
(42 votes) -
1%
Stephen Nicholas
(12 votes) -
0%
Chauncey Davis
(7 votes) -
3%
Roberto Garza
(33 votes) -
0%
Moe Gardner
(4 votes) -
1%
John Scully
(10 votes) -
8%
Lynn Cain
(74 votes) -
4%
Ken Reaves
(40 votes) -
0%
Justin Hardy
(4 votes) -
0%
Levine Toilolo
(6 votes)
The pick is probably going to be Freeman, but one could argue for the franchise importance of Reaves, or for maybe a long-time starter at guard like Garza.
But it may not need to be a question overthought. Freeman is one of the team’s relative household names and really has etched his place as one of the best running backs in Falcons history (a franchise that can boast a good number of them).
Let us know what you think, how you voted and why that was so. Converse with your fellow Falcoholics about the history of the fourth round, too, and, hey, maybe even throw out an idea of who our two new fourth rounders could be. The floor is yours.