FanPost

Let's bust some myths about this draft class

Following the completion of the draft, there are a lot of Falcons fans griping with one or all of our picks for one reason or another.

It's not to say all of this griping is completely unfounded given that, odds are, most of these guys will fail. That is after all the nature of the draft, and of football in general. Success usually doesn't last, and nothing should or can be taken for granted.

That said, I thought I could provide a couple of links would help illustrate that some of the concerns being stated are probably a bit overblown. Hopefully, this should rectify some of the snap judgments being made so that we can all go back to the default uncomfortable state of simply not knowing.

Which, just to be clear, is where we all really are anyway. We just don't know.

The front offices don't know. The scouts don't know. The pundits certainly don't know. And he fans know even less than all of these people whose professional jobs is it to know. This is why many writers don't even do post-draft grades since they're, uh, for lack of a better term, dumb.

So, here's a couple of things to consider to help everyone stop from jumping to conclusions and just let the players play before settling on predictions as truth.

Myths about Lindstrom:

We could've traded down for Lindstrom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhFmPap0WwM

Brett Kollmann isn't honestly my favorite guy, I think he starts with a premise first and then runs with it rather than inquisitively looking at something and then finding his conclusions there after, but he's still a popular figure in the YouTube film breakdown community.

He gives a really great breakdown as to why he mocks Lindstrom to the Vikings at 18, and shows why ATL might not have been the only team thinking about grabbing him.

Having three starting guards doesn't make any sense

http://www.profootballlogic.com/articles/nfl-injury-rate-analysis/

This delves into how often players get injured. In 2015, the average OL was healthy for 14.5 games. This means, on average, you lose 1.5 games x 5 OL, so about 7.5 games on the OL a year, typically.

Personally, I'm fine with paying low-end starter money to someone to fill in for probably 8 games a year (possibly more), whether it's Carpenter, Brown, or Sambrailo.

Myths about McGary:

We didn't need to trade up for him

Big run on OT's to start the second round, I think we got ahead of that. Much more importantly, imagine that McGary actually turns out to be a good starter. Imagine that we had a decent starting RT on that 5th year option.

What do you think, could we trade him and a 6th then for a 3rd rounder? I think it'd be a no-brainer for most teams. This assumes a lot, but my point is there's a lot of value in trading up into the first round when you tack on the option.

His arms are too short

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/does-arm-length-affect-ot-play

Here's an admittedly limited analysis that actually shows negative correlations between arm length and OT play.

Could be skewed by short-armed OT's not being as prevalent in the NFL, meaning they have to be good to stick in the first place, but still, strange correlations.

Myths about Sheffield:

All speed, no skill

I think it's fun that people say that Sheffield can't learn to play CB better, but also that we should've taken Isaiah Johnson who is learning CB on the fly after converting from WR. Definitely a head-scratcher there.

EDIT: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000330632/article/antonio-cromarties-ballhawking-tips

Here are some tips from Antonio Cromartie that I found recently

"Q: What did you do to acquire your ball skills in coverage, and what can others do to improve their skills?

A: I play a lot of basketball and racquetball, as they’re both great for your feet and hand eye coordination. Other drills can help as well, such as simply catching a football in distant positions from different heights and velocities. We used a racquetball and threw it off the wall as hard as we could, then tracked it down with our eyes and feet. Nike has new balls that bounce all sorts of different directions and really help you learn to track the ball and move your feet to react quickly."

Sheffield graded pretty decently even without developing these skills. If he can work on them and get to have even average ball skills, passable footwork, and understand the simpler read that are in DQ's system, we could have another nice piece in our secondary.

Won't be able to play outside or press effectively

What I think is clear is that DQ and Co. have three distinct secondary positions in mind. FS/Slot (Kazee, Rico, Poole, and now Sheffield) outside CB (Collins, Oliver, Trufant and Alford grandfathered in, now Miller) and SS/WLB (Neal, Ishmael, Richards, Neasman).

I don't think we really have to worry about Sheffield handling outside duties anytime in the near future. He will be trailing and fighting other small fast guys who are easier to bring down, or playing with the whole field in front of him, as the others in the mold before him have.

Myths about Cominsky:

Where's the DT!?!? Y u no sack QB??

Most people seem to like Cominsky. I'll repeat as others have that TD has already said they see him adding 10+ more pounds and then moving him inside.

Cominsky also had to fight through a million double-teams and triple-teams. Can't find the quote and I know it's a different sport, but I believe it was Curry or Lilliard saying that you only really know what you got in a player when they're put in that situation.

It doesn't get easier in the pros, so those that succeed even when they're being game-planned against are the ones with true star-potential since they've already learned how to handle it.

Cominsky was named MEC Defensive Player of the Year. Jadaveon Clowney also had only 3 sacks his final year in college. J.J. Watt had 4 his junior year, then 7 his senior year. Different levels of competition, but the point is that sacks don't tell the whole story.

Myths about Qadree Ollison:

We don't need Brian Hill 2.0 when we have Brian Hill already on the roster

Hill flat-out stinks. RBs are essentially lottery tickets, you never really know what you're going to get until they get on the field. Just look at the UDFAs starting in the league (Lindsay, Gus Edwards, Zach Zenner, Peyton Barber) among several other late rounders.

It's just worth always grabbing another guy late. Ollison might not fit the mold of your typical breakout guy, but at 225 and with the ability to lead block as a FB, I absolutely cannot wait to see our Jumbo sets when we have Lindstrom, Brown, and Carpenter all out there.

Myths about Jordan Miller:

My 6-year old could bench press more than him

https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-nfl-comine-is-dumb-tyrann-mathieu-2013-2

Tyrann Mathieu put up 4 on the bench press. Here's my favorite quote:

Michael David Smith at PFT said:

"It's easy to scoff at the bench press as irrelevant to what a defensive back does on a football field, but an extremely low bench press is indicative of a player who isn't working hard enough in the weight room."

The twisted logic here: Even though the bench press is irrelevant, it reflects poorly on Mathieu that he didn't work harder at the bench press, which is irrelevant.

There is a slight correlation with bench press for press technique as noted by McShay:

http://espn1005.com/mcshay-what-40-yard-dash-bench-press-more-really-mean-at-nfl-combine/

But that's all it is. A small correlation.

Myths about Marcus Green:

I dunno, who cares, it's a 6th round pick

Seriously. I think he battles Oz for his spot. We probably just drafted him because we want a gadget player like that and knew Oz would sign with us after the draft. Figured we'd get the guy who might not sign with us after the draft to compete with him.

Regardless, you don't hear often about the 6th/7th round OL, DL, LB gem (Oluokun notwithstanding). You do hear a lot about the late round RB, WR, CB, S gems that emerge. Always worth taking a flier on these kinds of guys late.

It's why the Eagles claim to always grab a OL or DL with two out of their top three picks. Only place to get those guys.

Anyway, I'll say it again. Most of these guys will fail in all likelihood.

It's just important to understand there's always a method to the madness when you have an experienced FO like we do. Right or wrong, it's important to give these players a real chance before drawing conclusions.

Everything I've said here isn't necessarily correct, but it's just as correct as all of the shade being thrown at all of these players. It's just to say that there is no consensus on these guys and, even if there was, it doesn't mean much because there's always another possible truth out there when we have such limited information.

Especially when we haven't even seen these guys play a professional down yet.

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>