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Hey folks, we made it through the 2019 NFL Draft. This was a pivotal class and it took some twists and turns, and now that we’ve had the weekend to digest it, here are some hot links and thoughts for your Monday morning.
The Falcons landed seven new players
Seven out of nine possible selections, with the Falcons jumping all around the board in pursuit of the players they wanted. They wound up with:
- OG Chris Lindstrom
- OT Kaleb McGary
- CB Kendall Sheffield
- DE John Cominsky
- RB Qandree Ollison
- CB Jordan Miller
- RB/WR/KR/PR Marcus Green
The team’s oft-stated commitment to improving the offensive line translated into two first round linemen, and that plus their free agent investments should (and better) translate to drastic improvement. Cominsky is expected to be a useful, versatile piece on the defensive line, Sheffield has sky-high potential as an athlete with length at cornerback, Miller might take a year but offers a similarly exciting profile and might be more polished in coverage right now, and Ollison is an absolute battering ram with some speed to join a rebuilt running back groups. Green, who might be my favorite pick of the draft, is a hyper-versatile offensive piece with blazing speed who should be considered an early favorite to be the team’s returner.
Did this class land all the players I wanted? No, but that never happens. Did it attack all the positional groupings I thought were most important? Not even close. Did it land the Falcons seven genuinely talented players in a year where the Falcons themselves are acutely aware of how costly failure will be? Yes, and after their recent classes, I’m willing to let this one play out.
Undrafted free agents galore
While the team hasn’t made anything official to this point, they’ve been linked to a host of interesting undrafted players since the draft ended on Saturday. Here’s the list we know of:
UDFA Contracts
- Boise St. DL Durrant Miles
- Virginia WR Olamide Zaccheaus
- San Diego St. S Parker Baldwin
- UCF CB Rashard Causey
- Temple OL Jaelin Robinson
- Illinois LB Del’Shawn Phillips
- Ferris St. OL Devon Johnson
- Southern Arkansas DL DaVondrick Lison
- Texas Tech DL Preston Gordon
- Wake Forest DL Willie Yarbary
- UAB TE Logan Scott
- Cincinnati WR Kahlil Lewis
- Alabama A&M Yurik Bethune
- Georgia WR Jayson Stanley
- Northwest Missouri St. WR Shawn Bane Jr.
- Oregon RB Tony Brooks-James
- UAB LB Tre Crawford III
- Penn State LS Kyle Vasey
- Tulsa C Chandler Miller
Camp Tryouts
- Clarion DL Alec Heldreth
- Georgia TE Jackson Harris
- Georgia St. S Sean Freeman
- Florida G Tyler Jordan
- Savannah St. CB Brandon Bailey
- Vanderbilt TE/WR Sam Dobbs
- Northern Iowa QB Eli Dunne
Who’s your favorite on the list? We’re team Parker Baldwin at safety and Olamide Zaccheus at wide receiver, personally, and the Falcons have largely shied away from some of Kevin Knight’s top targets.
The Falcons aren’t done with their current group
The Falcons’ reported interest in linebacker Quincy Williams in the third round indicates they aren’t totally satisfied with their linebacker group, and their defensive end and center groupings could probably use some enhancement as well. Even with a 90 man roster and plenty of interesting UDFAs on their way in, don’t expect the Falcons to stand pat.