Falcoholinks: All the Falcons news you need for Thursday, May 9

The draft is behind us, and rookie minicamp doesn’t start until Friday, but there’s still Falcons news bouncing around. As is our tradition here at The Falcoholic, let’s recap this week’s news with some links.

NFL Draft analysis and takes

It’s still a hot topic, because what else do we have to talk about in the offseason? Our own Eric Robinson went to the tape to break down new Falcons running back Qadree Ollison’s strengths and weaknesses and how he may fit into the Falcons’ plans this season.

Speaking of Ollison, you should absolutely read this, from ESPN’s Vaughn McClure, on the grace Ollison extended to the man who killed his older brother. It’ll make you want to root for him to succeed.

Sure, it was a surprise when the Falcons doubled up on offensive linemen in the first round. But reports emerged this week that the Falcons weren’t the only team with eyes on Chris Lindstrom in the first round. As a matter of fact, if Jonah Williams hadn’t fallen to No. 11, the Bengals may well have snagged Lindstrom there.

I’m liking the Lindstrom pick more and more as time passes, and I’m warming on Kaleb McGary, too. It doesn’t hurt that Todd McShay thinks they’re both solid additions. And who knows? They both could land on the All-Rookie team this year.

Of course I took the opportunity to make fun of the Saints’ draft, which was fun until I realized that they really did a nice job with their picks. Ugh.

The rest of the roster

Alex Mack is one of the best centers in the league, but what’s the plan after Mack’s time with the Falcons wraps up? We might get a sense of that when we see who lands on the depth chart behind Mack this year. Our Kevin Knight broke it down.

Speaking of backups, the backup quarterback spot looks like Kurt Benkert’s to take.

Who’s going to land on the practice squad when all is said and done? Check out Cory Woodroof’s take.

The Falcons apparently had discussions this offseason about trading Mohamed Sanu. Thankfully that didn’t come to pass, and hopefully Mo is here to stay.

What else is new?

Dave took a look at the evolution of the quarterback position in Atlanta since 2008, and it’s worth reading just for a look at this photo.

Dan Pompei of The Athletic wrote an in-depth feature (subscription required) on Ra’Shede Hageman — the challenges he’s faced, including the ones outside of his control when he was young, and the ones that have been solely of his own making. Hageman gets a second chance with the Falcons, and it’s all on him to turn things around.

Maybe it’s because none of us expected the Falcons’ draft to go the way it did, but fan confidence has dipped a bit since the Falcons wrapped up the 2019 draft class.

That’s it for this week’s links, and we’ll see you on Monday to recap the weekend.