The Atlanta Falcons are coming off of a season where they finished with the best record in the NFC, but were blown out in the Divisional Playoff Round by Green Bay. The Falcons entered the 2011 NFL Draft with the 27th Overall Selection, but made the trade that shows they are going all in for the championship next season.
With Matt Ryan at the top of his game, Michael Turner in the backfield, Roddy White becoming one of the best wideouts in the game, and Tony Gonzalez on his way to the Hall of Fame, Atlanta traded five draft picks to Cleveland to move into the 6th slot and select Julio Jones, the playmaking wide receiver out of Alabama. Jones has the size, and ran the 40 in under 4.40 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine with a fractured foot. The Falcons are hoping he is the missing piece on offense to get them over the top.
But the downside of the Jones trade was the loss of draft picks. But Atlanta got another weapon for it's offense in Round 5 with the selection of Jacquizz Rodgers out of Oregon State. Rodgers was the ultimate change of pace back going into the draft, and he will be the speedy and elusive playmaker out of the backfield that teams will have trouble gameplanning for down the road.
A late round sleeper looks to be Andrew Jackson, a guard out of Fresno State selected in the sixth round. Jackson provides depth to the offensive line and could emerge as a starter down the road.
Draft Grade: B
No comments:
Post a Comment