dfalcon11

Too late on this one. Draft a big run stuffer, pocket pusher in the fourth round (Benito Jones). Senat can’t even make the active roster most weeks, write him off as a wasted third round draft pick.

Theses position reviews just make me sick. How the hell does Dimitroff keep his job! Twelve years of crappy drafting and no one is held responsible.

The Falcons are in severe need of an upgrade along the DL, but the mock draft "experts" always try to fit perceived need with who they believe is the best player at that position of need. The team has to identify the best football players and draft the best player available when they get a chance. That’s why scouting is so important. Teams don’t place players on a list like we most often see on the internet but generally rank them as first round, second round and so on based on their pre-draft grade. The key is to not draft a player with a lower round grade when they fit a position of need and bypass players with higher grades even though they don’t fill a position of need. It’s easy to say but hard to do on draft day.

Not one dominant DT in the past twenty years. Jarrett is becoming that guy but just like Oline you need more than one dominant DLineman. The Falcons have to find a DT that can defeat one on one blocking and split double teams. Just like fixing the run game requires fixing the guard position, fixing the pass rush requires fixing the DT position.

The issue with the Falcon’s pass rush hasn’t just been at the DE position. It’s the entire line. When is the last time, prior to Jarret, the Falcon’s had an all pro or pro bowl DT. DE is often the position that gets the sack stats, but DT’s create the sacks. The Falcons can’t push the pocket which allows QBs to step up and get the ball away. Jarret does a nice job of penetrating, but the Falcons still need a DT that can walk a guard or center back to the QB i.e. Jumpy Gaithers with the fork lift move; young Falcons fans look him up. The DL needs to be built from inside out like any good team defense in sports.

The only way a speed rusher like Chaisson works for the Falcons is that they add a DT that can push the pocket and force the QB back or out to the DEs. The light, speedy Falcons pass rushers try to run around the Oline which allows the QB to step up in the pocket while the OTs push the edge rushers wide of the pocket. A DT that can push the pocket gives the speed rushers a fixed target. The Falcons have to address the pass rush from a team perspective instead of trying to find the mystical pass rusher who gets 20 sacks.

The Falcons don’t have the personnel on the roster to put a good (top 16) defense on the field but an upgrade at DT, DE and slot corner could change that. Great defenses have great players on all three levels (DL, LB, DB); the Falcons have Grady Jarrett, potential at LB with Debo and a question mark at safety with Neal. They need a DT that can push the pocket a DE that can finish and a slot corner. In Falcons tradition, Dimitroff will probably draft a TE, OG and WR and sign two midlevel FA DTs.