FBG Board Consensus 2010 Mock NFL Draft (1 Viewer)

[Faust]

1.01 St. Louis Rams select QB Sam Bradford (83% of the vote)

1.02 Detroit Lions select DT Ndamukong Suh (59% of the vote)

1.03 Tampa Bay Buccaneers select DT Gerald McCoy (85% of the vote)

1.04 Washington Redskins select OT Russell Okung (73% of the vote)

1.05 Kansas City Chiefs select S Eric Berry (41% of the vote)

1.06 Seattle Seahawks select OT Trent Williams (41% of the vote)

1.07 Cleveland Browns select QB Jimmy Clausen (28% of the vote)

1.08 Oakland Raiders select OT Bryan Bulaga (23% of the vote)

1.09 Buffalo Bills select OT Anthony Davis (61% of the vote)

1.10 Jacksonville Jaguars select ILB Rolando McClain (30% of the vote)

1.11 Denver Broncos select DT Dan Williams (38% of the vote)

1.12 Miami Dolphins select WR Dez Bryant (47% of the vote)

1.13 San Francisco 49ers select CB Joe Haden (52% of the vote)

1.14 Seattle Seahawks select RB C.J. Spiller (45% of the vote)

1.15 New York Giants select OLB Sean Weatherspoon (37% of the vote)

1.16 Tennessee Titans select DE Derrick Morgan (46% of the vote)

1.17 San Francisco 49ers select CB/S Earl Thomas (26% of the vote)

1.18 Pittsburgh Steelers select G-OT Mike Iupati (40% of the vote)

Atlanta Falcons

Positions of Need as per NFL.com

LB, DL, OL

Needs Analysis: The Falcons rushed into free agency to get the best corner available in Dunta Robinson. Atlanta re-signed Brian Williams at the other corner spot, and GM Thomas Dimitroff told me he likes the young backups. Now, the Falcons can stay true to the draft board with an eye on outside linebackers and pass rushing defensive ends. A hybrid player like Brandon Graham or Jerry Hughes should be on their radar screen. There are a few good centers in this draft. If they decide to pass on Maurkice Pouncey early (they don't have a second-round pick due to last year's Tony Gonzalez trade), they could select Matt Tennant from Boston College in the third round. Tennant was the center for Matt Ryan in his last year in college.

 

[Faust]

http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/201...rk_bradley_blog

Dimitroff on the draft: Falcons aren’t ‘locked in’ on Graham

by Mark Bradley

Flowery Branch — Thomas Dimitroff insisted Thursday the Falcons are not, as has been widely speculated, bound and determined to grab Brandon Graham with their first-round pick. Said Dimitroff, winking when Graham’s name was mentioned: “Who’s that?”

Then, more seriously: “We’re not locked in [on Graham]. But 19 of the 20 mock drafts I’ve seen have us taking him, so I’d say everybody else is locked in Brandon Graham.”

The Michigan defensive end is indeed a subject of much consideration here at 4400 Falcon Parkway, but in Dimitroff’s pre-draft briefing he emphasized that this draft, unlike his first two as general manager, isn’t targeted to address one specific unit. “We’ve finally got an opportunity to open the draft board to both offense and defense,” Dimitroff said.

Translation: Don’t rule out the possibility of the Falcons taking an offensive lineman in Round 1. Asked if he’d be comfortable spending the draft’s 19th pick on a O-lineman, Dimitroff said: “I’d be comfortable doing that. It’s never a flashy pick, but if a offensive lineman has versatility, the ability to play dual positions would give him exponential value.”

Is Maurkice Pouncey, who played center at Florida, capable of playing more than one position? “Yes,” Dimitroff said.

About those mock drafts: Dimitroff admitted he checks them, and he also allowed that the Falcons have designated a front-office person to keep track of such Internet listings. “It’s very clear that Mr. Blank wants his mock drafts,” Dimitroff said.

As mentioned in this space last week, some of the latest mock drafts have defensive ends who are rated higher than Graham — Tech’s Derrick Morgan and Jean Pierre-Paul of South Florida — slipping into the teens. Were that to happen a week from now, would the Falcons be tempted to trade up and pluck such a pass rusher?

Dimitroff: “If we determined that kind of player was the heir apparent [to a position of impact] and would take us to another level, we would consider that. But we have to be very cognizant of the money value. If you’re moving up five to 10 spots, you’re talking about $10 million more in guaranteed money. We’d have to make sure it’s worth doing from both a skill and business standpoint.”

That said, Dimitroff conceded the Falcons “would like to ramp up the pressure” of their pass rush. He also admitted that the signing of free agent cornerback Dunta Robinson “did change our approach to this draft drastically.” And he made no secret of his desire to acquire a second-round pick — the Falcons sent theirs to Kansas City in the Tony Gonzalez trade last year — and mentioned New England and Philadelphia as teams that might be looking to serve as a trade partner.

He also noted he hadn’t been home — Dimitroff lives in Buckhead — in a while. He has been spending nights in the GM’s suite (yes, there is such a thing) at the dormitory on the grounds here. He arrived for his briefing wearing a shirt and tie not because he wanted to appear businesslike, he said, but “because this was literally the only thing I had clean.”

Oh, and about Brandon Graham: “He’s a good football player. He’ll be effective in this league.”

One man’s interpretation: If the Falcons wind up with Brandon Graham, they’ll be happy. But there are other players in this draft who might make them happier.

 

[Faust]

Any Falcons fans or draftniks out there?

 

[Faust]

With the 1.19 pick in the 2010 FBG Consensus Draft, the Atlanta Falcons select DE-OLB Jason Pierre-Paul

 

[PatrickT]

Dammit, I was waiting for this to come along and I missed it. I want Graham or Weatherspoon (tho he's gone in this mock). Kindle's still here, which is interesting. Is he a 4-3 guy, or 3-4?

I'm not sure I want Pierre-Paul. I'll of course trust TD if that's who he drafts, but a 1 year, small school wonder? I'm not seeing it.

 

[Faust]

Dammit, I was waiting for this to come along and I missed it. I want Graham or Weatherspoon (tho he's gone in this mock). Kindle's still here, which is interesting. Is he a 4-3 guy, or 3-4?

I'm not sure I want Pierre-Paul. I'll of course trust TD if that's who he drafts, but a 1 year, small school wonder? I'm not seeing it.

Don Banks mock draft on SI describes Kindle as a "pass-rushing 3-4 outside linebacker"

And this is from the CBS / NFL Draftscout profile:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players...w;pageContainer

04/06/2010 - Kindle would be a perfect fit in New England's system. He is an instinctive and athletic playmaker who would be at his best playing outside linebacker in New England's base 3-4 defense, but he also has experience at defensive end. His versatility would definitely be a plus for the Patriots, as coach Bill Belichick oftentimes asks his players to play multiple positions. The fact that he has experience playing on special teams is also important. The Patriots need help improving their pass rush and Kindle could help solve that problem. Kindle wreaked havoc in the offensive backfield over his final two seasons at Texas, recording a combined 34.5 tackles for a loss. He was a leader on the Longhorns defense both on the field and in the locker room. He competed against high-level competition, which is also important. He has good speed and size, and he hits hard, which is everything the Patriots are looking for in an outside linebacker. He does have off-the-field issues, however, which is why he may still be around by the time the Pats make their first pick. His mother disappeared when he was young and he's had behavior issues since. He was given a DUI in 2007 and got a concussion driving while texting, which led to him running into an apartment building. Even so, this type of player could be hard to ignore if he is still on the board at 22. - Robert Lee, Providence Journal News

 

[Truman]

My vote was for Pouncey. Last year I wanted Alex Mack. Todd McClure is undersized, lacks athleticism and is 33 years old. Pouncey would provide depth immediately and challenge for a starting job at Guard. Long term the Falcons have a desire to build around Ryan, short term they just need to give him more time to pass. Falcons were last in the league on PA passes last season, the main reason for that was the line's inability to pass-block.

 

[PatrickT]

I wouldn't argue Pouncey, but still think D is a higher need and Dimitroff has shown he's willing to pull the trigger on a trade to get what he wants, so I wouldn't be surprised if we traded up to the late second to make sure we got Tennant.

 

[Faust]

Peter King wrote this about Pouncey:

4. I think you'd be surprised at the one name I've heard the most about in the past three or four days.

I don't mean the guys at the very top of the draft -- I'm talking more about, say, 10 to 25. One name: Maurkice Pouncey. So many teams look at him and say, "He's a plug-and-play player for the next 10 years.'' Meaning you can put him in the lineup for the next 10 years and not worry about it. Solid as a rock. There are, quite literally, six teams seriously considering him in the middle 15 picks of the first round.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writ...ings/index.html