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Thursday, January 15, 2009
Falcons to look at underclassmen list
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Falcons are keeping an eye on the list of underclassmen as the deadline for declaring for the NFL draft is today.
The players have 72 hours to withdraw. The league will not release the final list until Monday, Jan. 19.
The Falcons benefited from the underclassmen entering the draft last season when they picked up linebacker Curtis Lofton, who left Oklahoma early. He looks to have been a second-round steal and was a solid starter as a rookie.
The list will take a few twist and turns before it’s final, but there doesn’t appear to be much direct help for the Falcons. Of the over 30-plus players who have openly declared for the draft, 25 of them are running backs, wide receivers or cornerbacks. Those are not high-priority areas for the Falcons.
There’s just one safety, South Carolina’s Emmanuel Cook, but he’s not likely a first-year NFL impact player. Georgia’s Reshad Jones is on the fence, but based on his tackling in the Georgia Tech game, he might want to return to school and improve his NFL stock for the 2010 draft.
There’s just one linebacker, Southern Mississippi’s Gerald McRath. Not sure if he’s an impact player who could help right away.
The Falcons will indirectly benefit from Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno entering the draft. They are projected to go before the Falcons pick and will push a talented player down at least two spots.
So it wasn’t really good news for the Falcons that quarterback Sam Bradford said that he’d return to Oklahoma. If Bradford had come out, he would have pushed another player down in the draft. Bradford was projecting as the top quarterback in the draft, but now that position will go to Stafford.
Maybe Stafford will figure out he’s headed to the Motor City and decide to return to Georgia. Maybe Stafford will think he’s the next Bobby Layne and can turn Detroit’s fortunes around. That’s what the 72-hour period is for.
Some of the other interesting underclassmen to enter the draft include South Carolina tight end Jared Cook. I’ve been following him since he played at North Gwinnett High. Thought he’d be a superstar at South Carolina, but the quarterback situation was never right. He’s going to turn some heads at the combine with his size and speed. The question mark is his hands. That could be important for a pass-catching tight end. Cook was a nice high school basketball player, too.
In the first round, it’s looking the Falcons will be able to address one of their major needs. Southern California linebacker Brian Cushing, Boston College nose tackle B.J. Raji or Missouri safety William Moore should be on the board when they pick in the first round.
Raji is a 325-pound nose guard. We could call him “Baby Grady.”
Cushing was on that USC defense that terrorized Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl.
Moore could be a late first round steal. He’s had some injuries issues, but was once considered a sure-fire top 10 pick.
Just as a reminder, here’s what Thomas Dimitroff and the personnel department did with last season’s draft:
2008 Draft
QB MATT RYAN (16 games played/16 starts)
LT Sam Baker (8/5)
MLB Curtis Lofton (16/15)
CB Chevis Jackson (16/1)
WR Harry Douglas (16/0)
DB Thomas DeCoud (10/0)
LB Robert James (0/0). Injured reserve.
DE Kroy Biermann (16/0)
RB Thomas Brown (0/0). Injured reserve.
CB Wilrey Fontenot (0/0). Was released in preseason. Spent season on Arizona’s practice squad.
TE Keith Zinger (0/0). Was released in preseason. Spent the majority of the season on the practice squad.
Dimitroff and head coach Mike Smith are off to Mobile, Ala. next week to see the players at the Senior Bowl.
Go check out Cushing, Raji and Moore, which one do you like for the Falcons? Where do you see the UGA players - including Tucker cornerback Asher Allen - going? Should Stafford, Moreno, Jones and Allen, withdraw and return to school? Should the Falcons pick up Jared Cook and in what round?
