5 things to know about the Falcons this week
FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons were stunned by the senseless shooting death of former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith.
Here are five things to know about the Falcons this week:
1. Falcons, Beasley showed respect for Smith. The Falcons and defensive end/linebacker Vic Beasley showed his respect for Smith.
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2. Ryan's golf tournament is today. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will host his celebrity golf tournament at the TPC Sugarloaf on Monday, April 11 to raise money for Aflac Cancer Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and the Matt Ryan Foundation.
3. Collins' suspension. The Falcons took a gamble on Jalen Collins, who flunked multiple drug tests in college, and so far that gamble hasn't paid off. Collins was suspended by the league on Friday for four games for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing substances. "I personally don't think I'm a risk," the Falcons' second-round pick said after a light workout at a Falcons rookie camp last may. "I know myself. I've gotten myself under control. I'm living right." Here's the column Jeff Schultz wrote about Collins.
4. Visitors to the Branch. Last week UCLA linebacker Myles Jack and Georgia linebacker/defensive end Leonard Floyd visited Flowery Branch last week. Here's walterfootball.com's list of players the Falcons have interviewed:
- Brandon Allen, QB, Arkansas
- Stephen Anderson, WR, California
- Danny Anthrop, WR, Purdue
- Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State
- Sterling Bailey, DE/3-4DE, Georgia
- Alex Balducci, DT, Oregon
- Karnorris Benson, WR, Western Carolina
- Trevone Boykin, QB, TCU
- Jake Brendel, C, UCLA
- Kevin Byard, S, Middle Tennessee
- De'Vondre Campbell, OLB, Minnesota
- Fahn Cooper, OT, Ole Miss
- Su'a Cravens, OLB, USC
- Joe Dahl, G/OT, Washington State
- Kenyan Drake, RB, Alabama
- Leonard Floyd, OLB/3-4OLB, Georgia
- Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame
- Darion Griswold, TE, Arkansas State
- Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State
- Kevin Hogan, QB, Stanford
- Tyrone Holmes, DE, Montana
- Austin Hooper, TE, Stanford
- Germain Ifedi, OT, Texas A&M
- Matt Ioannidis, DT, Temple
- Myles Jack, OLB, UCLA
- Jordan Jenkins, OLB/3-4OLB, Georgia
- Deion Jones, OLB, LSU
- Bronson Kaufusi, DE/3-4DE, Brigham Young
- Shaq Lawson, DE/3-4OLB, Clemson
- Darron Lee, OLB, Ohio State
- Antonio Longino, ILB, Arizona State
- Lene Maiava, OT/G, Arizona
- Blake Martinez, ILB, Stanford
- Braxton Miller, WR, Ohio State
- Keanu Neal, S, Florida
- Victor Ochi, OLB, Stony Brook
- Joshua Perry, OLB, Ohio State
- Luke Rhodes, ILB, William & Mary
- Mike Rose, DE, NC State
- Jake Rudock, QB, Michigan
- Steven Scheu, TE, Vanderbilt
- Hunter Sharp, WR, Utah State
- Justin Simmons, FS, Boston College
- Terrance Smith, OLB/ILB, Florida State
- Jason Spriggs, OT, Indiana
- Destiny Vaeao, DT, Washington State
- Nick Vannett, TE, Ohio State
- Nick Vigil, ILB, Utah State
- DeAndre Washington, RB, Texas Tech
- Josh Woodrum, QB, Liberty
5. Finalization of draft board. The Falcons will put the final touches on their draft board this week, with the draft set for April 28-30 in Chicago. The Falcons have heavily scouted linebackers, safeties and tight ends for the draft.
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About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
