(Special combine afternoon edition: Had an early-morning round of interviews. So the Cover 9 is a little late today.)
INDIANAPOLIS – 1. The no-spin zone: Falcons coach Arthur Smith made it clear that they are looking for help at the scouting combine.
“We’ve got a lot of needs, like most teams,” Smith said. “We’re trying to do our due diligence and making sure that we know who every one of these players are. For me, this is just kind of beginning stages of personnel evaluations, obviously, our scouts and personnel staff (have) worked on this class for several years.”
Smith has started his work on scouting the offensive linemen.
“This is the first time, and then some of these guys we saw at the Senior Bowl,” Smith said. “We’re just in the beginning stages of getting to know who these players are as people and how they learn.”
This is Smith’s first scouting combine as the Falcons’ coach.
“(Last year) you had to do it by Zoom,” Smith said. “It’s good to be back. It’s good to be (in) person. I like being around people and getting to know them. Everybody has got different strategies. And you’ll see throughout the league, it makes it fun.
“Some teams are here. Some teams aren’t from the coaching side, but, personally, it helps me. I’d like to get to know them. It’s like the early stages of putting a name with the face.”
2. Fake it till you make. Smith wants players who can’t fake their way through interviews.
“I don’t think you’re going to make a snap judgment over an 18-minute speed-dating meeting, but I think you look at their body of work and get into some part of the process,” Smith said. “I’ve seen guys come in there, and they light up the room. They can fake it for 18 or 20 minutes. I’ve seen other guys, and it’s not their setting. Look at their body of work. So, it’s just a small part of it.”
3. Off-the-field issues: Some of the players come to the combine with some baggage.
Texas A&M edge rusher DeMarvin Leal recently was arrested on a possession-of-marijuana charge in Texas.
“I don’t subscribe to a one size fits all,” Smith said. “You know, I still believe in due process. So just you got to dig it.”
Players such as Leal who have blots on their resume will have things double-checked by the Falcons.
“There may be a hidden story or somebody may have an agenda that they talked to at the school,” Smith said. “You just try to look at somebody’s body of work and give them the benefit of the doubt until they prove you wrong. Just take it case-by-case.”
4. Edge-rush group: The Falcons are heavily scouting the edge rushers at the combine.
“I saw some of them down at the Senior Bowl,” Smith said. “ … I know the buildup to the draft is great. … I love the hot takes this time of year. There’s always players, there’s always good players at every position. There’s somebody that’s going to emerge. A lot of us are going to look stupid because we passed up on someone. ... You do a due diligence every year. And there’s a good group of them.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
5. London met with Falcons: USC wide receiver Drake London met with the Falcons at the scouting combine.
Smith said the Falcons had formal interviews with the top quarterbacks and wide receivers Monday.
London is considered one of the top wide receivers in the draft.
6. Willis ready to throw. Liberty quarterback Malik Willis is throwing but will not do the testing at the scouting combine.
7. Bag of balls: Smith said the Falcons would entertain a mega-deal for quarterback Matt Ryan.
“It depends on what the offer is,” Smith said. “Like I said, it’s like the old Don Corleone, you (get) the offer that you can’t refuse. I think you’ve got to take it. But that’s with everything. I’m sure that somebody you know, you can ask Terry (Fontenot), if somebody wants to give him a bag of balls for me, he may push me out the door.”
8. Draft order: Here’s the official 2022 NFL draft first-round order. The first round will start April 28, in Las Vegas, with the second and third rounds April 29, followed by rounds four through seven April 30:
1. Jacksonville Jaguars; 2. Detroit Lions; 3. Houston Texans; 4. New York Jets; 5. New York Giants; 6. Carolina Panthers; 7. Chicago Bears (traded to N.Y. Giants); 8. Falcons; 9. Denver Broncos; 10. Seattle Seahawks (traded to N.Y. Jets); 11. Washington Commanders; 12. Minnesota Vikings; 13. Cleveland Browns; 14. Baltimore Ravens; 15. Miami Dolphins (traded to Philadelphia); 16. Indianapolis Colts (traded to Philadelphia); 17. Los Angeles Chargers; 18. New Orleans Saints; 19. Philadelphia Eagles; 20. Pittsburgh Steelers; 21. New England Patriots 22. Las Vegas Raiders; 23. Arizona Cardinals; 24. Dallas Cowboys; 25. Buffalo Bills; 26. Tennessee Titans; 27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 28. Green Bay Packers; 29. San Francisco 49ers (traded to Miami); 30. Kansas City Chiefs; 31. Cincinnati Bengals; 32. Los Angeles Rams (traded to Detroit).
9. Falcons’ 2021 season review series: We have used a heavy dose of analytics to help us break down the Falcons’ 2021 season in our eight-part series. Here are the links to the stories.
Falcons’ position-by-position analysis:
Part 1: Running backs
Part 2: Quarterbacks
Part 3: Wide receivers/tight ends
Part 4: Offensive line
Part 5: Defensive line
Part 6: Linebackers
Part 7: Defensive backs
Part 8: Special teams
The Bow Tie Chronicles
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