FLOWERY BRANCH -- In the Falcons' post-draft haze, two questions must be addressed: 1) Did owner Arthur Blank overreact to the 48-17 playoff drubbing to Green Bay and trade away part of the future? or 2) Was the five-for-one trade a masterful stroke of genius?
"I see why people are on both sides of it," said NFL analyst Jamie Dukes on Sunday. "I like the move because, to me, this is not about Julio Jones or Matt Ryan. This is about Arthur Blank. Arthur is making the statement that I'm prepared to do what I have to do to bring this city a championship."
Why attribute the move to Blank?
"I'm not sure that [Thomas] Dimitroff makes this move on his own," Dukes said of the Falcons' general manager. "This is an owner kind of a move. Arthur wants a championship. That's what this says to me. I certainly respect the move and think it's a good one."
In making the move, the Falcons arguably ignored several need areas, including defensive end.
"They are just going to have to be more creative in free agency to address the holes," Dukes said. "The facts are, Matt Ryan needed another legit weapon on the other side, and that Jacquizz Rodgers fellow is a nice piece, too."
Here are two additional views on the Julio Jones draft pick:
Clifton Brown, Sporting News
"It was definitely a bold move and they gave up a lot. As far as I can understand it, they definitely needed a playmaker. If he's as good as advertised, he will help their offense for a long time. If forced to say whether if it was a good move or bad move, I would say good move.
"I think that sometimes when you're a contender you have to do bold things to get over the top. They gave up a lot, but I say, hey, I admire the fact that they aren't afraid to make a bold move like that. ...
"Going forward, Dimitroff has shown that he's good enough to make decent picks without a lot of ammo. Even though he may not have as much ammo as other GMs over the next couple of years, I still think he'll do well with what he has. If you know what you are doing in the draft, you can afford to take more risks than the people who need eight or nine picks to get two players. That's another thing in their favor."
Gil Brandt, NFL.Com and NFL Sirius Radio
"If you feel that you're ready to win and you need just one piece to win, then you don't mind doing it. Draft choices aren't as important as they use to be because if you lose one, you can always go out and get a free agent.
"Jones is a quality, high-character person. To show you just what I mean about the kid, he sat in the back room with the running back [Mark Ingram] until he got drafted. Now, most guys get drafted, they do their [media] duties and they want to run to the party. This guy sat back there all that time until Ingram got drafted.
"The guy has got a great demeanor. The players all love him. We had the guys and when you have them for three days, you get a pretty good feel for them. The guy was always ahead of time. If he was supposed to be someplace at 1 p.m. he was there at a quarter [to] 1.
"I, myself, had him rated higher than Green. ... I like the fact that he's really a good blocker. I think that not only will he make Roddy White better, but he'll make [Michael] Turner better. This guy is a good blocker. ... You can recoup those choices like nothing [in free agency]."
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