As Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff strolled to the podium, you expected to hear “We are Family” blaring from the speakers.
The draft, which concluded Saturday, was an NFL family affair for the Falcons.
Three of their eight draft picks have family members who have played in the NFL, including first-round pick Desmond Trufant, second-round pick Robert Alford and fourth-round pick Levine Toilolo.
Trufant has two older brothers with NFL experience, and Alford has a brother who spent one season in the NFL. Toilolo, a tight end from Stanford who was selected Saturday, has three uncles — Dan Saleaumua, Edwin Mulitalo and Joe Salave'a – who played extensively in the NFL.
“It’s something that you can just tell by talking to Levine how confident he is in his own way having been around it and having and understanding the idea of having family members in this league,” Dimitroff said. “He’s an incredibly smart person. He’s going to fit in well with this football team.”
Trufant’s brothers are Marcus Trufant (Seattle) and Isaiah Trufant (Jets). Alford’s brother Fred Booker played 12 games for the Saints in 2005.
"The fact that he was raised to be a football guy in the NFL, for us is something that is very intriguing," Dimitroff said. "He's a smart football guy. That's something that played into our consideration."
The Falcons also have high hopes for Alford, a cornerback.
“He’s another player who has brother bloodlines in the National Football League,” Dimitroff said. “As we all know, we have the Babineaux brothers (Jonathan, of the Falcons, and Jordan) in the NFL, and we all see how these guys are affected by having brother in the National Football League to help school them along the way.”
Saleaumua played from 1982-98 for Detroit, Kansas City and Seatttle. Mulitalo played from 1999-2008 for Baltimore and Detroit. Salave’a played from 1998-2006 for Tennessee, San Diego and Washington.
After addressing their cornerback needs over the first two days of the draft, the Falcons turned their attention to other areas of need on the third and final day.
They selected Clemson defensive end Malliciah Goodman (127th overall) and tight end Toilolo (133rd) in the fourth round of the draft.
Goodman was a Parade All-American coming out of Florence (S.C.) High School and played in the U.S. Army All-America game. He played behind Da’Quan Bowers and Andre Branch his first two seasons before breaking into the starting lineup as a junior.
Bowers was selected by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2011 draft, and Branch was selected by Jacksonville in the second round in 2012.
“He taught me how to watch film and to watch the lineman’s hands and feet or anything about their demeanor or anything that he gives away or tips off the run or pass,” Goodman said. “Those things and also just being a smart player.”
The Falcons plan to use Goodman at left defensive end.
He struggled some at the Senior Bowl and lost a couple of battles with Eric Fisher, who was the first player selected in the draft, on Thursday by the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I won some, and I lost some (of the battles),” Goodman said.
The Falcons selected Stanford’s Toilolo, a 6-foot-8, 265-pound tight end, with the compensatory fourth-round pick they received for losing linebacker Curtis Lofton in free agency.
In the fifth round, the Falcons made their second trade of the draft. They sent their seventh-rounder (236th overall) to the Chicago Bears to move up 10 spots from 163rd to 153rd to select TCU defensive end Stansly Maponga.
Maponga, who is recovering from foot surgery, was an all-conference player in the Big 12 and in the Mountain West.
In the seventh round, the Falcons selected Central Florida safety Kemal Ishmael (243rd overall), Notre Dame safety Zeke Motta (244th) and Duke quarterback Sean Renfree (249th).
The Falcons’ coaching staff will get a first look at the rookies and the undrafted signees when they report for rookie minicamp Friday.
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