With things settling down in free agency, Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn are set to hit the road for some scouting.
The Falcons are doing their final check-ins on Pro Days and will hold various private workouts around the country. While they were able to address some of their needs during free agency, they can now turn their attention to the draft to fill additional holes. The draft is set for April 28-30 in Chicago.
“We think the draft is going to be interesting and creative for us,” Dimitroff said.
The Falcons addressed needs on offense and defense in free agency.
The offensive line was bolstered by the addition of center Alex Mack. He will take over at center and allow the Falcons to move Mike Person to right guard. The Falcons are happy with left tackle Jake Matthews and right tackle Ryan Schraeder. They signed Tom Compton to serve as the backup swing tackle and re-signed Bryce Harris, who was a reserve tackle last season.
In addition to solidifying the offensive line, the Falcons signed wide receiver Mohamed Sanu. He’s slated to take Roddy White’s spot in the starting lineup.
The Falcons also signed quarterback Matt Schaub to compete for the backup spot and wide receiver Aldrick Robinson to provide depth.
On defense, the Falcons’ big free-agent signing was defensive end/tackle Derrick Shelby. He will play defensive end against the run and rush from tackle in the nickel defense.
Quinn noted that the Falcons and several other teams are now playing nickel defense on more than 60 percent of the snaps.
In addition to Shelby, the Falcons re-signed defensive end Adrian Clayborn and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who played last season with Arizona.
“I’m looking forward to getting back out there with the guys,” Weatherspoon said.
The Falcons also signed safety Charles Godfrey, safety Damian Parms, cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke and linebacker LaRoy Reynolds.
The Falcons, who have five picks in the draft, hope to add some help at linebacker, defensive end and safety. They also would like to add a guard and a kicker.
“We have a number of areas that we need to focus on,” Dimitroff said. “We know that, and I think we are going to a have a really interesting approach to the draft because of what we’ve done in free agency.”
The Falcons hold the 17th pick in the draft. They will also pick in the second, third, fourth and seventh rounds. The Falcons’ fifth-round pick was taken away by the NFL as part of their penalty for pumping fake crowd noise into the Georgia Dome during the 2013-14 seasons. They traded their sixth-round pick to Tennessee in the Andy Levitre trade last year.
The Falcons are heavily scouting linebackers and have several private workouts scheduled.
“Private workouts are very helpful as well,” Dimitroff said. “That’s why we send coaches and scouts out to a lot of the Pro Days. Then we schedule our private workouts on certain players that we feel we need to get some more work in. We drill down on our own approach and our own drills.”
Speedy Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee and Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland would fit nicely into the Falcons’ defense. The Falcons sent 18 personnel men and coaches to Georgia’s Pro Day, in part to watch defensive end Leonard Floyd.
Also, special-teams coach Keith Armstrong put kicker Marshall Morgan through his workout while running backs coach Bobby Turner watched Keith Marshall closely.
“It gives us an opportunity to hone in on all elements and the nuances of every players,” Dimitroff said. “It helps us to have the coaches out there as well. Being this close, again, it’s always good talent at Georgia. Sometimes we may under-grade. This gives us one more opportunity to look at the players to see if in fact we missed something.”
The Falcons are intrigued by Floyd, who most consider a late first-round or early second-round pick. With some good private workouts, Floyd could shoot into the top 10 because pass-rushers are such a premium around the league.
Floyd played several positions at Georgia and showed some versatility that ranged from playing defensive end to inside linebacker.
“He’s a very versatile athlete,” Dimitroff said. “He’s multi-faceted in his approach to this game. That’s always a positive.”
The Falcons passed on three Georgia standouts — running back Todd Gurley in 2015, linebacker Alec Ogletree in 2013 and defensive end Justin Houston in 2011. Dimitroff selected former Georgia linebacker Akeem Dent in the third round in 2011 and running back Thomas Brown in the sixth round in 2008.
“We have a great relationship with Georgia,” Dimitroff said. “It seems like at certain times that it hasn’t fallen in our laps. We’ll always be here. … We have great interaction and relationships with them and hopefully one day soon we can pull off one that’s going to be a difference-maker.”
