For the first time since his first season as Falcons general manager, Thomas Dimitroff owns a top-10 pick in the NFL draft.
The No. 6 overall pick is one upside of the team’s 4-12 finish, its first losing season under Dimitroff and coach Mike Smith. The timing could be fortuitous, too, if Dimitroff is right about this draft being strong at the top.
And unlike pretty much every other team selecting high in the draft, the Falcons are not looking for a star quarterback. They got one in 2008 with Matt Ryan, Dimitroff’s first draft pick as Falcons GM.
“The fact that we have our franchise quarterback and we are dabbling around in the top 10 is something that is very encouraging to me,” Dimitroff said Wednesday during a news conference at the team’s headquarters.
The draft is deep with wide receivers, but Julio Jones and Roddy White are Falcons stars when healthy. The Falcons seem set for the future at cornerback with Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford, their top two draft picks in 2013.
The Falcons need talent at every other position, and Dimitroff has 10 picks to work with in the May 8-10 draft. He’s made a trade in each of his drafts, including moving up in the first round in 2008, 2011 and 2013 and acquiring Tony Gonzalez in 2010.
Here are some select questions and answers from Dimitroff’s news conference. (Edited for clarity and space.)
Q: There’s been a lot of speculation about you trading up. Have you talked to any teams to gauge trade interest?
A: I've talked to many teams about many things. Obviously, trade situations come up. It is the season for that. I think the biggest thing is that you are getting an idea what compensation will be if in fact something were to come to fruition. That's how we did it back in (2011 with the Jones trade), and I think that's an important thing whether you travel down that road or not. It's important to gauge that compensation.
Q: How is this draft in terms of what you need?
A: This is a very good draft, and I think the most interesting thing — I've said it time and time again — this top 10 is a top-notch top 10. There are pass rushers, there are pass protectors, there are receivers, there are linebackers. It's a very accomplished top 10.
Q: When you made the Julio Jones trade (trading away five picks for one), it seems you were looking for a unique player vs. depth. How important is depth in this draft after maybe learning from that trade and what the team needs?
A: I would never question what we did in (2011). I am completely at ease with what we did as far as adding one of the most explosive players in this league and what he can do for us. Julio was fantastic. Moving forward, as far as gaining knowledge about depth, no question depth is important. But usually depth is your backups. What we have learned about reaching and going after a player (in the draft), with this organization we are aggressive with what we think can truly help our organization rise to the upper levels of this league. And we will continue to be aggressive.
Q: With 10 picks and wanting more depth, is there that player you’d feel more comfortable trading more picks for than in the past?
A: I think there are a number of really good football players that we would consider. We always go through that scenario and discuss what truly is worth moving up for and potentially giving up picks. We go round and round with statistics of where players play and how much they play and how often they start through different parts of the draft. We are very calculated with our analytical approach to things, and I think we feel very comfortable when we go into the draft that we are going to make the right decisions given our analytics and our experience in drafting.
Q: You’ve had three first-round draft picks (Jones, Sam Baker, and Peria Jerry) who had injury issues in college and then also in the NFL. Do those experiences change the way look at injury grades for prospects?
A: We are very cognizant with what goes on with the injury side of things. It's one of the things as a team builder you are more concerned about than even the character issue. With the character issue you have a really firm grasp of what the character situation is a lot of times; the injury stuff you can't really project. You may have background stuff on a player's injury, but you never really know how it's going to be when they get into the National Football League. We do a lot of detailed work, and we continue to do more and more every year because we learn more about how we are going to do our injury evaluations.
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