Good morning. This is LEADOFF, today’s early look inside Atlanta sports.
Three days after Georgia junior linebacker Roquan Smith's unsurprising announcement he'll leave school early for the NFL draft, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. projected Smith will be selected by the Oakland Raiders with the No. 10 pick of the first round.
"Smith is the type of player new coach Jon Gruden loves," Kiper wrote. "He's physical. He can get sideline to sideline in a hurry. He's a force in the middle.
“Smith was one of the best players on the field in the College Football Playoff national championship (game), and he could slot into the middle of the Raiders’ defense in place of NaVorro Bowman, who’s a free agent.”
(The Raiders could wind up picking ninth. They and the San Francisco 49ers will participate in a coin flip at next month’s NFL Combine to break a tie in the draft order, with the winner of the flip picking ninth and the loser 10th.)
As for who the Falcons will select with the 26th pick in the first round, Kiper’s first mock draft of the year, released Thursday, projects Texas A&M wide receiver Christian Kirk.
“Kirk isn’t a giant, go-to No. 1 wide receiver – he’s only 5-11 – but Atlanta doesn’t need that with Julio Jones already on the roster,” Kiper wrote. “Kirk would be a versatile offensive threat who would immediately help as both a punt and kick returner. He can play in the slot and burn defensive backs, and he could play outside too. Kirk had an up-and-down 2017 season, but he still finished with 12 total touchdowns, including two on returns.”
Kiper ranks Kirk as the No. 2 wide receiver in the draft, behind Alabama’s Calvin Ridley.
MORNING READING …
For full coverage of Thursday's end-of-season news conference by Falcons coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff, see stories by D. Orlando Ledbetter and Gabriel Burns here and here and here. And Jeff Schultz's column here.
Chip Towers examines the question of who will be the first Georgia tailback selected in this year's NFL draft, Nick Chubb or Sony Michel. See story here.
Doug Roberson writes about Atlanta United's approach in today's MLS draft here. And about Darren Eales being named MLS executive-of-the-year here.
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