NFL DRAFT ORDER
1. Houston 2-14 .559
2. St. Louis* 7-9 .551
3. Jacksonville 4-12 .504
4. Cleveland 4-12 .516
5. Oakland 4-12 .523
6. Falcons 4-12 .553
7. Tampa Bay 4-12 .574
8. Minnesota 5-10-1 .512
9. Buffalo 6-10 .520
10. Detroit 7-9 .457
11. Tennessee 7-9 .504
12. New York Giants 7-9 .520
13. St. Louis 7-9 .551
14. Chicago 8-8 .465
15. Pittsburgh 8-8 .469
t-16. Baltimore** 8-8 .484
t-16. Dallas** 8-8 .484
18. New York Jets 8-8 .488
19. Miami 8-8 .523
20. Arizona 10-6 .531
21. Green Bay 8-7-1 .453
22. Philadelphia 10-6 .453
23. Kansas City 11-5 .445
24. Cincinnati 11-5 .480
* Acquired from Washington
** Baltimore and Dallas will have a coin flip. The winner picks 16th and the loser 17th.
Note: Order of remaining eight teams pending completion of playoffs
The Falcons were elated by some of the recent entrants into the NFL draft pool.
Earlier this week, Auburn offensive tackle Greg Robinson and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel announced their plans to enter the NFL draft, which will be held May 8-10 in New York.
The Falcons, who finished 4-12 last season, hold the sixth pick in the draft. For the third time since general manager Thomas Dimitroff was hired in 2008, the Falcons will pick in the top 10.
In 2008, they selected quarterback Matt Ryan with the third pick. In 2011, the Falcons made a mega-deal with the Cleveland Browns to land the sixth pick in the draft, which was used to select Julio Jones.
With needs along the offensive and defensive lines, there are several prospects who could be available at No. 6 or by trading up. The list of players who could fill immediate needs are South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, Texas A&M offensive tackle Jake Matthews and UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr.
“This is a very good top 10 I believe,” Dimitroff said recently. “You know there are going to be some quarterbacks tapping their way into the top 10, potentially, as well as some linebackers that are out there. It’s a mixed bag in my mind. I’m encouraged by what we see so far.”
Falcons wide receiver Roddy White offered drafting tips on his Twitter account.
“I would love for us to draft clowney if he is available but if he isn’t we should trade out and stockpile players got a lot of holes to fill,” White tweeted.
Manziel’s entry could be good news for the Falcons if one of the quarterback-needy teams in front of them (Houston, Jacksonville or Cleveland) falls in love with Manziel. That could lead to another good player dropping to No. 6.
A total of 80 underclassmen have declared for the draft, according to Gil Brandt, NFL.com senior writer. The record is 73, which was set last season. The deadline to declare is Wednesday.
Robinson, a massive 6-foot-5, 320-pounder, is a top-10 talent and is ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper’s second-rated tackle.
“Greg Robinson, a third-year sophomore left tackle at Auburn, has done a spectacular job,” Kiper said on a recent teleconference. “I love the way he goes out and just takes pride in his work. He’s a mature kid and professional in terms of his approach and his demeanor. He just has great talent at 6-5, 320. He’s light on his feet. He has everything that you want.”
Kiper has Robinson rated as the ninth-best player on his “Big Board.”
Matthews is Kiper’s top-rated offensive tackle. Kiper ranks Taylor Lewan of Michigan the 20th player overall and third tackle. Cyrus Kouandjio of Alabama, who declared for the draft Thursday, ranks 22nd overall on Kiper’s list and the fourth offensive tackle.
“Jake Matthews is right there at the top,” Kiper said. “Jake Matthews from Texas A&M was a right tackle turned left tackle. He’s done an outstanding job. He’s a guy that’s right there and will be right there all along.”
Six or seven offensive tackles could go in the first round.
“There are a lot of left tackles and you can see right now, if some of the juniors that I mentioned come out, some of the underclassmen, you’re looking at four or five,” Kiper said. “You could have seven offensive tackles go in the first round. (La’el) Collins from LSU is another underclassman with a pretty good grade.”
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