NFL Draft 2015: List of Atlanta Falcons draft picks
By Will Osgood
The Atlanta Falcons have eight picks in the 2015 draft. Here is the list.
Next: Every Team's Best Draft Pick of All-Time
After a highly disappointing 6-10 season in 2014, the Atlanta Falcons fired longtime head coach Mike Smith and hired Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to the same position.
The Falcons have previously played a hybrid form of the 3-4 defense, but are now moving to the 4-3 Cover 3 scheme that Pete Carroll has had so much success with in Seattle under two consecutive defensive coordinators.
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One possible benefit for the Falcons is that the 3-4 scheme never really fit the Falcons’ personnel. Then again, no scheme fit the Falcons’ defensive personnel. It simply has not been good in recent seasons.
At this point 2013 first-round pick Desmond Trufant is already the best player on the defense, and he’s a cornerback. Though Seattle made a good defense out of a wonderful secondary, the Seattle front-seven was also much better than the current Falcons’ version.
Expect the Falcons to look for upgrades among that unit in this draft, while paying only minimal attention to the offensive side of the ball, which is fine entering 2015. They could look to draft a running back in the middle rounds, and they probably should given that this running back class is one of the strongest and deepest this millennium.
The Falcons are in good position entering the draft, despite what’s been said already. They can be aggressive if they want, or sit tight and take a pretty good player at No. 8 overall. Thomas Dimitroff has shown a propensity to be aggressive on draft day if there’s someone he really likes.
But that move for Julio Jones in 2011–as great as he’s been for the Falcons–also put the overall roster in shambles from a depth perspective. Look for Dimitroff to learn from that mistake and play it cautious this weekend.
Here are the eight picks the Falcons hold in this weekend’s draft, which begins Thursday evening.
Round Pick Overall
1 8 8
2 10 42
3 9 73
4 8 107
5 10 146
6 9 185
7 8 225
7 32 249—From New England through St. Louis Rams
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- Bijan Robinson hypes up Falcons’ defense with chip on their shoulder
- Bijan Robinson sees championships in Texas’ immediate future