Fourth Round
You can never have too many good defensive backs on your defense. While Falcons head coach Dan Quinn specializes in defensive line play, second-year defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel is a former NFL defensive back. He’d certainly like adding Virginia Cavaliers safety Quin Blanding here at No. 126 in the fourth round.
Blanding was a tackling machine for the Hoos these last four years. He leaves Charlottesville with 492 total tackles (259 solo, 233 assists), 16 pass breakups, 10 interceptions for 108 yards and a touchdown, 9.0 tackles for a loss of yardage, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one quarterback sack.
Blanding is 6-foot-2, 207 pounds. He has 31 3/4 inch arms and 8 3/8 inch arms. He ran a 4.63 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. Blanding had a 31.5 vertical jump and a broad jump of 122 inches at the combine. Blanding was a former five-star coming out of Virginia Beach in high school.
Though he wasn’t as transformative of a talent coming out of high school as he was in college, Blanding played an instrumental role in the culture change for Virginia football under head coach Bronco Mendenhall. Blanding has great leadership qualities and is a heavy hitter at safety. Not a bad find for whoever takes him in day two of the 2018 NFL Draft.