Fansided

2019 NFL Draft grades for all 32 teams

By Conor Dorney

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Daniel Jones of Duke reacts after being chosen #6 overall by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 25: Daniel Jones of Duke reacts after being chosen #6 overall by the New York Giants during the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft on April 25, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 26: Guard Chris Lindstrom #75 of Boston College of the North Team during the 2019 Resse’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 26, 2019 in Mobile, Alabama. The North defeated the South 34 to 24. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
MOBILE, AL – JANUARY 26: Guard Chris Lindstrom #75 of Boston College of the North Team during the 2019 Resse’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on January 26, 2019 in Mobile, Alabama. The North defeated the South 34 to 24. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images) /

Atlanta Falcons

Grade: B

Best pick: Chris Lindstrom (OG, Boston College)

Questionable pick: Kendall Sheffield (CB, Ohio State)

Sleeper pick: Kaleb McGary (OT, Washington)

The Falcons were firmly in the market for help on the offensive line heading into this draft and came away with two in the first round in the form of Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary. Both are excellent fits for the Falcons’ and likely start from day one of their NFL careers. One has to wonder whether Atlanta would have been tempted to take Clemson’s Christian Wilkins, who went one pick earlier to Miami, but perhaps their lack of investment in a defensive tackle for this draft indicates an optimism for getting a long-term extension worked out with Grady Jarrett.

Ohio State’s Kendall Sheffield is one of the most explosive athletes of any player in the class but doesn’t offer much in the way of technique at this point in his career. He struggles to locate the ball in the air and doesn’t have the ball skills or production you would expect to see, even out of a mid-round selection. If Sheffield wants to stick in the NFL, he’ll have to make significant strides in proving that he isn’t just a player with blazing speed as his only trait.

In the back half of the second round, the Falcons took a flyer on dynamic slot receiver Marcus Green of Louisiana Monroe. At 5-foot-8, 190 pounds, Green was one of the most versatile weapons in college football last season, with four kickoff return touchdowns along with being a threat in both the receiving and rushing game. He ran a sub-4.40 40-yard dash at his Pro Day and could be an underrated contributor in the return game and out of the slot in his rookie year.

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