First Shot at the 1st round

[hornsmd]

1st Round

1. Detroit Lions-Sam Bradford-QB-Oklahoma

2. Kansas City Chiefs- Matt Stafford-QB-Georgia

3. Cincinnati Bengals-Michael Oher-OT-Ole Miss

4. Oakland Raiders- Andre Smith-OT-Alabama

5. San Francisco 49ers- Michael Crabtree-WR-Texas Tech

6. Seattle Seahawks- Darrius Heyward-Bey-WR-Maryland

7. St. Louis Rams- Eugene Moore-OT-Virginia

8. Jacksonville Jaguars- Rey Maualuga-MLB-USC

9. Houston Texans- Malcolm Jenkins-CB-Ohio State

10. Cleveland Browns- Duke Robinson-OG-Oklahoma

11. Miami Dolphins- Vontae Davis-CB-Illinois

12. Denver Broncos- Taylor Mays-S-USC

13. Minnesota Vikings- William Moore-S-Missouri

14. Indianapolis Colts- Sen'Derrick Marks-DT-Auburn

15. New York Jets- Knowshon Moreno-RB-Georgia

16. Baltimore Ravens- Brian Orakpo-DE-Texas

17. New Orleans Saints- James Laurinaitis-MLB-Ohio State

18. New England Patriots- Aaron Curry-OLB-Wake Forrest

19. San Diego Chargers- George Selvie-DE-South Florida

20. Atlanta Falcons- Terrence Cody-DT-Alabama

21. Green Bay Packers- Ciron Black-OT-LSU

22. Tampa Bay Bucaneers- Percy Harvin-WR-Florida

23. Chicago Bears- Michael Johnson-DE-Georgia Tech

24. Detroit Lions(f/Caowboys)- Victor Harris-CB-Virginia Tech

25. Buffalo Bills- Brian Cushing-OLB-USC

26. Arizona Cardinals- Alex Mack-C-California

27. Philadelphia Eagles- Jeremy Maclin-WR-Missouri

28. Washington Redskins- D.J. Moore-CB-Vanderbilt

29. Phiadelphia Eagles(f/Carolina)- Jermaine Gresham-TE-Oklahoma

30. Pittsburgh Steelers- Trevard Lindley-CB-Kentucky

31. Tennessee Titans- Peria Jerry-DT-Ole Miss

32. New York Giants- Greg Hardy-DE-Ole Miss

Falcon's Draft

1. Terrence Cody-DT-Alabama- A younger Grady that will free up JA98 and Abe off the edge. Demands a double team

2. Gerald McRath-OLB=Southern Miss- Replacement for Brooking

3. Emmanuel Cook-SS-South Carolina- The only knock this guy has is his height.

4.Augustus Parrish-OT-Kent State- A run Blocking tackle that can play either side.

5. Sammie Stroughter-PR/WR-Oregon State- Purely a returner and slot guy. Returner is the greater need.

5. Brett Helms-C-LSU- Good Center. McClure is not getting any younger.

7. Davon Drew-TE-East Carolina- Great blocker with good hands.

FA

Nnamdi Asogmuha-CB- Al Davis can't continue to against the salary cap. Asogmuha will have to go. I like Gamble if he is Franchised.

Kevin Carter-DE- We need a good backup for JA98. Beirmann is not ready

Darnell Dinkins-TE- Great Hands and a good blocker. Clev. has Winslow.

Rob Meier-DT- Worked with Mike Smith is Jacksonville. A big body

Stacey Andrews-OT- Can compete with Clabo for the RT position.

Resign

Renardo Foster

Jason Snelling

Jonathan Babineaux

Harvey Dahl

Michael Boley

Roddy White

Michael Jenkins

Domonique Foxworth

Michael Koenen

Justin Peelle

Tyson Clabo

Cut/Let Walk

Brian Finneran

Simon Fraser

Ben Hartsock

Grady Jackson

Adam Jennings

Lawyer Milloy

Quinn Ojinnaka

Todd Weiner

Ben Wilkerson

David Irons

Brent Grimes

Foxworth and Asogmuha as starters and Chevis or Houston as the nickel. Coleman and Cook at safety and the secondary looks great.

[Scott24Falcons]

My first thought is this: We have a Super Bowl caliber team with that draft. Our defense would be so much improved, it would be ridiculous.

Aso is going to make a lot of money, I'm just not sure we'll have the money to afford him. We're going to have to lock-up both Roddy and Boley very soon. He's exactly what we need, though. The problem is 31 other teams could also use him.

I love the draft. Don't know much about picks 3 and 4, but the rest is solid.

[A-TowN.-]

I'd rather have Wiley instead of Cook. Not because I don't like Cook, I just don't know much about him.

[The Dirty Bird]

Rounds 1-3 would be phenomenal. **** everything unholy! In my new mock I changed my 7th rounder to Davon Drew....goosemommy is going to think he is funny when I get around to posting it. Great pick up there.

I am not sold on Cody for the 4-3. He is going to spend all season in a 3-4 and I don't think we take on the experiment of making a 3-4 NT into a 4-3 NT with our first round pick. I like Cook a lot as a SS, not as much as others, but he would be a nice pickup in the 3rd.

[Lord Sarcomere]

Just letting people know, we have around 30 million dollars to spend this year. We're loaded (I believe second or third in the NFL in terms of Cap Room). That amount increases after next year, too. I wouldn't mind spending big bucks on Aso because he's just such a rare talent. He covers and shuts down anyone he goes against, and more importantly he's a great team player; he has that intensity that you just love to see in a player.

As for the draft, I love the first three rounds. Good work.

[Scott24Falcons]

Just letting people know, we have around 30 million dollars to spend this year. We're loaded (I believe second or third in the NFL in terms of Cap Room). That amount increases after next year, too. I wouldn't mind spending big bucks on Aso because he's just such a rare talent. He covers and shuts down anyone he goes against, and more importantly he's a great team player; he has that intensity that you just love to see in a player.

As for the draft, I love the first three rounds. Good work.

I thought I read somewhere that we had less than $10 million?

[Lord Sarcomere]

I thought I read somewhere that we had less than $10 million?

That was last year if I'm not mistaken. But since we got rid of Crumpler, Hall, Dunn, etc, we have a surplus of money

Sweet.

[KRUNKuno]

Emmanuel Cook is actually a VERY good strong safety. He has Bob Sanders capabilities and is built like him too. Definitely a playmaker. BUT..................he's got major character issues. I mean major. Gun charges, giving opposing fans 2 middle fingers up, he's a hothead.

im not tha type to get caught up in character issues as long as tha guy is a baller. Cook's a baller. but as much as yall and tha front office stress character, he wont be our guy.

[The Dirty Bird]

Emmanuel Cook is actually a VERY good strong safety. He has Bob Sanders capabilities and is built like him too. Definitely a playmaker. BUT..................he's got major character issues. I mean major. Gun charges, giving opposing fans 2 middle fingers up, he's a hothead.

im not tha type to get caught up in character issues as long as tha guy is a baller. Cook's a baller. but as much as yall and tha front office stress character, he wont be our guy.

I did not know that he has any character issues.....that automatically takes him off the Falcons' board imo.

[hornsmd]

I did not know that he has any character issues.....that automatically takes him off the Falcons' board imo.

I had not heard of anything about the character issues. I agree he is off the board with the issues. Wiley would be a good pick. Just like Cook better because I have seen more of his play.

[hornsmd]

My first thought is this: We have a Super Bowl caliber team with that draft. Our defense would be so much improved, it would be ridiculous.

Aso is going to make a lot of money, I'm just not sure we'll have the money to afford him. We're going to have to lock-up both Roddy and Boley very soon. He's exactly what we need, though. The problem is 31 other teams could also use him.

I love the draft. Don't know much about picks 3 and 4, but the rest is solid.

Aso will take a lot of money, but as you saw last year we landed One big name. I think we will land one big name. Aso would be a great pick up IMO.

Thanks for the comment

[KRUNKuno]

I did not know that he has any character issues.....that automatically takes him off the Falcons' board imo.

yea. as much as i'd like to get him it's just not gonna happen.

[hornsmd]

Rounds 1-3 would be phenomenal. **** everything unholy! In my new mock I changed my 7th rounder to Davon Drew....goosemommy is going to think he is funny when I get around to posting it. Great pick up there.

I am not sold on Cody for the 4-3. He is going to spend all season in a 3-4 and I don't think we take on the experiment of making a 3-4 NT into a 4-3 NT with our first round pick. I like Cook a lot as a SS, not as much as others, but he would be a nice pickup in the 3rd.

I really like Drew. I had him my last mock. Dinkins, Peelle and Drew would give us a great rotation at TE IMO. Nothing flashy just solid.

As for Cody, I understand the concern but the fix would to still let him line up over center and Babs between tackle and Guard and JA98 could line up between Tackle and TE. I still see him as a younger Grady. He can play more plays. He demands a double team every play. Thats what I like.

[The Dirty Bird]

Aso will take a lot of money, but as you saw last year we landed One big name. I think we will land one big name. Aso would be a great pick up IMO.

Thanks for the comment

To be fair, we got more than one big name FA. I know I have said time and time again that last year we got one big name guy and we will do it again this year, but actually look at the guys we got:

Michael Turner - #1 UFA RB in 2008

Erik Coleman - #2 UFA S in 2008 (Gibril Wilson was #1)

Ben Hartsock - #1 UFA TE in 2008

Jason Elam - #1 UFA K in 2008

I think we might go out and get a few quality guys for this team. Obviously Turner had the biggest hype out of all of those signings so we consider it our only big name signing, but it is really not the case.

[hornsmd]

To be fair, we got more than one big name FA. I know I have said time and time again that last year we got one big name guy and we will do it again this year, but actually look at the guys we got:

Michael Turner - #1 UFA RB in 2008

Erik Coleman - #2 UFA S in 2008 (Gibril Wilson was #1)

Ben Hartsock - #1 UFA TE in 2008

Jason Elam - #1 UFA K in 2008

I think we might go out and get a few quality guys for this team. Obviously Turner had the biggest hype out of all of those signings so we consider it our only big name signing, but it is really not the case.

All of those guys were quality guys, just not big name notable players. I guess that is what I meant to say

[The Dirty Bird]

Completely off topic but I just read this:

Contract Information for Keith Brooking

2/28/2006: Signed a restructured contract through 2009. 2008: $4.9 million, 2009: $5.5 million, 2010: Free Agent. Cap charges: $7.7 million (2008), $8.3 million (2009).

His deal is going to have to be redone Tedy Bruschi style (~2 mil a year for 2 years). Same with Milloy. I think they should be kept around to see the rebuilding process through and reap the benefits of a resurgent Falcons team. As leaders of the team they should understand that their contracts are hurting the team and should restructure them - or they could be old and greedy, but I don't want to go with the latter.

[hornsmd]

SI.com: Gamecocks safety Cook has gun charge dismissed

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina safety Emanuel Cook had a felony gun charge dismissed at a preliminary hearing Friday.

May not be as bad as we thought before charges were dropped.

[hornsmd]

Completely off topic but I just read this:

Contract Information for Keith Brooking

2/28/2006: Signed a restructured contract through 2009. 2008: $4.9 million, 2009: $5.5 million, 2010: Free Agent. Cap charges: $7.7 million (2008), $8.3 million (2009).

His deal is going to have to be redone Tedy Bruschi style (~2 mil a year for 2 years). Same with Milloy. I think they should be kept around to see the rebuilding process through and reap the benefits of a resurgent Falcons team. As leaders of the team they should understand that their contracts are hurting the team and should restructure them - or they could be old and greedy, but I don't want to go with the latter.

I agree. I think Brooking may do it but he will have to agree to less palying time too. I don't know that Milloy will do that. I am not sure about the pay cuts either. We have to remember this is a business to these guys. Team goes a long way some times though.

[The Dirty Bird]

I agree. I think Brooking may do it but he will have to agree to less palying time too. I don't know that Milloy will do that. I am not sure about the pay cuts either. We have to remember this is a business to these guys. Team goes a long way some times though.

Pretty much for them it's gonna be either a) help out your team, take a pay cut, take a reduced role, and stick around to benefit from the crap you had to wade through to get here or you are way too expensive, we have to cut you, and now your cap hit is hurting our team

We want them to stay, but them staying on the team with their current contracts are doing more harm than good.

[Robb4242]

yea. as much as i'd like to get him it's just not gonna happen.

It also puts him at best as a 3rd round pick, even though he has mid-2nd round talent.

[hornsmd]

Pretty much for them it's gonna be either a) help out your team, take a pay cut, take a reduced role, and stick around to benefit from the crap you had to wade through to get here or you are way too expensive, we have to cut you, and now your cap hit is hurting our team

We want them to stay, but them staying on the team with their current contracts are doing more harm than good.

Agreed. They will hurt the team more with huge cap hits unless the reduce pay and playing time. They do deserve the chance to stay though.

As far as Cook, I don't think the character issue is whether or not he is worth the the risk. I think the question is can we afford to take that risk. What do you think? Can we take a chance on a great player with a somewhat questionable past?

[Robb4242]

With the draft, I just don't see any way that McRath drops to mid/late 2nd round. He's got top 20 pick talent, and he's showed it on the field. This year, they had just 3 returning defensive starters and he's being seriously gameplanned around which has hurt him some stat wise. JMO, he's still the best OLB prospect in the draft (sorry Curry fans, he's a very close 2nd & both should go top 25 if not top 20).

On a side note, after watching a little more, I think people might be a little shocked at where Maualuga goes. I think he's going to drop some and Laurinaitis will be the 1st MLB off the board, and I'm not 100% sure he goes in the top 10 either.

[Robb4242]

Agreed. They will hurt the team more with huge cap hits unless the reduce pay and playing time. They do deserve the chance to stay though.

As far as Cook, I don't think the character issue is whether or not he is worth the the risk. I think the question is can we afford to take that risk. What do you think? Can we take a chance on a great player with a somewhat questionable past?

That's a valid question, but I don't think you'd be taking a chance on a great player. I think you'd be taking a chance on a good player, when there is not much separating him from about 4 other similarly skilled players, except the off the field issues.

[hornsmd]

With the draft, I just don't see any way that McRath drops to mid/late 2nd round. He's got top 20 pick talent, and he's showed it on the field. This year, they had just 3 returning defensive starters and he's being seriously gameplanned around which has hurt him some stat wise. JMO, he's still the best OLB prospect in the draft (sorry Curry fans, he's a very close 2nd & both should go top 25 if not top 20).

On a side note, after watching a little more, I think people might be a little shocked at where Maualuga goes. I think he's going to drop some and Laurinaitis will be the 1st MLB off the board, and I'm not 100% sure he goes in the top 10 either.

Not sure that McRath will not drop that far. Cushing and Curry will probally be drafted ahead of him and then you have other LBs that will be drafted ahead of him. But more than that I have a feeling we will see a run on CB and OT that will drop him. Other good player will drop as well. I think McRath is the best of the lot in the LB's.

[hornsmd]

That's a valid question, but I don't think you'd be taking a chance on a great player. I think you'd be taking a chance on a good player, when there is not much separating him from about 4 other similarly skilled players, except the off the field issues.

He is late first to 2nd round talent that will fall to the third because of the arrest. Is it worth the risk to take him or take a guy like Wiley or a small school SS? Or are we as a franchise ready to selet a player that has had problems in the past?