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How day 1 in FA altered our draft strategy


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I’ll preface this by saying there is a ton of time between now and the draft, but let’s look at day 1 and see how this impacted our draft needs. Needs posted in no particular order.

Pre-FA needs: Edge, LB, DT, DB, LG, WR, QB

POST-Day 1-FA needs: Edge, DB (CB), LG, RT, WR

With the signings of Elliss, Bates, Onyemata and Carter we’ve filled our needs for an upgrade at DT, LB & DB. Which is HUGE! 

With the signing of Heinicke it’s clear it’s Ridders job to lose and if he can’t hack it, Heinicke is a capable player to step in and compete at a high level. QB can be removed from an immediate need. 

If we let McGary walk, we have two huge holes at LG & RT. Matthews at LT is only getting older and we really only have one OL locked in for the future of the franchise and that’s Lindstrom. Despite needing an Edge rusher, another CB opposite of AJ and a capable WR2 (not including TEs) I’d say it’s looking more and more that our 8th pick with be OL. There is Paris Johnson, Broderick Jones & Peter Skoronski that should all be day 1 starters. Paris Johnson is the likely pick due to the fact he’ll be our day 1 starter at RT and the eventual replacement at LT when Matthews hangs the cleats up. None of these are sexy picks, but a good OL is necessary to offensive success and if the draft was today I don’t see how any other pick would make more sense. 

Edited by matty72780
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Wouldn’t be mad at a tackle in the draft at this point. Wouldn’t be mad at rolling back out with Heyward again next season as CB2 but he’s getting up there in age and coming off a major injury. He looked good before he went down though. Think there’s some quality receivers we can sign for reasonable money. 

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Just now, Nino11 said:

Wouldn’t be mad at a tackle in the draft at this point. Wouldn’t be mad at rolling back out with Heyward again next season as CB2 but he’s getting up there in age and coming off a major injury. He looked good before he went down though. Think there’s some quality receivers we can sign for reasonable money. 

Im thinkings its gonna be the best tackle or corner at 8 depending how the rest of this unfolds.

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Agreed, based on how we've spent money so far, OT seems to be the logical direction with our first pick. 

The question at this point seems to be "Do they see Skoronski as the next Lindstrom or prefer one of the other OTs?" 

The only other position that feels feasible at this point is CB, but if the Bradberry to Atl rumour is real that is definitely out the window. 

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3 minutes ago, Nino11 said:

Wouldn’t be mad at a tackle in the draft at this point. Wouldn’t be mad at rolling back out with Heyward again next season as CB2 but he’s getting up there in age and coming off a major injury. He looked good before he went down though. Think there’s some quality receivers we can sign for reasonable money. 

If Heyward can go, then we can put our attention 100% on the lines.  

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9 minutes ago, Nino11 said:

Wouldn’t be mad at a tackle in the draft at this point. Wouldn’t be mad at rolling back out with Heyward again next season as CB2 but he’s getting up there in age and coming off a major injury. He looked good before he went down though. Think there’s some quality receivers we can sign for reasonable money. 

I bet this is what we do. Resign Heyward & Oliver to bargain contracts and possibly target CB in the 2nd or 3rd round. OL is never the sexy pick but without a solid OL you simply can’t win in the NFL. 

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12 minutes ago, Atlanta_Dawgs46 said:

I never thought about Bijon. There are a lot of good CBS in this year draft. 

As much as I love Bijan (and my wife would finally watch with me it the Falcs got him) I think this FA makes it easier to focus on DBs. But I have a feeling the surprises aren’t finished. 
 

Go Falcons 

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Posted (edited)
30 minutes ago, Shooter Says said:

Oline......Zzzzzzz but it honestly might be the right decision. Build up the trenches. 

Yup, it’s not sexy, but you can’t win in the NFL without a top OL. Improving our D via FA but getting a worse OL would be the most counterproductive thing we could do as a franchise. There are still some solid FAs out there but the more I think about it, the more drafting OL makes sense. We have an extremely young nucleus on offense with Allgeier, Ridder, London, Pitts - we need an Oline in order to be successful and to maximize our young-guns!

Edited by matty72780
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58 minutes ago, Shooter Says said:

Oline......Zzzzzzz but it honestly might be the right decision. Build up the trenches. 

It's not so much "building" as it would be good cost management. Whoever the Falcons draft in the 1st round will be making around $6M per season for 4 seasons. Best case scenario McGary is looking at around $12M with possible escalators bumping that up as time goes on. 

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1 hour ago, Nino11 said:

Wouldn’t be mad at a tackle in the draft at this point. Wouldn’t be mad at rolling back out with Heyward again next season as CB2 but he’s getting up there in age and coming off a major injury. He looked good before he went down though. Think there’s some quality receivers we can sign for reasonable money. 

Honestly, I think we only have two Tackles under contract.  Vrabel and Matthews!  We need at least two good young tackles to be solid. I would almost guarantee we sign Wilkinson again to man the LG slot.  He was decent when he was playing.  Dalman should be better; we have depth in developing youth in Shaffer and Neuzil.  Hennessey needs to **** or get off the pot this year.

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Not a big fan of moving LT to RT or vice versa.

The early RT position group leaders are Dawand Jones (Ohio State) and Darnell Wright (Tennessee). IMO both are 2nd rounders. Worthy 2nd rounders and I would be okay with either but not at 8 overall.

 

Given the way the draft looks like it will play out right here today, my best solution at 8 overall is Christian Gonzalez (CB Oregon). AJ, Gonzalez and Oliver combined with Bates and Grant looks FORMIDABLE on paper. Scary big and fast.

IMO the only other consideration is edge IF they fall in love with a Tyree Wilson or a Luka Van Ness.

 

Or trade out

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Just now, Herr Doktor said:

Honestly, I think we only have two Tackles under contract.  Vrabel and Matthews!  I would almost guarantee we sign Wilkinson again to man the LG slot.  He was decent when he was playing.  Dalman should be better; we have depth in developing youth in Shaffer and Neuzil.  Hennessey needs to **** or get off the pot this year.

I'm confused by Neuzil. Maybe they expect something from him this year. I know on one of our TDs last year that went to the right (I think it was Allgeier but could have been CP), I saw him jumping up and down in the end zone after opening a lane. I still have no idea what position he was playing, because I could've sworn both Lindstrom and Dalman were in the game at that time. It still has me baffled.

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Just now, Herr Doktor said:

Honestly, I think we only have two Tackles under contract.  Vrabel and Matthews!  I would almost guarantee we sign Wilkinson again to man the LG slot.  He was decent when he was playing.  Dalman should be better; we have depth in developing youth in Shaffer and Neuzil.  Hennessey needs to **** or get off the pot this year.

Agreed but with the exception of Matthews and Lindstrom those are the only 2 good OL we have. Sure, we have depth and potential but that doesn’t open holes for our running game or keep our QB off his back. Look at the two teams in the SB this past year. Eagles were rated top OL and KC was rated 4th (per PFF). Pro Football Network has the Eagles #1 and KC #2. If we’re serious about winning it starts with the Oline. 

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Basically, we are still waiting on the following with priority ranking:

1a. RT...will this be McGary, FA, maybe Mayfield, or draft?

1b. LDE....we have no one on the roster right now for this position (ie. Cam Jordan size/power combo)

2. LG...could be internal (Hennessey, Mayfield?)

3a. NB/3rd S...70% of defensive snaps last season for out new DC played 3 S looks...

3b. WR2...this is dependent on Pitts scheme outside/slot, etc

Anything else is depth signing at this point in FA or retraining our own guys for depth.

 

A lot of people want CB...I think Hayward is a solid #2 CB and bringing back Oliver with the emrgence of Darren Hall...Im not as concerned at CB....I dont view anyone as an upgrade of Hayward at this point...

Draft is where we could see a CB/S, LDE, OL, WR, RB

 

Edited by Matt_The Iceman_Ryan
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1 minute ago, Matt_The Iceman_Ryan said:

Basically, we are still waiting on the following with priority ranking:

1a. RT...will this be McGary, FA, maybe Mayfield, or draft?

1b. LDE

2. LG...could be internal (Hennessey, Mayfield?)

3a. NB/3rd S...70% of defensive snaps last season for out new DC played 3 S looks...

3b. WR2...this is dependent on Pitts scheme outside/slot, etc

Anything else is depth signing at this point in FA or retraining our own guys for depth.

 

A lot of people want CB...I think Hayward is a solid #2 CB and bringing back Oliver with the emrgence of Darren Hall...Im not as concerned at CB....I dont view anyone as an upgrade of Hayward at this point...

Draft is where we could see a CB/S, LDE, OL, WR, RB

 

We can also address CB in the 2nd or 3rd round. The drop off from offensive lineman within the top 10 is way more drastic than DBs. The o-line is the motor of the car, if that doesn’t run we’re stuck on the side of the road regardless who we have on defense. 

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