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imported_Jzrith · 03-23-2007, 07:24 PM

Atlanta Falcons 2007 NFL Mock Draft
by Matt Libid

First Round: Laron Landry Safety | Senior | L.S.U.

6'1" 213 lbs. 4.35
Youtube
Now that we have traded up two overall picks in the first round of the draft, I am more assured that Atlanta will be able to draft Landry; and has convinced me even more so that the Falcons do want Laron Landry. It's obvious that Atlanta needs a ball hawk in their secondary besides DeAngelo Hall. Chris Crocker and Lawyer Milloy was an addition to the team last year. However, Lawyer Milloy isn't getting any younger as we speak, and Chris Crocker hasn't really been impressive much either. Those two safeties weren't exactly the best pair for our secondary either. Our secondary is nothing with just DeAngelo Hall being the only obvious playmaker. With Laron Landry, we have a playmaker that will bring power, skill, and intimidation to the safety and maybe even cornerback position. Laron Landry fits our team needs perfectly. He can keep up with almost all of the recievers in the league, he can tackle (hard), and he's got great run coverage skills to go along with his solid pass coverage abilities. The reason why I drafted Laron Landry over Reggie Nelson is simple. In a handful of games that I've watched Reggie Nelson play for Florida, I've seen him give up on many plays. Landry hussles his behind off on practically all the plays I've seen him play in. Reggie Nelson didn't impress much with his performance in the national championship; and impressed even fewer with his performance at the NFL Combine. At this point of their careers, I think Landry has just plowed right in front of Reggie Nelson in the power rankings - showing that he is truly the best safety in the nation. I'm sure that once Atlanta tutors Landry into the team in the offseason, he'll be starting at the FS position starting from week one. Laron Landry has the potential to be the anchor of this defense for many years to come. We can't pass up on such a high-caliber defensive back like Landry.
Other Possible Draft Picks: DE Gaines Adams, RB Adrian Peterson, DE Jamaal Anderson, DE Adam Carriker, OT Levi Brown, DT Amobi Okoye

Second Round: Arron Sears Offensive Tackle | Senior | Tennessee

6'3" 319 lbs. 5.30
With this pick acquired through the trade of Matt Schaub to the Texans, I am convinced that Atlanta will draft an offensive player; an offensive lineman to be exact. The Falcons haven't invested any of their time looking into potential starters at the offensive tackle position in the offseason, and with Arron Sears, Petrino gets the power linemen that he's always wanted. NFLDraftCountdown has stated that Sears can also be projected as a guard in the next level. Arron Sears is a very reliable back up who has played at both tackle positions and both guard positions in his NCAA career. With Sears, Petrino can finally get the offensive lineman that he's wanted to get to protect Michael Vick. By the time regular season starts, I can assure you that Sears has, by then, convinced Bobby Petrino and the rest of the offensive coaches that he can protect Michael Vick better than any of our offensive tackles. I expect Arron Sears to be our starting tackle by week one - replacing Wayne Gandy.
Other Possible Draft Picks: OG Ben Grubbs, OG Justin Blalock, *S Eric Weddle, *S Brandon Merriwether

Second Round: Tim Crowder Defensive End | Senior | Texas

6'4" 272 lbs. 4.69
The picks acquired through the trade with Houston won't change my mind at all about who we will draft at this point of the draft. With Patrick Kerney out the door, it's pretty clear that Atlanta's defensive line attack has hindered quite a bit. Carrington and Mallard are no suitable starters for this position, and the shallow depth that the defensive end position brings to the table is nothing that a defensive coordinator would feel safe about. And while John Abraham can't stay healthy in the opposite end, it's pretty clear that what Atlanta needs to do is bring in a healthy defensive end that can replace Patrick Kerney. Tim Crowder has great size and speed, and can easily replace Patrick Kerney's role. In a year or two, I can even see Tim Crowder as being the next Patrick Kerney of the league. He has a great motor, has great strength, is very tough, very aggressive, and can solidly play the run. Not to mention that Tim Crowder had a very solid and healthy career with the Texas Longhorns. He has plenty of experience and can be the leader for our defensive line for years to come. I see a bright future ahead of this young player, and I think that he fits in well with Zimmer's ideal rush-attack scheme. While some maybe pondering the fact that we aren't drafting a running back or an offensive lineman at this point of the draft, it's easy to show them that if you look at the amount of depth we've had for the past couple of years in the defensive end position, we aren't exactly safe to sit back and relax. More than half of our defensive linemen are injury prone, and the most important one that we have on our squad is clearly uncapable of evading injury.
Other Possible Draft Picks: DE Lamar Woodley, RB Tony Hunt, S Eric Weddle

Third Round: Manuel Ramirez Offensive Guard | Senior | Texas Tech

6'3" 326 lbs. 5.20
I can simply justify this pick by pointing at last year's stat of the amount of times that Vick got sacked. That stat is due to two important things - the health and talent of the offensive linemen. Manuel Ramirez may not be as athletic as the guards that we have now, but that won't prove too much of a downside for our team due to the amount of power and intensity that Ramirez brings to the table. While bench pressing a whalloping 550 lbs. (Texas Tech.'s football record) last year, Ramirez is surprisingly quick for his size. He fits in quite well with Petrino's power blocking system. Ramirez has got to be one of the best run blocking offensive linemen coming out of this year's draft. Another reason why drafting an offensive guard like Ramirez is because we have absolutely low depth at the guard position. Let alone the number of issues on our offensive line that must be improved - depth. Our two back up tackles are also the back ups for our guards. Suppose one starter goes down. Then that means we'll only have one man to back up every offensive lineman. That's too risky because we rely upon the performance of the offensive line on every game. The offensive linemen make it or break it for us. That's why we're going to need every help we can get, and Manuel Ramirez will prove to be capable of lending us a helping hand when we need one. How can we be more sure? Ramirez was the leader of an offensive line that blocked for a team in the Top 5 best offensive production in the country.
Other Possible Draft Picks: OT Tony Ugoh, CB Ryan Smith, DE Dan Bazuin, *RB Michael Bush

imported_Jzrith · 03-23-2007, 07:24 PM

Fourth Round: H.B. Blades Linebacker | Senior | Pittsburgh

5'11" 236 lbs. 4.75
Youtube
With the first fourth round pick, I see the Falcons drafting a player to fill in a glaring hole that's in need of filling. Let's just say that we need to fill the doughnut with the jelly feeling. The empty donut is the linebacker position, and the jelly would obviously be H.B. Blades. Although Blades isn't exactly edible, he will fit that comparison due to his ability to play the middle linebacker position. Atlanta hasn't moved Brooking back to the middle line backer position this offseason, and the fact that they are taking a while to make up their mind, I think they're going to go after an inside linebacker in the draft instead of moving Brooking back and forth and back and forth. Beck isn't ready to start yet. In fact, I question Jordan Beck's ability to be the leader of this defense. I see Beck as more of a special teams leader. H.B. Blades, however, has the potential to be the leader of this defense. I think H.B. Blades can be one of the top three linebackers to come out of this draft. He is my sleeper. Blades has great strength and uses that power to wrap up his targets well. H.B. Blades has great potential. In fact, I get chills from just thinking about how good he can get. Blades is strong, fast, and is a reliable player. I just can't see us passing H.B. Blades when he drops to our pick here.

Fourth Round: Kenny Scott Cornerback | Senior | Georgia Tech

6'1" 179 lbs. 4.39
Youtube
This pick is my sleeper of the draft. DeAngelo Hall and Jimmy Williams can't be the only ones playing the cornerback position solidly in Atlanta. Jason Webster's lost more than a few steps now and if he can cover a second string reciever, then I can probably be the king of England. We need someone to play nickel for us in a few years. It can't be Jason Webster, Allen Rossum, or any of our other unconsistent defensive backs. It CAN be Kenny Scott. However, the main reason Kenny Scott made it on my mock draft is the fact that he can return kicks and punts and can get lots of playing time on the special teams squad. He's been returning the kick offs for Georgia Tech since he was a freshman, and he's got a lot of potential on special teams. I've seen a lot of Kenny Scott due to his games in Georgia Tech. This tall, quick, solid cornerback can definetly keep up with the third string wide recievers in the league right now. Kenny Scott has proven that he can play in Georgia Tech by showing the scouts that he can play the run as well as he can cover his man one-on-one. While Kenny Scott doesn't have the ideal bulk that most coaches look for, Scott makes up for it with his superb quickness on the field. While some may think that this is too early of a pick to draft Kenny Scott, I think otherwise. I expect a lot of scouts to be amazed by his return skills, and I know for a fact that due to that small fact, Kenny Scott's stock has risen dramatically.

[COMPENSATORY] Fourth Round: Anthony Gonzalez Wide Receiver | Junior | Ohio St.
6'0" 193 lbs. 4.44
If we do in fact nail this fourth round pick, I'm predicting that the Falcons will yet again spend it on an offensive player. This time, however, I'm sure it will be another target for Michael Vick. Anthony Gonzalez has already worked out with the Falcons, so the fact that he's already spent time being observed by Atlanta's scouts, I know that Atlanta is definetly interested in him. Gonzalez has got the potential to be the next Brian Finneran. He's very smart, runs great routes, rarely drops balls, and can be a leader to his receiving squad. This pick isn't promised, so I won't spend too much time explaining it. I'm just going to say that Gonzalez would definetly be a sleeper pick if we get the chance to draft him here.

Fifth Round: Dwayne Wright Running Back | Junior | Fresno St.

6'0" 228 lbs. 4.66
Youtube
With the fifth round pick, I believe that Atlanta will draft Dwayne Wright. Although this spot may be too early, I think that sixth round is reserved for someone by the name of Cameron Stephenson. Anyways... Wright is a solid power back who can stay healthy. Some may want Michael Bush instead of Dwayne Wright (if Bush is even available at this point of the draft...). However, the durability comparison between Michael Bush and Dwayne Wright has made the decision for me already. Petrino has already seen the way Dwayne Wright works out. Petrino got that chance with Dwayne Wright was invited by Atlanta to work out for them. The fact that he was already invited to work out for Atlanta convinces me that Petrino has moved on with the idea of drafting Michael Bush. Dwayne Wright is a Michael Bush prototype except Wright is a much safer pick. Wright has decent size with great vision of the field. He's also a pretty good blocker. That means that if he isn't running over the defense or going out for a pass, he can be blocking for Michael Vick. This pick can turn out to be a sleeper as well.

Sixth Round: Cameron Stephenson Offensive Guard | Senior | Rutgers

6'3" 306 lbs. 5.42
This pick is a little bit of a gamble, but it has a good chance of being a sleeper pick. Cameron Stephenson is a pretty strong offensive linemen. Off the top of my head, I think he did thirty-something reps in the NFL Combine. He can bring the pressure off of Omiyale and Ojinnaka to back up all of our offensive linemen next year. Stephenson's played a little offensive guard and a little offensive tackle as a player from Rutgers (mainly an offensive guard). He's definetly a skilled tweener, and that's what Petrino needs on our team. Some may wonder why we draft yet another double position in the draft because we drafted an offensive lineman already in the third round of this draft, but I projected Ramirez to be a starter by next year, so I think that Stephenson can bring lots of depth for Ramirez and the other players on the offensive line. The players in the later rounds of the draft usually get cut anyways, but Stephenson is a potential sleeper that we have to take a chance on.

[COMPENSATORY] Seventh Round: Kyle Young Center | Senior | Fresno St.
6'5" 354 lbs. 5.61
This is yet another compensatory pick, and it's also the last pick of the draft. It's not really wishful thinking, yet it sort of is because I'm hoping that we can take a gamble on Kyle Young if we do in fact acquire a seventh round pick. Kyle Young was out of shape and was definetly not in the best shape of his life when he arrived at the combine, but with Hue Jackson, I think disciplinary problems will be dealth with effectively. When Kyle Young is in shape, he is a strong, powerful center. That's something Atlanta's offensive line needs. Our offensive line's health status isn't granted. Until we can see in the future, we can never be too sure. That is why we can never have too many offensive linemen. Besides, this team DEPENDS on the offensive linemen. Without the OL, Atlanta's offense would crumble causing us to lose games due to the fact that we are basically a team that relies more on the offense than the defense. Kyle Young is tough and aggressive and like I said before, I think Young would be a great selection at this point of the draft. Let's take that chance that he can be a bust. It 'is' the last pick, and there's always going to be the option of cutting him.

*A bit of a reach / Unsure of the availability
*Might be too high / Too Early