ATS Sports Blog

Be sure to check ATS all season long for the most up-to-the-minute NFL lines and NFL weekly expert picks.

Atlanta Falcons
2009 Draft Grade: B

Free Agent/Non Draft: B

Total Grade: B
Overall Needs:
•Safety
•Outside Linebacker
•Defensive Tackle
•Center
•Cornerback

Draft Picks:
Rd / Sel# / Name / Pos. / School
1) 24 Peria Jerry DT Mississippi
2) 55 William Moore S Missouri
3) 90 Christopher Owens CB San Jose State
4) 125 Lawrence Sidbury DE Richmond
5) 138 William Middleton CB Furman
5) 156 Garrett Reynolds OT North Carolina
6) 176 Spencer Adkins LB Miami (FL)
7) 210 Vance Walker DT Georgia Tech

Arrivals: Old Team
WR Troy Bergeron (FA)
TE Tony Gonzalez (FA) Kansas City
LB Edmond Miles (FA) NY Giants
RB Verron Haynes (FA) Pittsburgh
LB Mike Peterson (FA) Jacksonville
C Brett Romberg (FA) St. Louis

Departures: New Team
LB Michael Boley (FA) NY Giants
LB Keith Brooking (FA) Dallas
DT Rod Coleman (FA) New Orleans
CB Dominique Foxworth (FA) Baltimore
DE Simon Fraser (released)
DT Grady Jackson (FA) Detroit
SS Lawyer Milloy (FA)
DE Kindal Moorehead (released)
WR Laurent Robinson (traded) St. Louis
OT Todd Weiner (retired)

Offseason Analysis:

Atlanta already had a strong offseason after adding TE Tony Gonzalez to fill a major need.

In the first round, they took Peria Jerry, who can shoot gabs and force the QB out of the pocket. In the second round, William Moore is a big safety who is very fast, but was slowed by an ankle injury.

At one point, he was projected to be a top-10 pick. Chris Owens, a smallish corner, was a solid pick, out of San Jose State. He can get overpowered by bigger receivers. A sleeper pick is on the fourth round when DE Lawrence Sidbury from Richmond, who has terrific speed and just needs to refine his technique. CB William Middleton is another burner at corner, who was not invited to the combine, but that’s because he’s from a 1-AA school in Furman.

Big OT Garrett Reynolds is the nephew of Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds, who will end up playing at right tackle. Spencer Adkins started just five games for Miami and is undersized. Hello special teams.

Big DT Vance Walker was very productive, but had a rough senior season suffering a concussion and ankle injury. The biggest move in the offseason for Atlanta took place in a deal. By adding Tony Gonzalez, they solved their needs at tight end for another 2-3 years. They added some depth on the Oline but signing center Brett Romberg.

On defense, they signed veteran LB Mike Peterson from Jacksonville, who can play outside linebacker. They did lose some veterans on the defensive side, including Keith Brooking, Lawyer Milloy and speedy Dominique Foxworth.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Falcons keep DE Davis with $14 million contract (cbssports.com)
• Atlanta Falcons In Search Of Consistency In 2009 (bleacherreport.com)

• Digg this post
• Recommend on Facebook
• Buzz it up
• Tweet about it

Popularity: unranked [?]