Atlanta Falcons: Looking back at the past 10 draft classes
Pretty interesting to look at, huh? What you are looking at is the past 10 draft classes for the Atlanta Falcons and it’s quite eye-opening. The Falcons have drafted 75 players in the past 10 years and to think that some of these positions have so few picks is quite astonishing.
Let’s start with the Falcons’ biggest weakness, there pass rush. Out of 75 players drafted, only five have been defensive ends. Five. And that’s including Vic Beasley in last year’s draft. Not only have the Falcons neglected the DE position in the draft, but they have also done a very poor job of signing good DE’s in free agency, hence their No. 32 ranked pass rush.
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Every other position seems to be in order. The Falcons have drafted a combined 11 offensive lineman out of 75 players which isn’t too shabby, but it could be higher. Of the 11 lineman drafted, only one remains on the roster and that is offensive tackle Jake Matthews. That is the bigger headline.
Atlanta has drafted six running backs and six wide receivers which seems acceptable. Two of the six running backs have been selected in the past two drafts and only three wide receivers have been drafted since 2010.
The cornerback position leads the pack at 15 and the Falcons have drafted six safeties for a combined total of 21 defensive backs. 28 percent of the Falcons’ last 10 drafts have gone towards drafting a defensive back and there haven’t been a ton of gems on that list.
11 linebackers have been drafted in that time span and only one remains on the team. Can you guess who that it? If you guessed Tyler Starr then you would be correct. That’s pretty incredible.
There aren’t a ton of drafted players that still remain on the roster in this 10-year time span. Only 19 of the 75 remain on the Falcons’ roster heading into 2016 which is only 25 percent.
The Falcons are heading into a very important 2016 NFL draft and can hopefully find some players that will be around for a lot longer than players they draft usually are. Well, let’s at least hope that’s the case.