Falcons Mock Draft Preview 2.0

It’s once again time to take a look at the pick provided by Fansided’s NFL mocks crew. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the pick last week, but I’m absolutely certain how I feel about this pick.

The Falcons are once again projected to have the 31st pick in the 1st round of the 2013 NFL Draft. I don’t want to argue with that spot, because it means we will be playing for the biggest game in the entire season. But to the task at hand. This mock draft has the Falcons taking Jesse Williams, the defensive tackle from the University of Alabama. Here is what Josh Hill had to say about the Falcons and this pick:

"Williams is all brawn and that’s what the Falcons need badly on their defensive line. Atlanta has and trouble up front and even if they’ve managed with what they have, adding Williams isn’t going to hurt. We saw what he did in the SEC and even in the Georgia Dome in the Championship game, so seeing him there eight times a year on Sunday won’t be something Falcons fans get upset about."

I don’t want to bash anyone within the Fansided family, but I have to speak my mine about this pick. I think if the Falcons took Williams with their first round pick, every single Falcons fan would be extremely upset about it. Living in Atlanta, I’ve gotten to watch a good bit of Alabama football, and I didn’t miss a minute of the SEC Championship game between ‘Bama and Georgia. I’ll tell you what I thought of Williams.

Williams is a good run stopper. He takes up blocks, just like you’d want a good nose tackle to do. But he isn’t dominant in the run game. He doesn’t exactly dictate the run to one side or the other. Georgia was able to double team him with no problem and take him completely out of the play. He is terrible rushing the passer. Georgia’s Aaron Murray didn’t get within a couple feet of Williams. In the second half of the SEC Championship game, Alabama took Williams off the field completely on passing downs. If he can’t dominate a Georgia offensive line that lost most of its experienced players to last year’s draft, what could he possibly do against a battle tested NFL offensive line?

I just don’t see the Falcons taking Williams. Just no ways. I will, however, agree that the Falcons need help along the defensive line. They haven’t gotten much pressure on the passer, but I think that is a result of lack of depth at defensive end. John Abraham is the only true pass-rusher, and he’s 34. The Falcons have some solid, young defensive tackle depth, so if they invest a first round pick on the defensive line, they would certainly pick a defensive end. I think last week’s pick of DE Ezekiel Ansah is fairly accurate. Another good pick would be Auburn’s Corey Lemonier. It’s reasonable to think he could fall to the Falcons as well.

Last week, I thought that the Falcons would take guard Jonathan Cooper from North Carolina. Well, Josh Hill has Cooper going early to Miami. I think that’s reasonable, as a player as talented as he is isn’t going to fall to the Falcons. After Cooper, there’s a slight drop, and the third best available guard could reasonably fall to the Falcons in the second round. Since that’s reasonable, it makes even more sense for the Falcons to take a defensive end in the first round.