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Atlanta Falcons: Five positions that need addressing in draft

By Colin Hubbard

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5) Offensive guard/Center

Oct 25, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Atlanta Falcons center Mike Person (68) tosses his glove into the stands as he exits the field after defeating the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Atlanta won 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Atlanta Falcons center Mike Person (68) tosses his glove into the stands as he exits the field after defeating the Tennessee Titans during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Atlanta won 10-7. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /

The Atlanta Falcons’ offensive line had a lot of ups and downs in 2015 but all in all did much better than expected.

The starting five was pretty much set heading into training camp, but what happened over the course of the camp changed everything.

Center Joe Hawley was let go and right guard Jon Asamoah who was the Falcons’ best lineman in 2014 was placed on injured reserve. This led to the Falcons trading for veteran left guard Andy levitre and catapulted veteran Chris Chester into the starting role at right guard.

After the rather surprising cut of Hawley, Mike Person was named the opening day starter at the center position and had a dreadful season. Person caused at least three turnovers alone due to bad snaps and was replaced in the final game of the season by Gino Gradkowski.

While it isn’t ever ideal to start a rookie lineman, the Falcons still need to draft an interior player to help the two outstanding tackles that the team possesses in Jake Matthews and Ryan Schrader.

Drafting a lineman is always a gamble. Time after time teams draft a lineman in the first round and it winds up being a bust so there’s never a guarantee that who you’re drafting is going to turn out to be a good, reliable player.

The Falcons could target an offensive lineman or two in free agency such as center Alex Mack and stay away from drafting a lineman if at all possible.

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