Atlanta Falcons: Who impressed the most at the Senior Bowl?

We waited all week to watch the much-anticipated Senior Bowl which featured several future first-round draft picks especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The Atlanta Falcons are expected to draft very heavily on the defensive side of the ball and they got a great look at some of top defensive players in the upcoming draft.

The main focus amongst the Falcons’ fan base was put on Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland, but his day out on the football field was very quite. Ragland did not post any stats on the afternoon but several other players performed very well.

Eastern Kentucky defensive end Noah Spence had a very nice afternoon and is proving to be a sure-fire first-round draft pick. Spence did not record a sack but helped his teammate Shawn Oakman get a sack. Spence had his way with the North’s offensive line on nearly every down and would be a great pick up for the Falcons if he is available at pick 17.

However, it’s looking more and more likely that Spence will be long gone by the time the Falcons draft but a kid can dream, right?

Boise State safety Darian Thompson was also one of the big winners from the Senior Bowl. He shut down just about everything thrown his way and nearly picked off Dak Prescott in the end zone.

Thompson finished with five tackles and two pass breakups. He currently holds a second round grade and is the No.1 ranked free safety in the draft. However, he is just eight pounds lighter than current Falcons’ strong safety William Moore, so a conversion from free safety to strong safety may not be out of question.

LSU outside linebacker Deion Jones has been a very underrated linebacker up until this point but showed everyone at the Senior Bowl that he is bound for success in the NFL.

Many project Jones to be a third-round draft pick and if that stands to be true, the Falcons should strongly consider drafting him.

Along with being a better than average linebacker, Jones was arguably the best special teams’ player in LSU history. Jones racked up a couple of special teams’ tackles during the Senior Bowl and made a terrific goal-line stop as well.

Jones is considered to be a small linebacker at just 219 pounds, but he played as if he weighed 250 during the game. Not only does he like to hit, but his speed is through the roof and will likely run one of the quickest 40-yard dash times from the linebacker position at the combine.

One of the easiest things to do in the NFL is bulk up so that shouldn’t be an issue for Jones. What is not easy to do is learn how to improve footwork and speed and luckily for Jones, he already has that down pat.

Jones looks like he would be a match made in heaven in a Dan Quinn defense. Let’s hope it happens.