Atlanta Falcons: Five options at safety in the draft

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Nov 28, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators defensive back Keanu Neal (42) tackles Florida State Seminoles wide receiver Jesus Wilson (3) during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida State defeated Florida 27-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

1) Keanu Neal

Keanu Neal is one of the most intriguing players in the draft mainly because nobody has a clue as to what round this guy will get drafted in. WalterFootball.com has him a round 1-3 projection while CBS Spots has him as a round 6-7 projection so what’s the deal?

Neal is another in-the-box safety that isn’t the best in coverage. He’s better in coverage than Miles Killebrew or Jeremy Cash, but he still needs to be playing in the box more times than not. At 6-0, 211 pounds, he looks like an NFL safety. He can lay the boom on people but that has led to some missed tackles. An NFC defensive backs’ coach said that he thinks he will be terrific in run support and can play better in coverage than people expect if his instincts are okay.

What is good news for Neal is that he has never really had any injury problems. The Falcons had to deal with William Moore being injured almost every year and they might not want to draft a Karl Joseph type player that has an injury history. Neal is what he is. He’s great against the run, decent in coverage and is extremely physical.

Next: Whow ill start at weak side linebacker for the Falcons in 2016?

If you are willing to deal with the fact that his tackling technique isn’t stellar coming out of the draft, then he’s your guy. Dan Quinn should be able to work on that and knows him very well as he is a former Florida defensive coordinator.