Thomas Dimitroff’s five worst draft picks as Falcons GM

From the time Thomas Dimitroff arrived in January of 2008, the trench play of the Atlanta Falcons, especially on defense, has needed to be addressed and that was certainly the case back in 2014. The NFL Draft that year featured future pro-bowlers like Jadeveon Clowney, Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack. I could certainly make the case that Atlanta missed with their first round pick that year going with Jake Mathews instead Taylor Lewan, but this is about the Falcons second round in 2014 – Ra’Shede Hageman out of Minnesota.

Thomas Dimitroff said they were wowed during his private workout with the Falcons. This one workout allowed Thomas Dimitroff to ignore all the game tape on Hageman, ignore all the talk about him being lazy and ignore all the other warning signs that were present when talking about Ra’Shede Hageman. Dimitroff once again took a guy that had no business being selected as high as he was.

Ra’Shede Hageman would spend just three seasons in a Falcons uniform, make just 16 starts and record just four sacks before he was ultimately cut for a domestic violence incident with the mother of his children.

Who could Dimitroff have chosen instead? How about former All-American and Super Bowl champion Timmy Jernigan who was selected by Baltimore later in the second round of the 2014 NFL draft.