Atlanta Falcons: Thomas Dimitroff has to nail the 2020 draft class
Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff was given a stay of dismissal when owner Arthur Blank decided not to make any changes to the front office personnel or coaching staff.
Thomas Dimitroff has done the entire Atlanta Falcons organization a disservice over the last ten years. He has failed to secure the most important pieces to any successful run, dominant pieces on the offensive and defensive lines.
The last two drafts have been the best in years as far as defensive line talent and yet in 2018, the Atlanta Falcons drafted a wide receiver and in 2019 a pair of offensive lineman.
Sure, Calvin Ridley has been great while both Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary look to be good picks and they will all continue to help this team in the future, but what about a dominant defensive lineman?
The Atlanta Falcons thought they were getting their dominant ends when they drafted Vic Beasley and Takk McKinley. Both have been below average at best and have only logged sacks in the same game twice; both of which happened in 2019.
The San Francisco 49ers and John Lynch have shown that identifying and drafting truly legit and dominant defensive linemen are key to making a Super Bowl.
Sure, Grady Jarrett is among the most dominant defensive tackles in the game. However, he has no help on either side of him. Put on any game tape from 2019 and it looks like Grady is out there on his own trying to generate pressure on most downs while also trying to sustain gap containment.
Grady needs help and Thomas Dimitroff has one more chance to show that he is capable of putting together a winning roster and that will start and end with the draft as the Atlanta Falcons aren’t expected to be heavily involved in free agency given their cap issues.
Next. 49ers can thank the Atlanta Falcons for their sixth title. dark
Chase Young is by far the best defensive lineman in this draft class, but the Falcons should not mortgage their future to move up to number two in order to grab him, given the number of needs this franchise has. However, if the Atlanta Falcons scouting department is doing their job, there are several other defensive linemen in this draft worth making moves for and they should make that happen.