Atlanta Falcons Draft: Richie Grant is the next Antoine Winfield Jr.

The Atlanta Falcons have officially gone through their selections for the 2021 NFL Draft and there were several quality names added to the roster.

While everyone has been talking about the first-round selection of TE Kyle Pitts and what that may mean for the offense, there are others who deserve some praise, as well.

One of those is second-round selection Richie Grant.

Richie Grant is going to be for the Atlanta Falcons what Antoine Winfield Jr. was for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Honestly, as we look back at the NFL Draft as a whole, Grant might end up being one of the biggest steals of the entire weekend.

When looking at Grant’s film, we see two major attributes that stand out:

1. His physical nature
2. He’s an athletic ball-hawk

You know who else had those same two traits? Antoine Winfield Jr. when he was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl this past season and while everyone talks about the addition of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski as the major additions, most don’t seem to realize how big the additions of Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr. were in the draft.

Winfield Jr. finished the season as the best rookie safety in the league and he made a major difference in that Bucs defensive backfield.

When thinking about the way Grant plays and what he represents in the backend of the defense at UCF, we think he could serve a very similar role for the Falcons.

We’re not here to say that Grant is going to make the Falcons a Super Bowl contender, but what we are saying is that he’s going to help make a major difference in the secondary and it’s going to be something that Falcons fans notice fairly early on in the season.