Atlanta Falcons announce the signing of more than half of their draft class

Now that the Atlanta Falcons finally have cap room, they are signing members of their 2021 NFL draft class.

Tuesday, the Atlanta Falcons announced that they had signed five of their players from the 2021 draft class. Only Kyle Pitts, Richie Grant, and Darren Hall remained unsigned at this point. Offensive lineman Jalen Mayfield out of Michigan, Ta’Quan Graham, Adetokunbo Ogundeji, Avery Williams, and Frank Darby have all signed their rookie deals.

According to Spotrac, the contracts for these rookies ranged from $5.2 million for Mayfield to $3.6 million for Darby on four-year deals.

Currently, none of the top four selections in the 2021 NFL draft have signed their rookie deals that include Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Kyle Pitts.

Three of the four top draft picks by the Atlanta Falcons remained unsigned

Unlike a decade ago, NFL teams singing their draft picks have become a lot easier due to the rookie pay scale. Agents can longer ask for obscene amounts of money for their guys and coming into the draft each position has a total value.

Very rarely do we see rookies hold out for extended periods any longer and when we do, it is usually because a team wants to add in specific language that an agent does not want in their player’s contract.

According to Spotrac, the Atlanta Falcons fourth overall pick, Kyle Pitts, is due a total value contract of $32 million over his first four years – his fifth year will be determined at the conclusion of his third year in the league.

Using 2021 salary charts, that means Pitts will earn another $5.4-$9.6 million in his fifth year – though that number will surely increase as the NFL bounces back from COVID.

Atlanta Falcons second-round pick, safety Richie Grant, has a contract value of $8.2 million over his first four years in the NFL, and fourth-round pick Darren Hall our of San Diego State has a rookie contract value of $4.2 million over his first four years in the NFL.

All rookies have been involved in minicamp, so the young guys are locked in and ready to roll. No one expects any of them to hold out and the three remaining rookies should officially under contract in the next week or so.