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Atlanta Falcons: 10 worst decisions during Thomas Dimitroff era

By Grayson Freestone

Oct 11, 2020; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff on the field during the game against the Carolina Panthers during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2020; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff on the field during the game against the Carolina Panthers during the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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Atlanta Falcons
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9) Signing Tyson Jackson, Paul Soliai over going all out for one big name

So Thomas Dimitroff decided to sign Tyson Jackson and Paul Soliai over potentially going on in on someone like Julius Peppers, Everson Griffen, or Michael Bennett. Assuming that one of them would have taken a big offer to come to the Atlanta Falcons.

Tyson Jackson signed a five-year, $25 million dollar contract, and Paul Soliai signed a five-year, $33 million dollar contract.

The team was moving to a 3-4 defense so they needed bigger bodies, but it is easy to say that neither of them ever lived up to their contracts. They never played too well.

8) Drafting Sam Baker over Duane Brown or Calais Campbell in 2008 draft

The selection of Sam Baker, after selecting Matt Ryan, never worked out.

He showed promise for the Atlanta Falcons, but never was able to stay healthy. Meanwhile, there is a tackle drafted by the Houston Texans five picks later, who is still playing. That being Duane Brown who is a great player for the Seahawks still.

Not to mention Calais Campbell being taken a round later, and he turned into one of the best pass rushers in the NFL over the past decade.

7) Drafting Peria Jerry over Clay Matthews in 2009 draft

The next year, the Atlanta Falcons made another mistake, taking Peria Jerry when Clay Matthews was on the board still.

Obviously, hindsight is 20/20. You can criticize draft picks for every team over the years, but that does not mean it does not hurt.

Peria Jerry has been considered by many as one of the biggest busts in Atlanta Falcons history, it only makes it worse when one of the greatest Green Bay Packers players of all time was taken two picks later.

Clay Matthews in all likelihood would have been able to single handily fixed the major pass-rushing woes for the team over the past decade.

6) Cutting John Abraham after the 2012 season

This move by the Atlanta Falcons is still haunting.

Coming off of a ten sack, six forced fumble season, the Atlanta Falcons decided to cut their best pass rusher and one of the best pass rushers in their history.

Rumors were it was due to a shift in defensive scheme, but even then you should not be cutting his production. He was still a terror off the edge.

He ended up going back to the New York Jets, and in his first year back, he had 11.5 sacks. After that, he suffered a season-ending injury the next season that ended his career.

Not to mention he was only going into the second year of a three-year contract that was only worth about $16 million dollars.

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