Falcons: Thomas Dimitroff explains why Vic Beasley was a bust

Thomas Dimitroff, the former general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, made his fair share of mistakes during his long tenure. Whether it was draft blunders like selecting Takk McKinley over T.J. Watt or signing guys like Tyson Jackson and Paul Soliai to massive contracts.

The NFL Draft in 2015 was the location of another one of his major swings and misses when he decided to take Vic Beasley with the eighth overall pick.

Thomas Dimitroff explains how the Falcons missed on the person, not the player

Dimitroff recently spoke to the AJC about his time with the Atlanta Falcons, one of the most compelling quotes he had was the following about Vic Beasley:

"“You’re not going to miss on that cornerback’s right foot that’s splayed out and doesn’t allow him to cut right, you’re not missing on the movement. You’re not missing on the athleticism. You’re missing on that Vic Beasley didn’t maybe have the, unfortunately, the passion that we wanted (him) to carry into it. You can look at that on a number of different levels.”"

He brings up a very valid point and this is much of the reason that the NFL has such a high bust rate in the draft. You can never fully know the passion of a player until you are around them, coach them, and watch them play snap after snap.

There was little to suggest on film that Vic Beasley was going to be a bust when he was with the Clemson Tigers. You cannot deny that the Falcons had a freak athlete in Beasley, Dimitroff just thinks that he did not have the passion to be consistent.

It was also evident when watching him every Sunday, he never showed an aggressiveness, he always relied on his athletic ability which will not get you far in the NFL.

Unfortunately, there is nothing Atlanta could do to get the feistiness they needed out of Beasley and it is much of the reason why he is out of the league now.

Dimitroff also used another example to prove his point when talking about Jalen Collins.

"“Jalen Collins, I mean, he was a good athlete and helped us do things, but it wasn’t prolonged because he had his own stuff, right? We thought we could change (him). I just think that idea of missing on the person not the player. I think it’s probably that way amongst a lot of people in sport, other sports as well.”"

Jalen Collins is an example of a player who could not stay on the field, not due to injuries, but due to mistakes made by him.

Sometimes, as Dimitroff said, you miss on the player but nail the talent. You need to find a player who is both to find a player who will be successful in the league. Hopefully, in the fast-approaching draft, Terry Fontenot will be able to hit on each aspect of the players he takes.