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A look at the history of the Falcons top pick in the draft

By Grayson Freestone

Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Vic Beasley (Clemson) poses for a photo after being selected as the number eighth overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 30, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Vic Beasley (Clemson) poses for a photo after being selected as the number eighth overall pick to the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Atlanta Falcons have landed yet another top-ten pick in the NFL Draft. Last year they held the fourth-overall pick which they used on star tight end, Kyle Pitts. This year they hold the eighth-overall pick and no one knows which direction they will go with their top pick.

With as many holes as the Falcons have, you could mock any number of players to Atlanta in the first round. It could be a wide receiver, it could be a pass rusher, it could be a quarterback, no one knows for sure.

The last ten, eight-overall picks have been good, but not great. The Falcons must hit on their pick

The last ten picks, with the pick that the Atlanta Falcons currently hold, have been decent, it has had its fair share of good players, but also a few busts.

Here is a list of the last ten, eighth-overall picks in the NFL Draft:

  • 2012: Ryan Tannehill – QB
  • 2013: Tavon Austin – WR
  • 2014: Anthony Barr – LB
  • 2015: Vic Beasley – DE
  • 2016: Jack Conklin –  OT
  • 2017: Christian McCaffrey – RB
  • 2018: Roquan Smith – LB
  • 2019: T.J. Hockenson – TE
  • 2020: Isaiah Simmons – LB
  • 2021: Jaycee Horn – CB

The first thing that sticks out on this list of eighth-overall picks, is just how diverse it is when it comes to positions. The only position that has more than one player drafted is linebacker, a position that the Falcons are likely to not target in the first round.

The second thing is the pick of Vic Beasley, a player who could have been a great player but he fizzled out after a dominant season in 2016. What could have been with Beasley.

Arthur Smith has a connection on this list with Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill got his start with the Miami Dolphins before being traded to the Tennessee Titans to compete with, funny enough, Marcus Mariota. Smith ended up turning Tannehill into a really good quarterback and he is still the franchise quarterback for the Titans.

On this list, there are a good number of quality players like Ryan Tannehill, Anthony Barr, Jack Conklin, Christian McCaffrey, Roquan Smith, T.J. Hockenson, and Isaiah Simmons. Fortunately for the Falcons, the history of this pick is more positive than negative.

Hopefully, the Falcons can nail this pick and find a franchise-changing player that they badly need.

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