Atlanta Falcons 2020 draft class shaping up to be crucial for success

Good teams are built through the draft in the NFL and that is much of the reason why the Falcons have been suffering for years now. Most of their draft classes have been pretty underwhelming ever since they made the Super Bowl in 2017.

With that being said, Thomas Dimitroff’s final draft class as the Falcons general manager might end up being pivotal to the Falcons finding success.

Falcons’ 2020 draft class might determine their success this season

Atlanta started off the 2020 draft with the 16th overall pick which they used on arguably the best player currently on the roster—A.J. Terrell.

Terrell had a breakout year in his sophomore season as he was perhaps the best at his position. We all know how great he is and how he will be the leader for the defense along with Grady Jarrett.

Terrell is obviously important to the Falcons success, but the same can be said for the rest of the picks from 2020, minus their seventh-round selection.

Here is the full draft class for the Falcons in 2020:

• Round 1, Pick 16: A.J. Terrell – CB
• Round 2, Pick 47: Marlon Davidson – DT
• Round 3, Pick 78: Matt Hennessy – C
• Round 4, Pick 119: Mykal Walker – LB
• Round 4, Pick 134: Jaylinn Hawkins – S
• Round 7, Pick 228: Sterling Hofrichter – P

As you can see, ignoring Sterling Hofrichter who is now a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this draft could be a huge factor in whether or not the Falcons end up having success this season.

The top five players the Falcons selected could all end up being starters to open up the season.

We already talked about A.J. Terrell and how special he is, no doubt he is the team’s top corner and one of their best players. Marlon Davidson on paper seems to be the best interior defensive lineman the team has not named Grady Jarrett, even if he was disappointing during his first two seasons.

Matt Hennessy started last season and was up and down. He split time with Drew Dalman at times, but Hennessy should be the favorite to be the starting center. He needs to play more consistently for the offensive line to succeed.

Mykal Walker is really the only wildcard out of these five players, as the Falcons signed Rashaan Evans and Nick Kwiatkowski who will compete with him. Then, of course, they still have Deion Jones who will likely not be traded due to a shoulder injury that will keep him out the rest of the offseason. If Jones is not ready at the start of the season then Walker might end up starting alongside Rashaan Evans.

Last, but not least, is Jaylinn Hawkins who forced the Falcons coaching staff to give him more playing time last year due to his playmaking ability. One could assume that Hawkins will be the starter along with Richie Grant. The team wants to see what they have in those two young players.

As you can see, each one of these picks, minus Hofrichter, could end up being the key to whether or not Atlanta has success this season. This might end up becoming one of the best draft classes the team has had in years.