RealGM

Green Bay and Minnesota will be a good rivalry game to watch, and then RGS and Russel Wilson going head to head will be interesting, but really since Falcons get to rest this week, its a good time to check out some college players.

Falcons will be an interesting team to watch in the draft, because even though they are an elite team, Falcons can really use help at every position besides QB, WR, and Safety.

Dimitroff can go alot of ways in moving in the draft, he can keep the picks, or do another Julio Jones trade and move up to the top ten and get a pass rusher or OL, but here we go....

OL - it has been the weakest area for the Falcons, and as great as Dimitroff is, he doesn't do that well, or is not as brilliant when it comes to drafting OL. D.J. Fluker and Chance Warmack could be a good pick up, their feet are just average, but each guy is a wall and powerful. either one would be a good pick in the 1st or 2nd round.

RB - Falcons should start looking for a replacement to Turner. Montee Ball and Eddie Lacy could be two backs that help Rodgers in the backfield, and maybe ones of them falls to the 2nd or 3rd round. I'm a huge fan of Montee Ball. I see alot of Emmit Smith in Montee and think he has a chance of being that great. Montee's second home is practically the endzone. He is not flashing like the new generation RBs, Ball just as a great old school game, very smart, patient, knows when to hit the hole, and he is just a bulldozer in the gap. Eddie Lacy also looks great, he is alittle stiff when he runs, but powerful and a north and south runner.

TE - Gonzalez is 95% done after this season, so who really knows how much 5% is now a days. Tyler Eifert is the obvious choice, if he falls in the first round. TEs are a gamble, you never know if you are going to get a Kellen Winslow Jr or a Gronkowski, but i think Eifert a hard working kind of guy and reminds me of Jason Witten. Joseph Fauria is also another guy who could be a good pick in the later rounds.

DL - Abraham needs a replacement and Babs and Jerry always have injury problems. Dion Jordan, if he falls that low would be a great pick up. Sam Montgomery is slipping in the draft because of production, and i also question his ability. as for DT, John Jenkins would be a great addition. he is just big and powerful and controls the line.

LB - Dimitroff can always put more talent around Weatherspoon. Who knows, he might trade a bunch of picks for Jarvis Jones and i would totally be okay with that. But if Dimitroff keeps the picks, Alexander Ogletree could be a smart pick up in the 1st or 2nd round. Ogletree is just a smart, athletic LB. Dimitroff also love those Missouri guys, Zaviar Gooden with his speed, could be a good pick up in the later rounds

CB - Samuel has been great, but only has a few years left. Xavier Rhodes might fall to the Falcons. Xavier is just your typical tall and fast Florida State corners. Nolan also loves ball hawks, and Johnthan Banks is certainly that, he loves to jump routs and pick off the ball, instead of just knocking it down.

I wouldn't be opposed to trading our first rounder to acquire more 2nd & 3rd round picks.

But if we stay put, I say we focus on RB. I think we are a starting RB away from having the most dominant offense in the NFL. It opens the passing game even more, it improves our time of possession which helps out the defense and helps us close out games. Having a starting FB will help the run game too, but a top flight RB makes our offense unstoppable.

There's a good chance this position is settled in Free Agency when we (inevitably?) release Michael Turner. MJD and Chris Johnson are possible salary cap casualties this summer.

If RB is settled in free agency, then DE should be a top priority. We need a complement to (& replacement for) John Abraham.

Draft desires:

1. Trade Down for a 2nd & 4th rounder.
2. RB like Giovanni Bernard out of UNC. Or Montee Ball of Wisconsin
3. DE like Sam Montgomery out of LSU.

Here are some interesting guys that could be picked up in the later rounds

DE, Larry Webster, 13 sacks, a former college basketball player, turned sack machine for Bloomsburg. He is built like Ivan Johnson with a decent 40. he could be a fun pick, because we all know that competitive basketball players have an easy time transitioning to football

DE, Quanterus Smith, local product from Grayson GA, good size and speed. he went to a small school but was moderately productive for three years.

RB, Kerwynn Williams, short, super fast, 4.4 speed, who is great at catching the ball out of the backfield. he is very similar to Rogers. Ryan loves checking down on the RB on passing plays. Kerwynn is also one of the top special teams player in this year's draft.

Thanks, tcorbin. Each of those last three players sounds promising, but sounds a lot like players on our team.

Jacquizz the undersized-speedy RB. Larry Webster and Quanterus Smith sound like Cliff Matthews, Kroy Bierman and/or Lawrence Sidbury.

What do you think about going after Osi Umenyiora to pair with Abraham next season. He's got two rings, been a pro bowl player, but is stuck coming off the bench behind Justin Tuck and jason Pierre-Paul in NY. He's stated several times he expects to play for a different team next season.

The whole Ray Edwards situation has gotten me skeptical about a guy like Umenyiora. with that, i'm not sure about signing a pass rusher, but if it comes down to that, then i like Cliff Avril or Michael Johnson more than Umenyiora

Understand the reluctancy on Osi. He is getting along in years.

Cliff Avril sounds like a solid addition. It'll be interesting to see if Nolan comes back for another year. If so, I expect the defense to benefit from another year in his system. We've shown signs this year of being an elite defense. Those moments just came few and far apart. (Denver game, NYG game, 2nd New Orleans game.)

My top concerns for next season are RB, OL and TE. Any additions made to these positions through the draft HAVE to benefit the run game.

^ Dion Jordan is climbing on the boards, so he might not fall to the Falcons anymore. Besides Jordan, i also think the Falcons should address OL first

1st pick: Dion Jordan/Chance Warmack/D.J. Fluker/Tyler Eifert
2nd pick: Alec Ogletree/Zach Ertz/Joseph Fauria
3rd pick: Montee Ball/Eddie Lacy/Ricky Wagner

Lacy is putting in work tonight in the championship game tonight. I'd love to have a back like that in our offense. I think he's the type of RB that needs a strong FB in front of him, and I wonder if Koetter is willing to make that kind of a commitment to running the ball. (Two players on the field not directly involved in the passing game.)

I did some research on DE Michael Johnson you mentioned above. He sounds like a worthy investment. So long as he's more focusd on football than boxing, modeling, being a pain in the ass. (Looking at you Ray Edwards.)

If we want to drft O-line first, I'd prefer to trade back to the 2nd round and pick up an extra 3rd or 4th rounder in the process. Unless you have a top-20 pick, I view two 2nd rounders > one 1st rounder.

^ Lacy was amazing, but you have to think how much has to do with that invincible offensive line Alabama has. Lacy was running through holes the whole game long, and i don't think McCarron was touch once in the game.

I don't don't want to trade back the 2nd round because after watching the game, i want Chance Warmack or D.J. Fluker even more now! if anything, the Falcons should trade up and get another low first rounder or high second rounder to get both Warmack and Fluker (maybe, maybe not).

i'm also starting to like Ricky Wagner more and more, especially with his basketball background and the possibility of him trying out as both OL and TE

Your college football knowledge is far superior to mine. I'll defer to you on all of these.

Lacy did have huge holes to burst through, but he also broke alot of tackles in the backfield and the open field. He made the mighty Manti T'eo look like a pussycat. Lacy looked like a young Michael Turner out there. Running guys over. I hope we go back to a two RB set in the future

I also was impressed with Alabama's starting center. Barrett Jones looks like a solid prospect. Has a good head on his shoulder and is a proven winner. Sounds like the kind of guy Dimitroff likes to draft. Any thoughts?

Barrett Jones at center allows us to keep Peter Konz at guard. Wisconsin, Alabama (and Nebraska?) produce some of the top offensive linemen year after year.

^ you are right about Manti Te'o. I thought that he might fall alittle bit in the first round and maybe TD trades up to get him, but after the game, i wouldn't touch Manti with a second round pick. Manti could be another Aaron Curry situation. Ogletree is defiantly looking alot better now.

Barrett Jones is okay, and i wouldn't be totally upset if the Falcons got him, but i would rather have some +320lb guard who can move the line and make some holes for Rodgers