The Falcons wanted to go defense heavy last April and with that in mind they selected 7 of the 8 players on that side of the ball.  DT Peria Jerry was the Falcons’ first round pick (#24 overall) out of Mississippi.  He only played in 2 games and he made 1 tackle before his season ended due to injury.  Strong safety William Moore was the 2nd round pick of the Falcons (#55 overall) out of Missouri.  He only played in 2 games making 2 whole tackles.  CB Chris Owens was picked in the third round (#90 overall) out of San Jose State.  He played in all 16 games for the Falcons and he made 29 tackles, defensed 2 passes and he had 2 interceptions as he was the Falcons’ best rookie last season.  DE Lawrence Sidbury out of Richmond (4th round, #125 overall) played in all 16 games for the Falcons last season but he only had 5 tackles and 1 sack.  CB William Middleton out of Furman was selected in the fifth round (#138 overall) by the Falcons.  He was cut before the year started and then he was signed by the Jaguars.  He played in 12 games for them last season and he made 20 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  OT Garrett Reynolds (5th round, #156 overall) out of North Carolina played in only 4 games (0 starts) for the Falcons.  But, they like his size as he is 6′7″, 317 pounds.  Inside linebacker Spencer Adkins out of Miami (Fla) was picked in the 6th round (#176 overall) by the Falcons last April.  He played in 5 games and made 3 tackles last season.  DT Vance Walker was picked in the 7th round (#210 overall) out of Georgia Tech played in 10 games for the Falcons last season and he finished up with 13 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.

GRADE FOR THE 2009 SEASON:  F

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  D