The Falcons selected 22-year old DE Cliff Matthews with the 230th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Matthews is 6’4″, 265 pounds and he runs a 4.85 40.  Matthews probably couldn’t handle playing outside linebacker, so the Falcons might be best served to try to get him to gain a few pounds.  Matthews plays all out, all of the time which has served him well in college ball and it should translate well in the pros.  He played in 14 games (all starts) at South Carolina last year and he had 44 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, batted down 1 ball and he forced 4 fumbles.  Matthews played in 51 games (47 starts) in his four years with the Gamecocks and he had 149 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 15.5 sacks, batted down 5 balls and he forced 7 fumbles.  The Falcons caught another player who slid in the draft as many draft experts had Matthews getting picked in the 4th or 5th round.

The Falcons used the 210th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft on 22-year old OG Andrew Jackson out of Fresno State.  Jackson is 6’5″, 302 pounds and he’s pretty strong and nasty.  He dropped so far in the draft because of a high ankle sprain that cause him to miss quite a bit of his senior year.  He played in 4 games (all starts) last year for Fresno State and he played in 40 games (39 starts) in his four years with them.  This was a solid pick for the Falcons this late as Jackson can handle guard and center.

The Falcons took punter Matt Bosher out of Miami (FL) with the 192nd overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Bosher is 6’0″, 208 pounds and he’s very versatile as he also was a placekicker who also handled kickoffs.  Bosher punted the ball 59 times last year for the Hurricanes for 2,596 yards (44.0 avg) and he pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 19 times (32.2%).  He played four years with the Canes in which he punted the ball 234 times for 9,756 yards (41.7 avg) with 70 punts being downed inside the opposing 20-yard line (29.9%).  Bosher was a good pick for the Falcons as he can replace Michael Koenen who is getting a tad overpriced  for his production.

The Falcons picked 21-year old RB Jacquizz Rodgers out of Oregon State with the 145th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Rodgers is on the small side at 5’7″, 190 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Rodgers makes a lot of good moves and he is a excellent receiver out of the backfield.  He projects to be a third down back because he can’t take the beating of a lot of carries at the NFL level and he doesn’t do his best running between the tackles.  Rodgers played in 12 games (all starts) for Oregon State last year and he carried the ball 256 times for 1,184 yards (4.6 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  He also caught 44 passes for 287 yards (6.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  Rodgers played in 36 games (35 starts) in his three years with the Beavers and he carried the ball 788 times for 3,877 yards (4.9 ypc) with 46 TD runs.  He also caught 151 passes for 1,056 yards (7.0 avg) with 5 TD grabs at Oregon State.  This was a good pick for the Falcons as Rodgers might be the backup to Michael Turner as soon as 2011.

The Falcons picked 23- year old ILB Akeem Dent out of Georgia with the 91st overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Dent is 6’1″, 236 pounds and he runs a 4.85 40.  Dent is a classic inside linebacker as he is strong against the running game between the tackles.  Due to a lack of speed, I think Dent would be exposed quite a bit if the Falcons consider using him at outside linebacker.  Dent played in 13 games (all starts) for Georgia last year and he had 126 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and he broke up 2 passes.  Dent played in 47 games (32 starts) in his four years with the Bulldogs and he had 240 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks and he broke up 5 passes.  Dent really only had one standout year for Georgia, so the Falcons are taking a big of a risk here.