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

The Falcons have lost rookie 2nd round pick William Moore out of Missouri for the season due to a hamstring injury.  He played in 2 games this season for the Falcons and he made 2 tackles.  The Falcons were very disappointed in Moore’s play before he was injured so they won’t miss him too much the rest of the year.

The Falcons have lost first round pick Peria Jerry for the year due to a knee injury.  Jerry was the Falcons’ first round pick this season and they were depending on him to help the run defense.  He only had 1 tackle this season when he was injured.  Thomas Johnson will start at DT now and he has made 2 tackles this season.  The Falcons will likely continue to have problems defending the running game.

The Falcons filled another need in drafting safety William Moore in the 2nd round.  Moore projects to be a strong safety in the pros as he is a good run defender packing a wallop in his hits.  He can be worked by QBs as sometimes he’s caught peeking at their eyes.  Moore is a big guy at 6′0″, 223 pounds and he’s pretty fast running a 4.5 40.  Moore played 4 years at Missouri and he played in 48 games (32 starts) in which he made 284 tackles, broke up 22 passes, had 11 interceptions (162 yards), forced 5 fumbles and he recovered 1 fumble.  This was another solid pick for the Falcons who have now added to solid young players to the defense.

The Atlanta Falcons couldn’t be happier when they saw DT Peria Jerry slide to them in the first round.  He should start from Day #1 on the inside for the Falcons.  He has a never stopping motor as he fights through the double team and gets into the opposing backfield often.  He is a tad on the small side at 6′1″, 290 pounds but he’s very fast for his size running a 4.9 40.  Jerry played 4 seasons at Mississippi in which he played in 38 games (29 starts) and he made 132 tackles, 33 tackles for a loss, has 11.5 sacks, batted down 3 balls, forced 2 fumbles and he recovered 2 fumbles.  This was a outstanding pick for the Falcons.