The Falcons have picked CB Dominique Franks out of Oklahoma with the 135th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Franks is a outstanding athlete as he is 5’11″, 190 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  Franks is a gambling type as he makes a lot of big plays but he also gives up his fair share.  He is also a standout return man which is part of his game that could help the Falcons in the near future.  Franks played in 13 games (all starts) last season at Oklahoma and he had 47 tackles, he broke up 5 passes, he had 2 interceptions (97 return yards), he forced 1 fumble and he recovered 1 fumble.  Franks has now played in 40 games (28 starts) in his three years at Oklahoma in which he had 95 tackles, broke up 15 passes, he had 6 interceptions (149 return yards), he forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Franks has a nice upside as many experts predicted him to be picked in the 2nd or 3rd round.

The Falcons have selected G/C Joseph Hawley with the 117th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Hawley is a big guy at 6’3″, 311 pounds.  He can handle guard or center and he is also a good long snapper adding value to his overall game.  He is a good run blocker and a solid pass blocker who has a nasty attitude at times.  Hawley played in 12 games (all starts) at UNLV last season and he has played in 47 games (33 starts) in his four years there.  Hawley could develop into a starter fairly soon for the Falcons and I really like this pick for them.

The Falcons have selected OG Mike Johnson out of Alabama with the 98th pick overall (third round) of the NFL Draft.  Johnson has the size at 6’5″, 306 pounds to dominate but he’s a finesse player who is a much better pass blocker.  He is aggressive off the line but he does not have to power to lock and load in the running game.  Look for the Falcons to get Johnson in the weight room and keep him there for a while to add some hurtin’ power to his frame.  Johnson played in 14 games (all starts) at Alabama last season and he played in 54 games (41 starts) in his three years there.  I don’t think the Falcons are going to throw Johnson to the wolves right away but he has a nice upside if he improves his strength.

The Falcons have selected DT Corey Peters out of Kentucky with the 83rd overall pick (third round) of the NFL Draft.  Peters has good size at 6’3″, 315 pounds but he doesn’t play low enough which gets him taken out of plays quite a bit.  Look for the D-Line coaches of the Falcons to work a lot with him about keeping low because when he does he makes plays.  Peters played in 13 games (12 starts) with Kentucky last season and he had 56 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, he had 4 sacks, batted down 5 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  Peters played in 50 games (39 starts) in his four years at Kentucky in which he finished up with 153 tackles, 28 tackles for a loss, 11.5 sacks, he batted down 11 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  This was a bit of a reach for the Falcons in the third round as he was projected to go somewhere between the 5th and 6th rounds.

The Falcons selected OLB Sean Weatherspoon out of Missouri with the 19th pick of the first round of the NFL Draft.  Weatherspoon is an aggressive tackling machine.  He is very fast running a 4.5 40 despite being 6’0″, 241 pounds and that speed helps him in both coverage and when he blitzes.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for the Tigers last season in which he made 111 tackles, 14.5 tackles for a loss, he had 4.5 sacks, broke up 2 passes and he had 1 interception.  Don’t expect double digit sack totals out of Weatherspoon as that is not his game but I think he will have a lot more tackles than most outside linebackers do as he has a nose for the football.  Weatherspoon played in 52 games (41 starts) in his four years at Missouri and he made 406 tackles, had 43.5 tackles for a loss, he had 12.5 sacks, broke up 17 passes and he intercepted 4 passes.  The Falcons likely found a starter from day #1 in 2010 in Weatherspoon who has a very high upside.

The Falcons will likely be looking to tighten up the defense this weekend at the NFL Draft.  They have 3 of the first 98 picks in the draft and 8 overall picks.  The Falcons have needs at CB, DE, T, G, C, WR and TE going into the draft.  The Falcons will likely be targeting C Maurkice Pouncey, WR Golden Tate, DE Juan Pierre-Paul, CB Perrish Cox, CB Patrick Robinson and DE Brandon Graham. 

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  DE, Brandon Graham, Michigan

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.