B-
Atlanta Falcons
A sensible, unshowy class lands the Falcons a B-.
by Curlybro ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 9 picks
· 3 steals
· 3 reaches
The tape said wait; the Falcons did not. Taulia Tagovailoa went at slot 247, a good 138 picks before the board was ready. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
The Roberts pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch. The Smith pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with interior defensive lineman, running back and other spots still on the board. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through interior defensive lineman.
Job largely done: offensive lineman settled and 5 of 8 of the wish list covered.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the interior defensive lineman spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a security blanket over the middle. A clean fit for the roster.
Nice patience on Emeka Egbuka, who had no business lasting to slot 42. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending pick 74 on Maason Smith with interior defensive lineman, running back and other spots unsolved.
Tate Ratledge in pick No. 110 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
James Williams in the 147th overall pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
They jumped the gun on Darius Robinson, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A reach for Marques Cox in pick No. 204; a little patience would have been rewarded. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Circle this one: Willie Roberts at No. 231 is a fall that decides a draft. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Taulia Tagovailoa in Round 7, Pick 27 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.