After a tumultuous off season, the Atlanta Falcons finally seem to be on the right path in their attempts to get back to relevancy. Terry Fontonet and Arthur Smith traded Matt Ryan and finally committed to an all in rebuild, even if the path they took to get here was extremally messy. The Atlanta Falcons came out of the 2022 NFL Draft with eight new players, five on offense and three defensive selections. The Falcons initially had nine picks, but traded up from pick 43 to 38th overall to select Arnold Ebiketie. In addition to pick 43, Atlanta parted with the 114th pick. I am certainly a lot more optimistic about this 2022 draft class, than I was the Falcons 2021 class.
First Round
8th Overall Pick: Drake London, Wide Receiver, USC.
Terry Fontenot decided to select USC wide receiver Drake London with the 8th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. This pick was received with mixed reviews from the fanbase as many felt there was more pressing needs. London should instantly be the Falcons number one wideout. He gives Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder, a big target with a huge catch radius to aim at. London being 6'5" allows him to tower over many corners lined up opposite him. His size and length will make him a big headache for defensive coordinators and a mismatch for many corners in the league especially given his ability to line up outside or in the slot. A possession receiver, London averaged 13.5 yards per reception over three seasons at USC. London is incredible at coming back to the ball and identifying it at the catch point to haul in contested passes. The former USC man has mastered the art of boxing out the player who is covering him. He is good at running the out route, he has shown the ability to fool corners into thinking he is running a go route; Arthur Smith could definitely utilise this ability to run the double move. London's routes in college mostly consisted of curls, slants, screens and go's; These made up 69% of his routes ran in 2021. Running slants and curls are meat and drink for London, it is where he thrives most; he was successful in 2021 over 86% of the time when running either of these. At the NFL level, I do worry whether his lack of top end speed and being asked to run a more complex route tree will case him to not create seperation against elite cornerbacks. Grade: C. Second Round
38th Overall Pick: Arnold Ebiketie, Edge Rusher, Penn State.
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58th Overall Pick: Troy Andersen, Linebacker, Montana State.
There is no doubting that Troy Andersen is one of the best athletes that was selected in the draft. At Montana State, he was the ultimate utility man. He was asked to play quarterback, running back and safety before settling at linebacker, where he flourished. It is rare to find a man of Andersens build at 6'4" 240lbs with side line to side line range. Andersen possesses many quality traits that a top tier linebacker requires. He has a great knack for diagnosing screens and perimeter run plays. Andersen is a fairly sound tackler, but he needs work in coverage despite his incredible athletic ability. It'll take time for him to develop in coverage, so sitting him for a year behind Rashaan Evans and Deion Jones or Mykal Walker would be the wise decision to make. Andersen is an inexperienced linebacker, who relies on his impressive athleticism to make plays, but there is no doubting he has huge potential. To eventually become a starting linebacker in Dean Pees defence, he has to do much better in between the tackles when defending the run and develop his coverage ability. He plays with a high motor and should offer great special teams value.
Grade: B.Third Round
74th Overall Pick: Desmond Ridder, Quarterback, Cincinnati.
The most intriguing pick of the whole draft for the Atlanta Falcons for me was the selection of Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder. Not only is Ridder brilliant value in the 3rd, he could potentially be Atlanta's nexy franchise quarterback. Ridder instantly hyped up the fanbase by declaring during an interview with ABC that “They’re going to get everything out of me. A Super Bowl out of me. I’m not leaving until I get a Super Bowl.” Ridder was my number #1 ranked quarterback in the 2022 draft. Ridder is an athletic pocket passer who offers the threat of rushing. He has proven himself to be a real leader, being a team captain and guiding Cincinnati to the college playoffs last season after an undefeated regular season. NFL.coms Lance Zierlein compared Ridder to Alex Smith and I have to agree with him. He does a really good of diagnosing what the defence gives him. Ridder's accuracy and ball placement needs improving but having big targets like Kyle Pitts, Auden Tate and Drake London will help mask some of those issues and make life easier for him. In four seasons as a starter for Cincinnati, Ridder threw for over 10,000 yards, 87 touchdowns and 28 interceptions. He added 2180 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns on the ground. Ridder is lacking elite arm strength, he is extremely coachable and has all the intangibles to develop into a quality starting quarterback. I think he'll fit in nicely to Arthur Smiths scheme and could be a viable game manager in year one. Grade: A.
82nd Overall Pick: DeAngelo Malone, Edge Rusher, Western Kentucky.
DeAngelo Malone will be a rotational outside linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons. Malone is an exciting edge player with raw talent. He doesn't possess the biggest physique for an edge rusher, so he can struggle shedding blocks when attempting to set the edge in rush situations. He has an explosive first step that gives tackles trouble in pass protection. Not only does Malone have some great traits, but he has the production to back it up. On top of being Western Kentucky's career leader in sacks (34), Malone was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year after an impressive final season that saw him record 17.5 tackles for loss, and 9 sacks. The former WKU man will likely have to add weight if he is to continue the joy he had in college at the NFL level. Adding more moves to his pass rush repertoire is a must too. Malone had a very impressive week at the Mobile Senior Bowl, which surely helped catch Atlanta scouts eyes. The Atlanta native will get the opportunity to play for his hometown team. He will offer Atlanta immediate special teams value, who could eventually develop into a starting outside linebacker. Grade: B. Fifth Round
151st Overall Pick: Tyler Allgeier, Running Back, BYU.
BYU's Tyler Allgeier gives the Atlanta Falcons a highly productive running back who has experience in a zone scheme. He has shades of Arian Foster. Just like Arthur Smiths offense in Atlanta, BYU ran plenty of outside zone, making Allgeier a perfect scheme fit. Allgeier had a outstanding 2021 after setting the best BYU single season rushing record in 20 years. He posted 1,606 rushing yards and a nation leading 23 rushing touchdowns. I love Allgeier's vision to find the hole and maximise the offensive lines blocking ability. He uses his one cut ability to devastate defences on the ground, he posted four game of over 190 yards in 2021. Allgeier possesses great balance that allows him to absorb contact. I don't see him as a three down back option for Atlanta. Having Damien Williams and Cordarelle Patterson already in the running back room will give the Falcons time to ease Allgeier in. Grade: A. Sixth Round
190th Overall Pick: Justin Shaffer, Guard, Georgia.
I am a fan of Justin Shaffer, but I don't like this selection because a lack of scheme fit. Atlanta seem to be trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, just like they did wrongly with Jalen Mayfield at guard last season. Shaffer is a powerful offensive lineman who mauls people in the run game. His huge size and strong hands make him a force to be reckoned with, he nastily finishes blocks and excels when in a downhill run scheme. In pass protection, he struggles because of his lack of agility and quickness. The thought of him running the outside zone concept in Arthur Smiths offense is frightening. Grade: D. 213th Overall Pick: John FitzPatrick, Tightend, Georgia.
A key part of Arthur Smiths offense is two tightend sets. The Falcons ran two tightend sets on 394 plays, which ranked second in the NFL. Atlanta had a void to fill at the position, after Hayden Hurst moved onto the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency and Lee Smith retired following the 2021 season. FitzPatrick is purely a blocking tightend, he only caught 17 passes for 200 yards in 3 years playing for the 2021 national champions. Grade: B. Overall Grade: B.
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