2021 GMO Draft - UDFA

Atlanta Falcons​

Freed up some cap space, drafted some guys, and eventually signed some guys that nobody else wanted.

 

More serious recap:

Atlanta Falcons​

The challenge was that at the start of this thing, the team's previous braintrust had put the franchise $27 million over the cap limit, had tied up over $130 million in just 6 contracts, already had $11 million in dead cap, and had only 39 total players under contract - and 9 of them were from the practice squad.

So the big decision was whether to blow everything up now, throw in the towel for 2021 and set the stage for a free agent spree and draft bonanza in 2022 OR to try to build a legit roster for the new coaching staff while setting up for a much better cap situation next year. Blowing things up would be too easy since the roster wouldn't have to be good - going 0-16 this year would be part of setting up for 2022 anyway. So we'll do it the hard way.

The only way to get under the cap was to restructure Matt Ryan. That also means I pretty much locked myself into keeping him as the starter for at least two years and probably three. And that means using the #4 to draft a QB really isn't such a hot option. The team needs everything, and I'm going to burn the #4 pick just to have a guy spend 75% of his rookie contract on the bench?

The plan was to trade down in two or three steps, acquire future picks, reduce the cap escrow in the process, and take a linebacker or edge guy in the mid to late first round.

That fell apart at the last second. So on to Plan B: plug the holes with cheap bargain rack free agents on one year contracts, making them expendable next year with no cap consequences, and use the draft to add solid building blocks for the new coaching staff.

Here's how the roster shapes up:

Quarterback: Ryan starts, obviously. Drafted Jamie Newman to develop. Signed Joshua Dobbs to help mentor him. Will likely draft Matt Ryan's successor in 2021, but Newman will get a good look in practice this year to see if he might be the guy.

Offensive line: drafted Penei Sewell to join Matthews, Lindstrom and McGary. Matt Hennessy steps up at center, and I drafted Michal Menet for depth. Also tendered RFA Matt Gono at swing tackle and resigned James Carpenter to a vet min deal for emergency depth. Noteworthy = the starting tackles and guards are all first rounders.

WR/TE: drafted Quintin Morris to develop as #3 TE. Already have Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Hayden Hurst and Russell Gage, so Matt Ryan has plenty of targets. If the protection is there, the passing game should be fun.

RB/FB: the real team signed Mike Davis at RB, so I did too. Ito Smith and Qadree Ollison are actually pretty good backs. It's the scheme and the blocking in front of them that has been a problem. Hopefully the new coaching staff will do a better job matching the play calls to the personnel they have. Might ditch the FB and add another player elsewhere on the roster, but for now Keith Smith is still here.

Defensive line: drafted Osa Odighizuwa, signed Vernon Butler for cheap veteran depth. Kept Tyeler Davison. They join Grady Jarrett, Dante Fowler, and a bunch of emerging prospects (including second rounder Marlon Davidson). Run defense should be solid up front in either 4-3 or 3-4. Pass rush from 4-3? We'll see - on paper it should be there, but we've had a parade of line coaches and defensive coordinators fail to generate sufficient pressure over the last decade. I'm thinking the pass rush will probably have to come from blitzes or 3-4 / 3-3-5 packages, so I planned accordingly...

Linebacker: drafted Zaven Collins to join Deion Jones, Foye Oluokun and Mykal Walker as the main four. In a 3-4, Fowler takes one edge, and Collins will get plenty of blitz opportunities from the other OLB spot. Also signed Alex Anzalone to improve the depth of my IR list, plus a couple of prospect LB and edge guys. If they pan out, great. If not, they're cheap and expendable anyway. The real team signed Barkevious Mingo, so I did too. Maybe he'll get a shot at edge or play OLB for the real team. On my roster he'd be more likely to back up the water boy, but he's cheap depth with a hint of experience.

Secondary: drafted safety Hamsah Nasirildeen and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste. Resigned safety Damontae Kazee (missed last year with injury) and safety Ricardo Allen (who is a natural cornerback). Real team already had a solid trio of corners and a pair of backup safeties, plus prospects. The idea is that Allen starts at safety until Nasirildeen or T.J Green are ready to take over, and from there he provides emergency CB depth. Kazee starts at safety if he's healthy. St-Juste will have time to develop at corner and will likely be a gunner on punt coverage.



I think I got it done. The roster is not only complete (which was a challenge in itself, starting with just 30 true players and 27 million over the cap) but actually looks competitive.

 

The New York Giants Select:

John Bates, TE, Boise State

 

The Steelers select:

Patrick Johnson-Edge-Tulane

 

49ers select
Elerson Smith, Edge - UNI

 

@Willie

 

the MINNESOTA VIKINGS select;

T.J.Vasher - WR - Texas Tech

 

Approved

SF Trades
6(21)

MIN Trades
6(39)
7(14)

 

Raiders select

Divine Deablo, S - Va. Tech

 

Just like that...

Back to @xinik and NYG

 

I can now fuck off for the day but let me know if my back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back picks are up early.

 

Really debated Deablo & Snowden at 5 (33). I actually liked Deablo by a slight margin but rolled with the LB for one reason. There are, IMO, more S’s worthy of being drafted later in the draft.

In any case, I think you got a solid prospect and good value.

 

Great name

 

I know...Fits with the Raiders. lol!

 

NYG are OTC

@xinik

 

Have I effectively apologized for this yet? Certainly wasn’t intentional, but for many years now the way my work shakes out the hours of 8:30 to about 11am ET are the toughest hours for me to be present. I have a pseudo-management role at work. I’m responsible for organizing roughly 20 to 30 people every morning, covering sick calls, making sure things are disbursed efficiently, etc. And it’s a bad look when you’re extra busy and looking at your phone. When it hits top level chaos and I’m being asked three questions at a time plus trying to move things around I get pretty distracted sometimes. I have long complained about it to Joe with these things because I feel like every year I miss out on one good opportunity because of it. But it is what it is. Once all the organizing is done, and I get out on-road it is much easier to find five minutes to come up with a coherent thought unrelated to work. Sad part is I absolutely would have gone through with that deal if I’d managed to get three minutes to check my phone. In this case it didn’t work out, surprise, surprise.

Sounds good. Still don’t understand how McGary was worth a first round pick. If you are a defensive or easily offended Falcons fan, then whatever you do don’t read PFF’s perspective on what Atlanta did there.
Still, Matthews, Sewell, and Lindstrom should help anchor a top 10 OL for as long as you can afford them and they’re not aged out.

I hope you guys haven’t invested much hope in T.J. Green getting there. Classic Ryan Grigson pick in what I think was his last draft. Had no real position. Hadn’t excelled or played much at either position. But looked athletic in shorts. 2nd round pick. Turned out how you should expect it to (almost sounds like a Dimitroff O-line selection hey @Torgo ?).

 

Isnt he from Texas Tech

 

You are correct... I miss read my notes. Texas Tech it is.

 

I didn't mean to be pedantic but, I was scrambling to cross him off my list and it's easy to spot a school name first.

 

I gotta look that up now, lol.