By Tim Childers (@childers1788 @1788sports)

As we head toward the 2018 NFL Draft, it is important to look at the past few Falcons drafts. Atlanta has been under the guidance of veteran GM Thomas Dimitroff, who after five years as head of scouting for the New England Patriots, joined the Falcons as general manager replacing Rich McKay who took on the role of team President in 2008. While Dimitroff has managed to build one of the leagues most talent-laden squads, it hasn’t been without its setbacks. After quick success with head coach Mike Smith and young quarterback Matt Ryan, the team suffered from a supreme lack of depth, which led to a series of down years before coming back into prominence with their 2017 Super Bowl run. Here are the best and worst Falcons draft picks under Dimitroff.

Best – Matt Ryan – QB – Boston College

Coming off a great final season for the BC Eagles, which culminated in a seventh-place finish in the 2007 Heisman voting, Ryan looked ready for the NFL. Dimitroff took Ryan with the third pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, hoping that the promising young gunslinger would transform the Falcons offense. It did that and then some, as Ryan went 11-5 as a rookie, and won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. Ryan has gone on to lead the Falcons to six playoff appearances and looks to be on track for a Hall of Fame career.

Worst – Ra’shede Hageman – DT – Minnesota

The Falcons came into the 2014 NFL Draft looking to boost their pass rush and took Hageman with the 37th pick out of Minnesota. Hageman looked to be the elite interior defensive talent that the Falcons had been missing but struggled to play consistently. Paired with the struggles of the Falcons overall from 2013-2015, Hageman saw his role greatly decrease with the addition of Grady Jarrett in 2015. His chances of consistent play came to a standstill when allegations of Domestic violence stemming from a March 2016 incident led to him being put on the Commissioners exempt list before being released in 2017. Hageman finished with 61 tackles and 4 sacks in three seasons.

Best – Julio Jones – WR – Alabama

Coming off of a huge 2010 year for Bama, in which he lead the Crimson tide to another national championship and an undefeated season, Jones was viewed as one of the top talents in a stacked class that included the likes of Mark Ingram Jr., AJ Green, Von Miller, Cam Newton, and JJ Watt. It was a big risk, when then young GM Dimitroff traded away five picks to the Cleveland Browns to move up and pick Julio with the ninth overall pick in 2011. The trade has turned out a bit lopsided when you look back at it, as Jones has developed into the leagues biggest threat at wide receiver, with his mix of speed, strength, height, and catching ability. Meanwhile, the Browns used those five picks to take Phil Taylor, Greg Little, Owen Marecic, Brandon Weeden, and Trent Richardson. While only Taylor and Weeden are even still in the league, Jones is on pace to be one of the best players the league has ever seen.

Worst – Sam Baker – OT – USC

Unlike the other player taken by the Falcons in the first round of the 2008 draft, Baker’s career was sidelined by a series of serious injuries, which led to him only starting 61 games from 2008-2014. After being a standout at USC, he was drafted to protect Matt Ryan but never could stay on the field long enough to develop into the player Atlanta hoped for. After tearing his patella tendon in the 2014 pre-season, Baker was released in 2015 and has yet to return to the game.

Best – Grady Jarrett – DT – Clemson

Unlike Hageman, Grady Jarrett has had an explosive career from the start. Apart of Dimitroff’s first draft class with head coach Dan Quinn, Jarrett slipped all the way to the fifth round of the 2015 draft before being drafted by the Falcons. After having a solid rookie season, he became a vital part of the Falcons new-look defense which culminated in him recorded three sacks in the 2017 Super Bowl. His Super Bowl appearance also made it one of the few times that both Father and Son made an SB appearance for the same team, which his father Jessie Tuggle did in 1999. In three seasons, Jarrett has 127 tackles and 8 sacks, along with being one of the top interior defensive linemen in the game.

Worst – Peria Jerry

Building off of a playoff appearance with rookie QB Matt Ryan and first-year head coach Mike Smith, the Falcons looked to bolster their team by taking Jerry in the first round of the 2009 draft. After a standout career at Ole Miss, the Falcons took him with the 24th pick to replace the outgoing Grady Jackson. After missing most of his rookie season due to injury, he came back and played in all of the Falcons games in 2010. However, he went on to lose the starting job Corey Peters before later retiring from football in 2014. He finished his career with 67 tackles and 5.5 sacks in 61 games for Atlanta.

Honorable Mention: Best – Devonta Freeman – RB – FSU

After the downhill slide of Michael Turner and the lackluster play of Stephen Jackson, the Falcons turned to Freeman in 2015. After having a successful three years at FSU, one of which he won the National Championship, he was taken by Atlanta in the 2014 draft. He went mostly unnoticed in his rookie season as Mike Smith preferred the combination of Jacquizz Rodgers, Antone Smith, and Stephen Jackson. However, under first-year head coach Dan Quinn, Freeman exploded onto the stage with over 1,000 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in his sophomore season. Since then, Freemans’ mix of speed, toughness, and agility has consistently made him one of the biggest threats in the NFL, both on the ground and through the air.

Honorable Mention: Worst – Jamaal Anderson – DE – Arkansas

Okay, so before you freak out, yes, I know that Anderson wasn’t drafted by Dimitroff. But don’t think for one second I’m gonna miss out on a chance to make fun of one of the worst draft picks in recent Atlanta sports history. Anderson was taken by the Falcons with the eighth pick of the 2007 draft for a team looking for a compliment to the aging John Abraham. What they got was a lackluster defensive end with ego problems who would struggle at Defensive end for four years before being released by Atlanta. In four seasons the pass rusher could only muster 4 and a half sacks. It’s probably a good thing McKay vacated the GM position after that.

All stats via Pro Football Reference