Participants:

Me, u/SHoNGBC on Reddit, and u/mercury2six on Reddit

This weekend I participated in a mock draft run by the NFL Draft Subreddit. While I wasn’t the GM, I was in the WarRoom and it was fun to debate with other knowledgeable Falcons fans about our draft while still having an impact on who we picked. I thought it went pretty well and thought we got a good haul but you all will be the judge of that. Here are our picks along with my grade, reason for picking them, and scouting reports on each:

Round 1, Pick 26: Da’Ron Payne, DT, Alabama

Obviously this was the most debated pick in our warroom and there were a lot of factors that went into it. Vea was the only DT off the board at that point so we had a lot of choices of who to pick. It came down to picking Taven Bryan or Da’Ron Payne. We chose to go with Payne even though we already have a 1T in Jarrett because we had seen Payne succeed as a 3T.

Round 2, Pick 58: D.J. Chark, WR, LSU

After we got our most pressing need, we were tasked with determining our next biggest need. We thought LB and WR were both equal needs. We decided to pick Chark first because most of us were in love with his athletic ability and production when given a real QB.

Round 3, Pick 90: Shaquem Griffin

After we got our DT and WR, LB was unquestionably the biggest need. There were a few linebackers available but the best one in our eyes was Shaquem Griffin. His insane athleticism and pass rushing ability were the main things that made us pick him and I think it’s realistic that he falls that far because of his “disability”.

TRADE: Falcons send the 126th, 244th, and 256th pick to the Jets for the 157th and 179th pick

Round 5, Pick 157: Josh Adams, RB, Notre Dame

With our most pressing needs out of the way, we in the WarRoom wanted to take a cornerback. Unfortunately our #1 choice (Tolliver from LSU) was gone so we decided to go with a RB. Adams is a battering ram of a runner who could come in and make an impact as a short yardage back, which is a need for the Falcons.

Round 6, Pick 179: D’Montre Wade, CB, Murray State

Poole is a great corner but we in the WarRoom wanted to get a player to compete with Poole for the nickel corner position. Wade is a small school corner but is physical and has nice play speed and is someone I think could come in and immediately challenge Poole.

Round 6, Pick 200: Kentavius Street

With the loss of Adrian Clayborn, the Falcons could use some depth at the EDGE position and that’s exactly what Street is. He is a strong and powerful pass rusher and could make an impact in different defensive sets for the Falcons.

Grade: A-

This is one of the best realistic drafts the Falcons could hope for. Payne slipping to 26 and Griffin slipping to 90 seem a little far-fetched but if they happened and we took them, I would be estatic. The reason this draft isn’t an A+ is a small thing but it’s because I believe we should’ve gone runningback later and maybe grabbed a tackle or corner with that pick instead.

What grade would you guys give this draft? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @BirdsinTheBenz!

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