Pro Football Focus rips Falcons draft class
Well, the Atlanta Falcons fans better hope Pro Football Focus is wrong.
Their draft class already raised a number of questions and concerns among pundits, but PFF’s Steve Palazzolo was one of the most critical ones. The selection of Keanu Neal was mind-boggling to many, as it seemed obvious all along they needed (and would draft,) a solid pass-rusher in the first round.
Neal wasn’t even projected to be a first-rounder in many mock drafts, so it’s easy to believe they could have selected him later (by trading down in the first round or trade up in the second to get him.)
So what did Palazzolo have to say about it? Well for starters, he gave them a disappointing D+ grade, claiming that guys like Neal were “littered” in this year’s draft class. As for the selection of Deion Jones?
“The Falcons wanted to add speed to their defense, and they certainly need it, but Jones gets blocked far too often in the running game, and he missed one of every 6.5 tackle attempts — the 105th-best rate in the nation.”
It was actually the worst grade handed out by PFF, as nobody else got a D. What’s important for Falcons fans to remember is that most of their work was done through free agency, so assuming most of their signings pan out, the draft was, in a way, a bonus.
Dan Quinn does see Kam Chancellor in Neal, and although that’s a bit of a stretch, not many thought Quinn would be able to fix the league’s worst defense (in 2014,) to one of the league’s more underrated units.
It’s obviously too early to know how these picks will pan out, but it’s no secret that the Falcons rookie class of 2016 has a lot of doubters to prove wrong.
The post Pro Football Focus rips Falcons draft class appeared first on Cover32.
